Information on Indoor House Plants

Stephanie Smith

Plants are a great way to add a feeling of warmth and comfort to your home. They can make a stark space inviting and are perfect for those corners you don't know what else to do with. There is a huge variety of readily available plants to choose from to meet your decorating needs.

If you're new to house plants, start small. Consider starting an herb garden in your kitchen with one or two herbs in small pots that you use often when cooking. Parsley and basil are great plants to start with, as is lavender which can be cut down and dried for some home-made pot-pourri. Most herbs prefer sunny areas, so make sure they're close to a window that gets a fair bit of sun. Adding this bit of greenery to the kitchen will be sure to make you look like a gourmet chef, especially when your dinner guests see you harvesting fresh herbs while you cook.

While we're in the kitchen, if you have a cat then plant some catnip or cat grass in a container on the floor where your cat can reach it. I prefer to use a pet food dish with two metal bowls, one with catnip and the other with cat grass. There's no mistaking that those plants are specifically for the cat! As long as I make sure the plants are healthy, the cat usually leaves my other house plants alone. Make sure the plants are in an area where they can get sunlight, such as by a patio door.

Use tall plants in empty corners or in the turns of circular stairs. Adding greenery to these areas gives a feeling of warmth and adds interest to large rooms, whereas filling empty corners with furniture can make a room feel cluttered. Great plants to consider are ficus, rubber plants, fig trees, large ferns, as well as many tropical plants that are widely available in stores.

If you have a room with high ceilings or low traffic areas, try using some hanging plants, just make sure they aren't in areas where people will be hitting their heads on them. This is a great alternative for homes with limited floor or table space for plants, or for homes with plant-munching pets! My favorite hanging plants include ivies, goldfish plants, burrows tail, spider plant, and the lipstick plant.

Some plants do double duty in your home by being both decorative and functional. Peace lilies, spider plants, and ferns, to name a few, help to clean the air and absorb some of the toxins that we would otherwise be breathing. Don't worry if the edges of the leaves on your peace lily turn brown, that just means that the plant is doing its job! One plant won't clean all of the air in your home, but if you're serious about clean air this is certainly a good place to start.

Do your homework before purchasing plants, especially if you have pets or small children. Pets love eating certain varieties of plants, some of which can be poisonous. Children are curious by nature and may also try to sample some less than healthy greens. Some examples of poisonous plants include the mistletoe, dieffenbachia, certain ivies, tulips, daffodils, and chrysanthemums. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so please check out any plants you're thinking of purchasing.

Take a look at your home and determine which areas could benefit from having house plants, and then take a trip to your local plant store to find out which plants will work for you. Ask questions about the amount of sunlight required, the size of a mature plant, health hazards, and any quirks a particular plant may have. Ask about easy to care for plants if you aren't confident in your gardening abilities since some plants are easier to grow than others.

With a little water and perhaps the occasional fertilizing, your plants can make your home a warmer and more enjoyable place. For the most part they don't require much care, but the results can be very rewarding.