Your home is your sanctuary, your refuge and it’s meant to bring you both comfort and delight. How you design and style your home is really important and this includes the greenery! The addition of houseplants can transform your home entirely and are not only strikingly beautiful, but they’re also good for your health! They have the ability to change our mood, making us feel more relaxed and calm to build a home into a sanctuary. When plants breathe they release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, cleaning and purifying the air.
Here are three types of houseplants that can totally transform your living space:
Succulents
If you don’t have green fingers, or don’t have much time for maintenance, then succulents and cacti are great options that require minimal effort. Succulents are plants that store water in their stems, roots and leaves. Succulents and cacti are surprisingly different types of plants, even though many people regard them as the same. While they are very closely related and all cacti are considered succulents, cacti have “areoles” which are small, round, cushion-like mounds of flesh where spines, hair, leaves and flowers grow.
These green gems work best on a sunny windowsill. Do take care not to overwater. Succulents need very good drainage because their roots do not like to sit in stagnant water. Apart from being very low maintenance (you can be a wicked plant parent and they’ll still survive!), they’re also really easy to propagate. You don’t have to spend much money at the outset and you’ll keep growing more and more plants. There are so many succulent varieties to choose from and they are so popular currently, that they are definitely a great talking point for anyone that visits your home. Find out some more ideas on how to transform your living space here.
Air Plants
Air plants (Tillandsia) are epiphytes which are plants that do not need soil to grow. They usually grow on other plants like tree branches and derive moisture and nutrients from the air or rain or water (in marine environments). Examples of Epiphytes that live in the tropics are orchids, ferns and bromeliads. These types of plants emit oxygen at night, making them perfect for the bedroom.
Even though you don’t need to pot them, Air plants do still need a certain amount of water and light and the right temperature to flourish. You’ll know that they’re thriving when flowers start to bud. They don’t like direct sunlight, but they do like warm weather and require a certain amount of humidity to grow, so they can be watered once a week or even once every two weeks and you can do this by soaking the roots in water for 30 minutes and then let them drain.
Ivies
Ivy is a type of vine that grows well both indoors and out. It can be grown in hanging baskets, which are perfect if you have limited space. Hanging baskets are also quite playful and bring life to high, empty corners. You might also find that you get more light in your home the higher up you go and ivy tends to enjoy good light. Ivy would complement the ample space of high ceilings in a sunny loft conversion.
When it comes to water care, ivy likes moisture, but it also doesn’t want to sit in a puddle. Check the soil first by sticking your fingertip beneath the surface. If the soil is moist, wait to water. If it’s dry, then you know what to do! Ivy can become quite unwieldy so it might be necessary to give it a regular trim. Cutting it makes it grow back thicker it’s also easily propagated – cut leaves can be removed from the stem, placed in water and then planted to create new vines.
The wonderful thing about all kinds of plants is that they never go out of style. If it’s a green makeover that you’re after or just buying plants for occasional celebrations, whatever the need, you won’t go wrong in sprucing up your environment and at the same time enhancing your quality of life. Check out our website for the services we offer or find out how it works here.