5 House Plants for Every Home

You may have seen my post 5 Top Tips for Outdoor Living …well, the weather has turned so I thought I’d look at bringing the plants indoors with my 5 favourite house plants as well as, I hope, providing some inspiration for including plants in your home.

1. Boston Fern – Regarded as the best plant to have in your home for purifying the air you breathe, the Boston Fern will appreciate some indirect sunlight without being scorched all day and will want to be kept moist without being saturated. I use clay balls in the bottom of all my house plant pots and misting the leaves is a good way to water but don’t forget to stand them in the bath or sink to avoid getting water everywhere! 
   

   Boston Fern|Photo:Bloom IQ

2. Snake Plant – A fantastic, tall stemmed plant which I’m about to invest in to fill the empty corner at the top of my stairs, perfect for adding height. This plant will tolerate low light levels and won’t want too much watering, in fact from what I’ve read, it is better to let it dry out a bit in between watering. 
   

   Snake Plant|Photo:Mother Nature Network

    

3. Succulents – I am a huge fan of succulents and have a box of them hanging outside my front door. More recently I’ve tried them indoors in a geometric glass vase which apart from a slight watering issue (the metal detail vase leaks, really should’ve tested before planting up!) they seem to be doing OK. I have lost one which I think may have been due to over watering as having since done some research I have learnt that they really only need to be watered every 2-3 weeks and they hate to be sat in wet soil. They also want lots of lovely sunshine without getting sunburnt (don’t we all!) so place near a window to keep them happy.  Don’t panic if they look a little sad over the Winter months, this is absolutely normal as they have a dormant period and the lower leaves may die off, lesson your watering and they should come back to life with renewed vigour in the Spring.
   

   Succulents|Photo:Joy Store

    

4. Aloe Vera – I love the idea of having Aloe Vera in a bathroom, perhaps it lends itself to this room in my mind because of it’s many uses in beauty products but I also think it looks right in a bathroom setting. Aloe needs a South facing room but only needs watering occasionally, perhaps once a month, although some water less.  You can use the gel deep in the leaf and the latex near the edge of the leaf for all manner of skin problems, it’s a fantastic natural remedy. My only word of warning is to keep it contained in a small pot, I made the mistake of potting on and the plant became so large I had to remove it entirely. 
   

   Aloe Vera|Photo:Balcony Garden Web

5. Orchids – I am slightly obsessed with moth orchids phalaensopsis in particular and I have almost run out of space to house them indoors. I love their Asian simplicity, striking colours and rich green leaves, their thin stem becoming dotted with buds which suddenly open into the most striking of flowers.  I choose to grow mine in glass containers (the roots enjoy access to light) and I use horticultural moss to bed them out, this gives a natural contrast against the man made glass.  People often think they are hard to look after but once you know how they really are quite simple and you will be rewarded with a succession of flowers. You can buy specialist orchid compost which has a lot of bark in it as well as the right nutrient base to give them the best growing medium. They will need water every 5-12 days but the moth orchid prefers to dry out between watering and will not thank you for being sat in water – a good tip here is to water with an ice cube or two.  Once it has finished flowering, if the stem still looks healthy, cut it off on an angle about an inch above a ‘node’, below where the last flower fell off. Easy! and oh so beautiful! 
   

   Moth Orchid|Photo:The Garden Glove

There are a huge number of house plants on the market and they all make the air we breathe healthier as well as bringing a sense of calm to a room and they needn’t be expensive or difficult to care for.  For more inspiration follow my Pinterest board.

Thanks for reading