Bringing natural plants inside the home brings an entirely different aura that fake plants cannot touch. It’s not even close—an artificial plant can’t compete. They can be like a breath of fresh air. I’m a big believer that the most beautiful things in existence can be found within nature. House plants add an element of simplistic beauty at home.
Along with bringing natural aesthetics inside, house plants also add a ton of personality to their surrounding environment. Besides having an array of plant choices to pick from, you’ll also find a vast selection of different ways to display them:
- Go for a bohemian macramé plant hanger, the basic terracotta pot (which I’m currently loving), jars and glass dishes.
- Ornate or colourful planters.
- Place inside of baskets.
- Create varying levels of height with your selections, or let it stand alone.
Whatever you go with, let your unique style and sense of decor show. The only rule is: you have to show it some love to keep it happy and alive.
I used to be intimidated by the prospect of caring for a real live plant because I didn’t grow up caring for them, and I had zero knowledge in that department. But it’s situations like these that we can thank the internet for. Nearly any interest that your mind can conjure up can most likely be learned with relative ease with just the help of a google search. Not to say that my green thumb spontaneously developed the moment that I researched aloe.
Nope, it still took some time and practice (and a few dead plants) to gain some experience, but now, I can’t resist the outdoor and gardening sections at stores. I’m still not an expert (okay, and I admit, I’m still killing a few plants here and there), but I have managed to keep quite a few alive inside my home. Here are some of my favourites:
Aloe
My very first surviving plant. I kept it outside for a while, and it did just fine, but I eventually decided to bring it indoors when we were having a stormy season. I figured the plant didn’t care much for all of the water it was getting, so I brought it inside.
Two years later, it has lived there ever since. I stuck mine inside of a terracotta planter filled with succulent soil. As with most other plants, aloe likes to receive sun. Aloe needs a minimal amount of water, and I water mine weekly.
Dieffenbachia
Along with the Majesty Palm, I consider the dieffenbachia the quintessential house plant (but easier to care for, in my opinion). I got mine over two years ago, and it is still thriving. Place the plant in potting soil and water regularly. I used to water daily until I later noticed that the dish beneath retained moisture for an extended time.
Now I water to mine as needed when the soil is dry. For me, this is generally every 2-3 days, and it is doing just fine with that schedule. Do take caution when removing leaves. I didn’t realize that this plant contained a small amount of toxicity when I recently cut leaves off. I was not wearing gloves or sleeves, and the juice from inside the leaves made contact with my skin. My hands and arms were so itchy for the remainder of the day.
Pothos
It seems only to be growing prettier with time. Care is almost identical to caring for the dieffenbachia. Place inside a pot and place on the edge of a surface or hang, and watch the leaves begin to drape as the plant grows beautifully.
Lemon Philodendron
I think that this is my very favourite plant to look at the inside of my home. The leaves are a vivid light and bright green. Also, simple to care for, this philodendron requires simple regular watering as needed. Finally, this is a beautiful hanging plant—so grab yourself a cute little macramé hanger.
Basil
This is my most favourite thing to grow. I can’t get enough fresh basil in my meals. There is just something so satisfying about stepping outside to pick homegrown herbs to cook with.
Basil is an elementary beginners’ plant, and it doesn’t mind growing indoors. If you are new to the plant world, maybe keep a small pot containing regular potting soil and basil. I always go for the plants that have already started to grow instead of seeds. That’s just my preference; therefore, I really can’t offer any advice on starting from seed. Water every one to two days (when soil is dry to touch). I do prefer to grow my basil outside, though, because I like producing significant amounts.
ZZ Plant
Get this plant! It is incredibly easy to care for, not to mention such a pretty, clean and simplistic plant. In addition, the Zz doesn’t require watering quite as frequently as other plants.
Another bonus is that it can still do well without a large amount of light. I keep my Zz in my bedroom, next to my bed, and it makes for a great accent—in a very understated way.
Majesty Palm
Here it is—the most clichéd house plant to exist. But this is what comes to mind when you think of indoor plants, right? Its elaborate leaves add character to any room. But, this plant needs some space as its leaves stretch out like wings.
The majesty palm can be a little finicky, but it is certainly not impossible to get it to cooperate. Sometimes I like to place mine outside for a while to liven it up. It took a little care and placement experimenting to find the place that my palm is most happy.
Lemon fern
Small, with just enough going on, these plants make excellent additions nearly anywhere. I love using my lemon ferns as part of my table centrepiece décor. However, I have had mixed results with them as far as their life spans are concerned. I murdered my first two ferns by drowning them.
I was studying upon them and went back and bought two more. They have done much better than the originals. One of the two seems to be thriving, but the other looks a little sad. If you have any experience with the lemon fern and have better results, please let me know!
Ivy
I love the look of ivy hanging from a basket. It doesn’t require a high dose of sun and looks great in a corner somewhere or sitting on a shelf. Just be sure that that plant gets proper drainage.
Fiddle Leaf Fig
Lastly—there is the excellent fiddle leaf fig! I think this is currently the trendy plant to have. Glancing at its tall, striking features, it is obvious to see why it’s so popular. It adds a lot of appeal to any area that it rests in.
Now, I have heard that they are more challenging to care for, but as my strange, backwards plant luck would have it—my fig is doing just fine. However, I did have to read up on it when I noticed that all of the leaves were turning brown and started falling off early on.
Fortunately, I managed to salvage the plant with a few adjustments, and I am so happy that I did.
These are basic guidelines to help you get started with your plants. However, if you are looking for more in-depth care instructions to maximize your plant growth potential, there are numerous resources online that I love turning to when I want to learn more.
One simple tip on caring for your plants: keep your water routine scheduled into your day. Water them all at once, skipping days for those plants that do not need to be watered as frequently.
I’ve just made my watering a part of my dinner routine. I either run around watering everything once I’ve started dinner and have a few minutes to spare, or I water after dinner as part of the cleanup routine. This way, the chore remains simple and requires little thought. However, keep in mind that you will occasionally need to put a little more effort into removing browning leaves, fertilizing, and repotting to maintain healthy plants.
These things do not need to be done often (I don’t do it as often as I am supposed to, but they do just fine), so don’t let the thought stop you from adding these beauties to your home. I think they are worth the work that you will put into them.
I will end by suggesting that you try the one plant that I purposely left off of my list: the succulent. They say that succulents are one of the easiest plants to care for. Anyone can care for them. Well, I have no idea what sort of deficiency that I have because I’ve had multiple succulents and have managed to kill each one of them.
Maybe you have had or would have better luck with them than me. I need to figure out what I am doing wrong because I want to line my dining room table with them. Maybe I’ll try again soon and see how it goes. All I can say is: I’m so glad that keeping my children alive is easier than keeping a succulent alive.
