Adding greenery to our home has been one of my favorite projects. The trouble is, I’m not much (read: possess nothing of the sort, whatsoever) of a green thumb. So, previously, I’ve really held back on bringing foliage indoors knowing I’d likely kill it. But this remodeling project gave me a surge of confidence and only a couple have had to be replaced. Today is a look at how we’ve gone about decorating with houseplants, where we’ve added those pops of color, and how I’m caring for each.
medium maintenance/indirect sunlight: This devil’s ivy is so perfectly dramatic. But luckily it’s not overly demanding on the needs. Keeping the soil damp and the indirect sunlight flowing ensures a healthy plant. We have it suspended on a jute macrame in the corner of our bedroom. As the tendrils grow, I’m making internal bets on how long it takes the kitties to find their new favorite toy…
low maintenance/indirect sunlight: A snake plant is like botanicals for dummies. It gets placed in indirect sunlight and the soil should dry completely between waterings. I’ve noticed this one climbing a bit toward the sun and have grown to enjoy that tilted effect (although I’m not sure it’s technically a good thing).
cactus + painted clay planter
medium maintenance/direct sunlight: Despite the notion that cacti are those ‘plants you can’t kill,’ they can actually be tricky to grow indoors. They need direct sunlight but shouldn’t be allowed to burn. Their soil can be a mix of regular and cactus-specific. So I’ve been doing some trial-and-error of my own with just a few needing to be replaced. But they add great texture to a space without taking up much room.
medium maintenance/direct sunlight: These airplants are some of the funkiest yet elegant additions to our dining area nook. They require kind of odd care and love direct, bright light. Every few weeks they should be ‘bathed’ in water with occasional spritzes in the interim. Despite their name, they do really need that water to live. I’m thinking calendar reminders are the best way to remember this regimen.
gardenia + ceramic planter (left)
high maintenance/direct sunlight: This is the most high maintenance of the bunch. A gardenia requires constantly wet soil and spritzed leaves (note: don’t spray them in high sun hours as that will actually cause the leaves to burn). The plant also drinks like there’s no tomorrow. So I’ve stuck it in a high-traffic spot of the house to make sure it gets lots of TLC.
philodendron + ceramic planter (similar here)
low maintenance/indirect sunlight: This split-leaf beauty is best kept in bright but indirect sunlight with occasional watering. Since the top layer of soil should dry in between, I stick to a routine of watering this and the other low maintenance plants once a week (Sunday has been the day of choice). Honestly, it’s in our dining room area now but this has been a tough plant to place. I’m not sure it’s settled because I can’t stop changing my mind. But I’m sure we’ll find a solid spot soon.
low maintenance/indirect sunlight: The fiddle leaf fig is our little welcome plant. It’s set just inside our condo door for an immediate touch of green. Knowing they take a while to grow, we invested in a sweet stool to hold the planter. This takes moderate watering when the top inch of soil gets dry and loves indirect rays. So setting it back from the windows in a brightly lit room does the trick. I’m really hoping this gets to be ginormous one day.
photos by Amy Emily Photography
