Sometimes I really do have to ask myself how old I am. This is meant to be a style blog for goodness sake and here I am chatting about electric blankets, bath mats, and today’s topic, house plants.
The thing is house plants are hot right now and the humble cactus is one design trend I can’t get enough of. I adore fresh flowers but let’s face it they do wilt and wither and invariably need replacing after a week or so. Enter the indoor plant; an easy way to add a natural, living element to your decor and lots of them have the added benefit of purifying the air. William Morris would be proud of such beautiful AND useful objects.
RMS reader Kitty recently remarked on the difficulties of finding a decent house plant and I’m right with her. The common plants are readily available, in fact I’ve always been impressed by the quality of plants in my local Morrison’s supermarket, however the selection is limited.
Online
I haven’t had any personal experience of House of Plants but I’ve heard good things about this website from others. They stock the daddy of all plants; the Fiddle Leaf Fig. If you’re not familiar with this beauty then think large, unusual shaped glossy leaves sprouting from a straight stem making for a very exotic looking specimen which likes indirect light and a bit of warmth. In the US, Americans can pick up one of these beauts from Ikea but they’re trickier to track down over in Blighty (and a hell of a lot more expensive too).
Garden Centre
My local Wyevale Garden Centre has a very respectable selection of succulents. I picked up the potted Jade Plant you see above for £10 which I didn’t think was too bad for a very healthy plant, dinky pot and decorative stones. I’ve found it doesn’t need to be watered regularly and doesn’t seem to be too fussed about getting much light either. The staging is just for show so I keep this plant away from the radiator ordinarily!
I picked up another succulent in my local Homebase a month or so ago in a square planter. I think it was less than a fiver. Admittedly the choice isn’t wide within a DIY store but there are some bargains to be had.
In the same Wyevale store I also bought a bushy Boston fern for the top of my new living room shelving unit for a fiver.
Ikea
The Swedish giant often has a big range of plants at low prices. I particularly like their air plants and water plants which are only about £1 so ideal if you want to experiment creating your own terrarium.
In Ikea you can also pick up the old faithful Snake Plant or Mother in Law’s tongue for £7. This spiky tall creation thrives on neglect and is excellent for purifying air. Providing you don’t water too often it likes low light and steamy conditions so is perfect for a bathroom.
Plant Fairs, Car Boot Sales, Fetes
Although you’re more likely to get your mitts on plants for the garden at these types of events, it’s always worth rooting around for any houseplants too. It’s not long until the flower show season kicks off so hopefully they’ll be something going on in your area.
Florist
A lot of florists don’t just stock flowers, you’ll often find the odd succulent and fern in there too.
John Lewis
Yes it used to be seen as naff to have faux flora and fauna in your home but not anymore. Fake cactus’ in particular are hugely popular at the moment and John Lewis’ mini selection would look impressive dotted around a room.
If you prefer a real-life cactus then have a look at eBay for some weird and wonderful specimens.
One thing I haven’t been able find is a stockist for the False Shamrock plant, Oxalis Triangularis. Yep, sounds very Harry Potter. My friend’s mum has one of these above her radiator and the purple heart shaped leaves seem to dance in the heat on tender stems. If anyone finds a house plant variety please do let me know because I’d love one for my living room.
Any resources for plants you’d like to add in to the mix? How do you get on with house plants and where do you buy them from?
I currently have the ubiquitous potted “grass” from ikea in my bathroom for some colour. I’d much prefer a real plant, however, I’m always nervous of picking up something that’s poisonous to Wee Jimmy the cat, as he’s partial to nibbling on leaves. Many the afternoon has been spent slowly wandering round Dobbies googling plant after plant…
First of all, Jimmy is a great name for a cat!
There’s a quick list here for ones that aren’t toxic – http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/keeping-your-pets-safe-10-nontoxic-house-plants-aspca-137830. I would be quite partial to a Blue Echeveria myself…
I’m also on the look out for more house plants to add colour and life to my front room. I bought 2 Aceca palms from Homebase which look great but the leaves are starting to die and I don’t know what to do! So any tips or good websites on plant care would be great. Though maybe plastic plants could be a way forward for me.
*Areca
Not sure of any specific sites Sophie but Google is always your friend in these cases. This site came up on the first page for your palms – http://homeguides.sfgate.com/special-care-areca-indoor-palm-trees-43127.html x
Came across this article this week actually:- http://www.designsponge.com/2015/03/home-ec-how-to-save-your-plants-and-your-money.html
really helpful and easy to follow 🙂 hope it helps!
Great article Annie x
The Spider plant! Or the Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’ if you want to use it’s Sunday name 😉 http://www.waitrosegarden.com/plants/_/chlorophytum-comosum-variegatum/classid.2000027236/ I have taken cuttings from my mum’s plant and it does tend to sprout little baby spider plants over time, so start with buying just one or two and then you can either re-pot the little ones (snip off and pop in a small glass of water to encourage roots to grow first, then re-pot) or leave them on to grow into a fuller spider plant! I honestly only water mine when I remember, pull off any leaves that turn brown/dry up, and leave mine mostly on the windowsills of the bathroom or kitchen. I’ve had the same one for years! So easy to “care” for 🙂
Maddy for some reason I find the whole idea of cuttings really daunting. Love you’re having a lot of success with your spider plant x
Oh I do too! But NOTHING can kill this plant – it’s like a machine! 😉
An Aloe Vera plant in the kitchen is a must – green & practical! Make sure you get the right variety for healing though.
Ooooo I would love an Aloe! Multitasking
Oooh, I didn’t realise its a particular variety which heals. Could have done with an aloe vera plant a few weeks ago when I accidentally poured a boiling hot kettle of water over my friend’s hand 🙁
Is it weird that I love this post?!
We used to have two gorgeous house plants – our love fern (how very ‘how to lose a guy in 10 days’) in the bathroom and Kenton our Kentia Palm, kenton sadly died of neglect (we had him for 5 years) when my brother was left house sitting for 3 weeks and the love fern did not like our new bathroom (freezing).
We are definitely in the market for more, I’d love cactus but they are not child friendly and I always worry that fake ones will be yet another thing I forget to dust!
We have about 4 orchids aswell but once the flowers die I am clueless on how to get them to re – flower! !
Oh no poor Kenton!
I was talking to James’ Grandad the other day about orchids. I think you have to cut the spike halfway down the flower stem when it’s finished flowering.
They don’t look too pretty do they while you’re waiting for them to bloom again!
Really?! I’ve always been told that you should just let them be. When the flowers died on one we had from Sainsbury’s we left it and it grew new stems and reflowered spectacularly well. It seems the less we do the better it behaves. We’ve just got another one from Homebase and the Sainsbury’s one is definitely of higher quality.
I’m sure they’d be absolutely fine either way Sarah x
Oh great timing. We’re hoping to make terraniums at Sewcial next month… its a long shot but does anyone know where I can get wholesale mini cacti for a decent price?
(a question I never thought I’d be asking anyone ever)
Hmmm, not too sure Karen.
I do know I’m desperate to see your terrarium though. You have to share when it’s finished. x
Gardenia! Beautiful dark glossy leaves and the most gorgeous perfume from the flowers.
Beautiful Eileen x
I love gardening but have always managed to kill every house plant we have had, except one. We have a Jade plant that we got as a cutting from friends. We literally just stuck it in a pot of compost and let it do it’s thing. Four years later it is now huge! It seems the worse we treat it the better it grows. It really is indestructible!
Thanks for this Lauren! Just need to work out how to keep them alive now! x
Thanks for sharing Lauren!!
It’s a no-brainer. Head to Abigail Ahern’s website and check out her amazing faux’s
If you live near an Aldi or Lidl they frequently have house plants in and have done for years at much cheaper prices than DIY stores. Some are in nice pots while others you need to repot. They tend to have what is fashionable in house plants that year when they sell them as they buy bulk stock. I’ve got aloe vera and succulents from them.
lf you belong to a local gardening group they have plant sales once or twice a year. People off load their divisions. My group had their plant sale yesterday and there were lots of peace lilies plus a few indoor succulents. Previous years there have been lots of green spider plants and umbrella plants. Next year there will probably be some zee zee plants and some snake plants as that’s what I will be dividing soon.
Another way to get plants is from office plants. My spider plants actually come from a couple of babies I got from an office plant. I put the babies in a plastic bag at the end of one day and took them home. I then put them in a container of water and when the roots were big enough I potted them up. The main plants are over 10 years old, and it’s got to the point I’m giving the babies away on freegle and car boot sales to get rid of them.
I’ve found an Oxalis in the U.K. in my local b&m if you have one near you, it was only £3 too!