Nature Outside In
Now that fall has arrived many of us are saying goodbye to our beautiful outdoor gardens and getting ready to hunker down indoors for the winter. While the cold weather brings promises of a beautiful Christmas tree that doesn’t mean other foliage can’t be brought into the home to enhance the beauty of your space. Plants are an excellent way to add warmth, colour, and life into any indoor space.
When first selecting plants for your space ask yourself these 4 simple questions:
Hey Where Are, The Windows?
One of the main considerations you will need to think about is the amount of natural lighting. South-facing windows tend to get the best light while North facing windows tend to have low light. To much light might burn a plant and too little might kill the plant. For areas that don’t get a lot of suns try ferns, spider plants, snake plants/mother-in-law’s tongue, or pothos. They don’t need as much sunlight and will fill out nicely. Both the fern and spider plant are great for hanging baskets while the pathos provides beautiful yellow, red, and green markings on their leaves. For a more modern clean line look in a low light area opt for ‘lucky bamboo’.
Image Credit: Stump Plants
2. Free Spirit or Home Front Fan?
The amount of time you want to spend on plant care is also a major factor. In almost any home décor magazine you will see a beautiful Fig leaf plant, or orchid but what you don’t see is the amount of care these plants need. For those who travel a lot I recommend getting ‘air plants’ these little trendy plants can be hung on a wall or placed in a decorative teacup or decorative hanging globe. Even better they really only need a light misting and there are over 600 varieties! Just remember they still need day light for more than 3 hours a day. So move over cactus, the air plant is making its debut.
Image Credit: Better Homes and Gardens
3. Sneezing Not Wanted?
If you tend to be one of the thousands unfortunate people that have allergies to plants you might want to try to stick to the trend or green plants as opposed to flowering plants. Great options on trend right now are the spider plant, fiddle leaf fig, Boston fern, and non-flowering succulents. Fiddle leaf figs provide a wonderful pop of green for a tall plant while the cascading effect of a spider plant does well on mantels and bookcase.
Photo Credit: Sarah Pflug
4. Are There Pets or Kids Using the Space?
For those sharing there love and home with children and animals you may want to opt for plants that don’t mind getting knocked around much or even better don’t have soil that can spill. Try ‘air plants’ that yes don’t require soil or maybe even an aloe vera plant that has healing properties. If you are worried of poisonous plants in your home opt for herbs like mint or rosemary that will have added aromatic benefits. These plants look great hung on the wall or windowsill or narrow pencil holder on your desk that doubles as a plant pot.
Image Credit: Purple ID
Photo Credit: Umbra.com
Final Thoughts
Overall you really need to look at your budget and the amount of light you have. One Fiddle leaf fig can start at $100 dollars where a little air plant or fern can be as cheap as $2 dollars. Pick plants that bring you joy and work well with the conditions provided and don’t be afraid to have fun with the type of planter you use. Plants are not a trend and not just for the outdoors so don’t wait until Christmas to have a little greenery in your house start now!