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Connect with Nature: Bring
the Outdoors Inside with Plants
By Jeanette Joy Fisher
There's a lot of talk about green living
nowadays, and bringing green plants into your home can be
a wonderful decorating idea. You can create lush indoor
landscapes relatively easily, without spending a lot of
money.
People have been bringing plants into their homes and
using them as part of their decoration schemes for
thousand of years. That makes sense, because people simply
feel closer to nature with plants nearby.
Plants require some attention, of course, but they can be
therapeutic, especially during the winter months, giving
gardeners a regular "plant fix" until the weather breaks
in the spring. There are also other health benefits to
having plants in the house, as well. They emit oxygen and
remove pollutants from the air, thereby improving air
quality inside the home.
From a decorating standpoint, houseplants provide both
color and texture to a home's decor, and can be used to
either augment a color scheme or to cover areas that
aren't particularly to your liking. For instance, trailing
plants such as English ivy can be used as wall or window
treatments by installing a high shelf that allows the ivy
to cascade downward. Enhance the stunning effect with a
plant light to keep the plant happy.
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If you prefer a tall plant to create an
effect in a room, consider the classical Kentia palm.
which tolerates small containers and tolerates the soil
drying out a bit. An excellent choice for an interior
palm. the Kentia prefers some direct light through a
window, but doesn't need bright light. Kentias, available
in both tall and bushy varieties, create a dramatic focal
point to a decorating scheme. Add an uplight, and you've
created a dramatic effect with exotic shadows.
Plants can also be hung in planters from the ceiling and
allowed to cascade. One popular plant for creating that
kind of effect is the spider plant, which develops long
tendrils. Such plants can be quite lovely when suspended
near large windows as part of an overall window treatment.
Choosing various textures for your planters can also add
drama and accent to your home's decor. You can find
planters made of many different materials; ceramics and
clay are the most common, but a clay planter can be
wrapped in jute, hemp, or other material to give it a
strikingly different look. You can also use different
types and colors of material to suspend your planters,
giving you even more decorating options. |
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| Connect with nature simply by
cutting leaves and branches from your garden. Arrange
cuttings simply in a tray of water sitting on a piece of
wood. You can even use small potted plants as accent
pieces on kitchen counters, on a mantle in the living
room, on the coffee table in the family room, or on a
bookshelf in the den.
Wherever you choose to use them, plants can
provide extra drama, warmth, texture, and color to your
home's decor. Plus, plants keep you indoor air fresh while
connecting you to nature.
Waterwise Xeriscaping
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