HOW TO BUY HOUSEPLANTS
Go green and grow your interiors
WHERE TO BUY
For maximum sustainability, support independent retailers. Look for a local garden centre, community garden or consider a trip to a flower market, where many stalls will also stock houseplants. Bigger garden centres will have a wide variety of plants alongside speciality soils and feeds. Patch and Hortology, both online retailers, specialise in houseplants, and stock everything from oversized kentia palms to miniature succulents. They’re the perfect places to browse if you have a particular plant (or space in your house) in mind, as everything can be filtered by size, shape and ease of maintenance. Many florists, including Flowerbx and Bloom & Wild, which are better known for artful bouquets, have houseplants, too – their collections are available online and delivered nationwide.
HOW TO DISPLAY
Hanging planters are ideal for impact with minimal effort – just one or two long, trailing plants, such as the string of pearls, will look impressive dotted around. Plus, they don’t require much maintenance. Ikea has a good selection. Miniature plants, such as succulents, tend to look lonely on their own, so group them together in odd numbers for more effect. For an individual plant that you want to make a feature of, consider a plant box (Ferm Living’s tall, rectangular designs are perfect for a well-lit hallway) or try a raised planter – Habitat has just launched a range for inside and out in collaboration with gardening duo The Rich Brothers. For pretty glazed styles or more rustic earthenware, try Serax.
WHAT WORKS WHERE
All plants need sunlight, but some less than others: the philodendron, for example, is easy to maintain and will tolerate low light very well. The dragon tree’s spiky leaves, on the other hand, need both sun and shade. For sunny windowsills, succulents, jade plants and aloe vera are perfect – sunlight will do much of the work to keep them in tip-top condition. Dusty leaves will prevent plants from taking in sunlight, so dust when watering, especially waxier plants. The bathroom is the best place for plants that thrive in more humid spaces – tropical orchids, spider plants and ferns, for example, will all enjoy steam from the shower. Each plant will demand a different level of maintenance (from watering and fertilising to trimming leaves and re-potting), so ask for advice when buying.