Friday, December 16, 2011

Bring in the green!

Bring in the green! And we don’t mean the money though we’re sure that’s always welcome too. Today, however, we’re more interested in plants and what they can do to transform your home in so many ways!

Irrespective of what the size of your home is or whether you’re perched up on a fairytale princess tower a few plants in your home can make a tremendous amount of difference to not just the look of your home but also its feel.

To be perfectly honest I don’t have much of a green thumb but since my father definitely does I’ve grown up with all manners of plants filling our house, not one of which I could name today except for cactus! I’d listen to people talk enthusiastically about the therapeutic feeling of working in the mud and tune out after the first three words. That being said, I recently brought two plants into my bite-sized house (and yes, I know their names and no, they’re not Paul and Polly). I’ll admit to feeling anxiety akin to the kind accompanied by the advent of pets but the excitement was just as high. Eventually, the image I had in my head of a couple of bright and cheerful plants in my home weighed out every other consideration. And so came home the Button Roses and the Jasmines, chosen carefully for the flowers and the fragrance, respectively. And as of this morning, they were still alive, thank you very much. Point being, that if I can get home a plant so can you – unless you’re a convicted plant murderer!

And there’s such a vast variety to choose from! From the flowering plants to the cacti – hybrid and otherwise, to the creepers and climbers there’s so much you can do with them! You’d be hard put to find a place in your house where flowers don’t look good! Put them in small planters and keep them in your kitchen window or even the bathroom window. You can add leafy plants to a corner in the drawing room or put them at the entrance to your house.

Bring home the climbers and creepers if you have a balcony, terrace, arched gateway/ walkway, or any ugly outdoor area you want to cover up! Just plant a vine and watch it work the magic and transform the area! If you’re not sure about letting them take over a whole area, get a money plant or something of the kind and train them over moss sticks. You’ll have to occasionally water the moss stick to keep it damp but it isn’t really messy and smells pleasantly of the wet earth irrespective of the season outside! If you’re a frequent traveler and don’t have the time to maintain plants you can always get a desert variety that hardly require any TLC and pretty much look after themselves!

If you’re worried about your expensive and high maintenance flooring put the planter in an interesting container. This will not only contain all the excess water the planter may leak it will keep a terracotta one damp and the plant happy. And think of the favour you’re doing to the environment!

However, it’s not all rainwater and sunshine, plants do need some care. There’s nearly nothing that looks worse than a dying and carelessly (un)kept plant. So make sure you water them when required, move them from a sunny place to some shade occasionally, and gently turn over the soil once in a while too!




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