Using Plants in your Décor

I don’t know exactly what it is about having plants in your home; they just add a little something special.  They bring a je ne sais quoi to your interiors that you just cannot achieve with other types of décor in your home.    They bring the outdoors in and add a lovely organic feel to your home like nothing else can.

When I talk about adding plants to your home, I’m not talking about the jungles of 20-foot long philodendron tentacles draped over every surface, with droopy, yellowing leaves or the sad Ficus tree in the corner that has dropped all its leaves and is now sporting barren branches.

Using plants judiciously in your décor will enhance it and add a lovely accent to your living spaces.     

If you read my blog regularly, you already know I am a huge fan of displaying fresh flowers in my home.  I recently picked up a beautiful, lush Maidenhair fern at the grocery store.  It actually cost me less than a bouquet of fresh cut flowers.  I’m loving how lush and beautiful it looks perched up on my fireplace mantle. 

It got me to thinking…instead of keeping houseplants in our home that are obviously struggling and aren’t thriving how about treating houseplants like we do fresh flowers?  Once they are past their prime, out they go.  If you have a particular spot that needs a touch of greenery but you know it isn’t a spot that has the right conditions for a plant to thrive, dare I say it?  I think it’s perfectly acceptable to purchase a plant with the idea of getting rid of it once it begins to look a bit downtrodden.

This poor specimen needs to go!

Some of you may think this is a shocking thing to do?  What?!?!  Throw out a perfectly good houseplant?  But really, having a plant in your home that is scraggly, yellowing and wilted does nothing to enhance your décor!

I purchase potted mums in the fall knowing that I will only have them in the house for the season and once they start to look spent out they go into the compost bin.  They are inexpensive, and bring a bright pop of color to my home in the fall and I purchase them knowing that once they are spent, they will be tossed in the trash.  It’s really not much different with house plants.  Once they are looking like they are on their last legs, it’s time to move them out of your living space.

If you just can’t bring yourself to tossing out that bedraggled looking plant, consider rotating it outside to see if you can revive it if it’s looking a bit downtrodden.  If you have a green thumb, consider setting up a plant hospital to treat the sickly and nursing them back to health.  

But I really want to encourage you to remove any plants from your home if they are not thriving.  Nothing looks sadder or brings down the energy and ambiance of a room faster than a dead, or nearly dead plant in the room.

There are some very easy to grow houseplants that are almost impossible to kill and then there are also succulents.  Oh how I love those adorable little succulents!  They look lovely tucked into a vignette or sitting on a windowsill where you can appreciate their loveliness.

Simple ideas for incorporating plants in your décor:

  • Place a small sprig of greenery in a plain glass jar.  This is such a simple thing to do and looks lovely and elegant.
  • Slide plants in their black plastic nursery containers into a pretty crock, basket, or other decorative container like a champagne bucket or pitcher.
  • Use moss to fill in any gaps between plastic containers and the decorative containers for a more polished look.
  • Take plants out of their decorative containers and place them in the kitchen sink to water them thoroughly.  Allow them to drain completely before placing them back into their decorative containers.

If you are feeling unsure about adding plants into your decor start with just one or two easy to grow plants to begin with.

  • Philodendron/Pothos (Epipremnum)
  • English Ivy (Hedera helix)
  • Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
  • Aloe Vera
  • Spider Plant (Chlorophytum homo sum)
  • Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema commutated)
  • Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)
  • Succulents
  • Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra relation)
  • Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)

Give it a try. I think you will love having a bit of greenery in your home.