Houseplants in the Home
By Silver Spence from FriendsorFriends.com
Covid-19 and its subsequent lockdowns have spiked a resurgence in the connection between home and the natural world. Our compulsory confinement has meant reduced time outdoors, no exotic holidays and for many city dwellers no access to gardens. Houseplants have long been a part of the home but the latest boom calls on far east places and equatorial regions to satisfy the craze for exotic houseplants. Fans of our little green friends have resorted to creative styling and "hacks" in order to provide a cohesive and *ahem* organic look in their homes without sacrificing the need for that "indoor jungle" feel.
For many, houseplants have long provided respite from a busy world. Their colourful leaves and strange blooms lend themselves to artistic arrangements like Japanese Kokedama and beautiful 19th Century-esque terrariums. The process of arranging, pruning and maintaining plants has known effects on stress and mental wellbeing. Thirty minutes of gardening daily, indoors or out, can extend your life and even reduce risks of dementia by 36%. It's no wonder why people pour over bonsaii and install living walls in their home. The presence of nature in the home can aid in healing, overcoming trauma, and alleviating anxiety that the pandemic so kindly has blessed us with. Through the mindfulness of gardening we get to shed the monotony of the days and look forward to a botanical display through the seasons. Indoors most plants will continue to grow through winter and the reward that this brings is one we seek over and over. Hence the term Houseplant Craze. Once you reach a level of experience and flow with your plants you will undoubtedly add to it and as the plants grow you will inevitably grow with them. One day you've got a begonia cutting and the next your wife is wondering why there is a terrarium in her china cabinet. Sorry Linda, the plants look good in it!
In order to style and keep these exotic plants budding horticulturists have created the 21st century equivalent of a Victorian classic: the [Ikea] Greenhouse Cabinet. Plant fanatics have taken to recreating vignettes of the tropical jungle in modified Ikea cabinets. Orchids, moss, and a mixture of aroids sit together in insulated glass cabinets perfectly lit by grow lights, kitted with hygrometers and fans to encourage humidity. These cabinets can be adjusted for every type of plant. Have a cacti or succulent collection? Get brighter grow lights and ditch the humidifier. Need a place for your aroids? Remove the shelves and install moss poles. The possibilities of displaying objects d'art along plants are endless-- which is what makes the glass cabinet an attractive choice for plant lovers. Chuck in some insulation if your home is on the cooler side and give it a go.
Keeping a cabinet is also an ideal solution for plant parents with curious pets. Many of our beloved green friends can be costly, precious or downright dangerous to our furry family so storing the plants under lock and key provides a guarantee that your pets or children won't cross paths with any plant buddies. This is especially useful for people with small children in their home and nibbly pups and kittens. Any glass cabinet can be modified to house your collection. All you have to do is figure out their ideal environment and bring in the right amount of light and green scaping to suit.
Another idea to keep plants in the home is to look to the sky… nay, the ceiling. Hanging plants like the beloved Pothos (Devil's Ivy) and Scindapsus provide the look of the jungle without much in the way of needs. These easy care plants can be suspended from a hook in the ceiling and the vines can be left floating above you for a mid-walk caress or styled on the wall with clear command hooks. Many houseplant websites sell multiple varieties of trailers-- ranging from the trusty Pothos to the more exotic but equally low maintenance String of Turtles. The idea is to find a plant with needs that suit your environment and to allow them to thrive in a way that brings you joy.
Love the plant life but feel like Kew Gardens is not the look for your home? There's a whole community of Baby Plant lovers to guide you like our site: FriendsorFriends.com. For those of us with a love for the minute or limited window space Baby Plants are the solution to keeping us grounded. They are especially good if you'd like to start a collection but want something that will require minimal effort and if it fails it would only be about the cost of a cup of coffee. The benefits of small plants are still as useful as keeping a whole garden with the added bonus that you get to watch your plant friends grow. Friends or Friends is a Barham based business and we are offering the Barham Horticultural Society 10% off full priced plants. Additionally, we run a Buy 4 Get 1 Free sale on all plants on our site. You can use this discount to dip your feet in the houseplant world or send a sweet care parcel to someone you've been missing during lockdown. All our plants come with a no-fuss warranty and can be shipped almost everywhere in the UK. We offer one of the most varied selections of colourful and eye catching houseplants at a flat £5 each or £10 for our bigger plants.
Whether you modify a cabinet, take over a room to turn it into a corner of the Amazon or dip your toes into collecting houseplants this year give yourself a little time to speak to your plants and clear your mind. You never know… plants can teach us a thing or two about staying grounded through tumultuous times. When the world outside is flowing, our houseplants are here to remind us that we belong to nature.
Wednesday