2018 lifestyle trends have seen the inside go out and the outside come in. Today we will be tackling the latter. Indoor greenery is becoming all the more popular, with people turning their houses into living jungles with a realm of houseplants, from the ordinary to the exotic.
Before you jump onto pinterest to check out some aesthetic inspo, read on to discover the real benefits of placing plants within your home, and the different plant types you can watch flourish without even stepping outside.
Benefits
As you probably know, plants reap way more benefits than just looking pretty. Being in and around nature can do wonders for your health and wellbeing. People surrounded by plants are also believed to be more productive and creative.
Plants such as the spider plant and aloe vera are even proven to clean the air: especially beneficial for people living in small apartments, or built up areas, where air pollution is already worse than average.
Types of Indoor Greenery
Low Maintenance Plants
We’ll start with the easy ones. If you’re already a busy bee and don’t have time to tend to indoor plants day and night, plants such as parlor palm, dragon tree, snake plant or aloe would be great. All are easy to grow, require a low amount of sunlight, and limited watering. They are near impossible to kill and should survive well with little attention.
Cacti
Ah, cacti. The plant is viewed by many as indestructible, and everyone wants to touch, regardless of their grizzly appearance. Unfortunately, they are not immortal when given too little care. You should be able to keep them alive and well by not over-watering, ensuring very good drainage and investing in specialist cactus compost.
Interestingly, all cactus plants flower, some producing impressive colourful displays. To encourage flowering you should allow the cactus to follow its natural growth cycle. An older cactus will not flower, because it has learnt not to. Place cacti away from sunlight during winter and cease watering – almost putting the plant into hibernation – then bring out in springtime to watch bloom and colour.
Succulents
Succulents seem to be everywhere at the moment. Like cacti, they are deemed to be an easy, hardwearing plant. But be warned, they are tricky (but not impossible) thing to grow indoors.
It is best to go for varieties of succulent that are green in colour, as they don’t require as much sunlight as their colourful counterparts. Haworthia and Gasteria are varieties that match this specification well. If succulents tickle your fancy as your next indoor greenery venture, be sure to check out our full post on growing succulents indoors.
Palm Plants
Palm plants are on the pricey side of house plants, but their grandeur can really spruce up the look of your living room or office space.
The parlor palm is the most well known palm to be grown indoors. Note that they are slow growers. You need a bit of patience, but given a few years they can grow 3ft or more in height. They are relatively easy to grow and take care of. Parlor palms do not require massive of amounts of light and are happy to be placed in a shaded room. Be careful not to over-water, as this will kill your palm off. instead feed it small amounts of water when the soil feels dry.
With the benefits that come with having plants in your home, along with the rewardness of seeing something grow in front of your eyes, what are you waiting for? This is definitely a trend we’ll be jumping onto!
Megan works in the Primrose marketing team. When she is not at her desk you will find her half way up a hill in the Chilterns
or enjoying the latest thriller series on Netflix. Megan also enjoys cooking vegetarian feasts with veggies from her auntie’s vegetable garden.