Perk Up The Indoors With Potted Plants And Refresh Indoor Air
Bring into your home some of the summer beauty of nature to enjoy all year with potted plants. Add freshness and ambiance to your home’s interior with potted plants. You can find plant pots and plants that go with any furniture design and room style. Indoor potted plants can be a variety of sizes and a variety of types of plants; large or small, flowering or non-flowering, and some very fragrant ones. Indoor plants beautify a home; the plants also have the ability to absorb a wide range of environmental toxins.
Types of Plants
There are many types of plants to choice from. One classification is flowering or non-flowering varieties of plants for indoors. The Bird of Paradise (very easy to grow indoors and very colorful), the Peace Lily, and African Violets are beautiful flowering plants that grow well indoors. The aroma of most indoor plants is very pleasant. Spider plants, English Ivy, and Palm trees add greenery indoors with plants that grow well and are easy to take care of. When choosing a plant for your indoor space be aware of the lighting requirements and maintenance the plant requires.
Indoor Plant Decorating
Indoor plants will need sunlight so choose a spot that gets enough light through the day. The kitchen is an ideal place for plants as there is generally lots of natural light and water is close at hand. Tropical plants do well with the high humidity in a bathroom and can give the room a boost. Indoor plants can be hanging plants, plants placed on window sills, plants grouped on a table top or grouped in a floor area for an attractive arrangement. Turn a corner into an indoor sculpture garden with sculptures and plants. Have a nook, small area, or ledge that you don’t know what to do with? Add plants to the area.
Dusty Plants
Over time indoor plants will accumulate dust. Spraying the leaves of an indoor plant with a mister bottle containing water helps. Light biodegradable soapy water (such as dawn dish soap) followed by plain water should help keep a plants leaves shiny and pest free. A moist towel can be used to wipe the plant leaves. Wipe both the top and bottom of the leaf. With a moist cloth in both hands wipe the top and bottom of the leaf at the same time; apply enough pressure to remove the dust. Wipe the leaf from where it is attached to the plant to the tip. Change cloths often. Plants with leaf hairs cannot be cleaned well this way. Commercial shine sprays coat and clog pores the leaves. Many shine sprays are food products and can attract pests.
Indoor Plant Decorating
Potted plants indoors can add height to a room and emphasize high ceilings. Tall indoor plants can screen a window. Plants placed in front of or near wood or brick can soften hard surfaces. Plants can be used as room dividers. Indoor plants can be used to create a focal point in a room. Plants can be used to fill a difficult spot in a home. The ideas are endless. If the area is simple and minimal keep the plants and art simple and minimal.
Planters for potted plants come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. When selecting a plant and container for the plant note that roots require space to grow. Big plants, such as tropical palms, need to be placed in big plant pots. Old containers (buckets, watering can) you might have around your home make good containers for plants and add to a rooms décor. Planters add to a home’s décor. You can create an oasis in your home. Potted plants add texture and fresh smells to your home, also the plants refresh indoor air.
- Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)
- Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium)
- Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum)
- Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)
- Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata)
- Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragans 'Massangeana')
- Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig')
- Warneck dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii')
- Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement-NASA pdf
Indoor Plants Health Benefits
Indoors plants are beneficial at reducing indoor pollutants but some more than others. Some plants are better at removing certain toxins. Some removed formaldehyde from the air and others did a better job of removing benzene. Below is a list of indoor plants that are best at filtering the air and absorbing toxins.
- English Ivy (Hedera helix)
- Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
- Golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
- Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa')
- Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)
- Bamboo or reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)
Add Paint to Planters
There are many different styles of planters and pots for indoor plants and to add to your home décor; metal planters, planters that look like stone, planters of interesting colors. You can take a planter and paint it and you can inject style for a low cost. Exterior paint on clay pots, paints created especially to adhere to plastic surfaces (Rust-oleum paint for plastic, krylon Fusion paints) can revive an old plant pot or planter.
Go Vertical
Have a small space? Limited on horizontal space? A blank space on a wall that needs something.
Go vertical.
Wall pockets are easy to hang and can be used inside or outside.
Woolly Wally Pockets come lined or unlined, the lined pockets are for indoors to prevent the planters from dripping. Also the plants roots are allowed to breath, promoting plant health.
Use one wall pocket, a few, or create a living wall.
Create your own Garden of Babylon with wall pockets.
