Gardener’s Guide: how to Decorate with Indoor Plants
By: Kass Williams
Tags: Indoor Gardening, Home Decor, Plants, Gardening, Plantlife

This article was originally published by xVirity. You can view it on their blog here.

Here’s the thing. Planting a garden is a fun and often rewarding hobby, but it comes with some downsides. First, you have to deal with weather: cold weather, hot weather, rainy weather–oh my gosh. It can also be laborious, back-breaking work. And sometimes, the things you plant never see the light of day, meaning you wasted money and effort for nothing!

These are only some of the many reasons why gardeners are turning to indoor gardening. Indoor plants are so in at the moment, especially because they add texture and color to rooms and make great accent pieces. If you have the urge to up your design (and gardening) game but need tips on how to decorate with indoor plants, then this article is for you.

Why should I Decorate with Indoor Plants?

Before we get into design details, let’s discuss why indoor plants are so great.

Studies show that keeping indoor plants can improve your physical and emotional health. As we all know, plants release oxygen into the air, helping us breathe. But did you know they also absorb pollutants, dust, and allergens as well? That’s right; plants serve as natural air purifiers. This is excellent for anyone with asthma or allergies, but it’s also great for those who don’t want to breathe in pollutants from carpets, house cleaners, etc.

What else do plants do? Glad you asked. Indoor plants also:

Relieve stress

Add moisture to the air (natural humidifiers!)

Aid in health recovery

Help us focus

Provide first aid (aloe plants can be used for burns)

Give apartment-owners a way to garden.

So obviously, keeping indoor plants is a must. Especially for millennials and college students, who spend most of their time indoors, glued to electronics, or at work. Of course, it can be difficult to keep indoor plants when you have pets (especially when the cat likes to knock your succulents off the windowsill). But we’ll cover some design tips that will keep your plants out of your cat’s reach.

So let’s get started!

Decorating your Bathroom with Indoor Plants

Caring for plants is a tricky business. Some need dry air while others need moist air; some need water while others prefer to thirst.

So it should come as no surprise to you that decorating your bathroom with indoor plants can be tricky. Bathrooms are moist places, and many lack natural light of any kind. But it can be done.

The following is a list of our favorite indoor plants that fare pretty well in a bathroom setting:

Orchids: these gorgeous (and pricey) tropical flowers prefer humid air and indirect sunlight, so they’re perfect for bathrooms with windows. They come in a variety of bright colors, so find one that matches one of the hues in your bathroom decor.

Golden Pothos: this trailing plant is perfect for bathrooms due to its humidity and low-light tolerance. For a bohemian look, place a golden pothos on a decorative ladder behind your toilet. You can decorate the other steps on the ladder with candles, soaps, crystals, and other trinkets. The golden pothos’ vines will fall down the ladder’s steps in tendrils, giving your bathroom a very earthy look.

Bird’s Nest Fern: this fern is perfect for bathrooms because it loves both humidity and low light. So if your bathroom is windowless and dreary, this plant is perfect for you! Pot this plant in a cute terracotta or decorative planter and place with a couple other potted plants beside your bathtub.

Air Plant: these are perfect for those whose pets love to get into things. Air plants thrive in high humidity but need light, so they’re best for bathrooms with windows. (In case you’re wondering, air plants need to be misted or submerged in water instead of typical watering.) What’s so great about these is they are so easy to accessorize. Just look below if you don’t believe me!

Decorating your Kitchen with Indoor Plants

Indoor gardening and kitchens kind of go hand-in-hand. After all, if you’re planting food or herbs that you’re going to eat, wouldn’t you want them in the kitchen?

Cooking is much more fun when you have fresh herbs right at your windowsill. Plus, no one likes venturing outside in the cold or the dark to grab some parsley for dinner. If you have pets, however, (especially cats, who jump onto the counter top) you might want to consider some of these design ideas to keep your cats out of your herbs.

First, you want to consider which herbs you’ll be planting in your kitchen. Some great herbs to plant indoors include:

Chives

Lemon balm

Parsley

Basil

Mint

Thyme

Cilantro

Sage

Oregano

It’s also important to consider where you’ll place your herbs. You’ll want them near the stove or somewhere on the counter top for accessibility, but you should also place them by a window so they get enough light.

As for pots, you can never go wrong with simple terracotta. Other great ways to liven up herbs are using rustic farmhouse containers and pastel planters.

For those with pets, you can also find ways to hang your herbs on the wall. Try these unique shelving ideas.

As for the Rest of the House…

This is arguably the most fun part of decorating with indoor plants because you have much more space to work with! When decorating living/bed rooms with indoor plants, make sure you choose plants that will complement your interior design style. Bohemian, farmhouse, beachy–each of these styles will need different plants in order to complete the look.

Now days, there are so many design options for displaying your plants. It is unreal. You can display them in the air, on the wall, on the fridge–the options are endless. Here are some ideas for decorating the rest of your home.

Play with color: you’ll want plants that bring out the colors already used in your house. Match plants with throw pillows, rugs, wall art, or blankets–but make sure you’re not going overboard. You don’t want to paint your living room green and then decorate with a bunch of green plants.

Play with height: you can do this in a few different ways. You can buy plants that are short and plants that are tall to add some contrast. Or, if you don’t like tall plants, you can add ladders, stools, and other things to set your plants on to give the room some dimension.

Accent pieces: plants look great on coffee tables and nightstands, as center pieces for dining room tables, and as windowsill decor. And remember, you can keep it simple and clean or you can go wild, depending on your style.

Go with whatever feels right: while some plants are better suited for some designs (succulents go great in bohemian-style spaces), you should plant whatever you like best. As with outdoor gardening, indoor gardening is all about your love for plants. So choose whatever makes you happy!

Keep your Plants Happy

Finally, if you want to garden indoors then you need to remember plant care. Plants have individual needs, but they all need water, light, and nutrients. Make sure you know the needs of each of your plants–and that you’re meeting those needs. Nothing is uglier than dead plants! Follow the below tips to keep your plants healthy and gorgeous:

Use potting soil that meets the needs of your specific plants. Not all soil is equal.

Water at the base of the plant near the soil. Watering from overhead can aid in bacterial growth. (If your plants happen to take a turn for the worse, check out our guide on how to spot and handle plant diseases.)

Use the right fertilizer. All plants need fertilizer (especially indoor plants, as they can’t receive organic nutrients from leaf litter, worms, etc.). Choose one that is pet-friendly if you have pets and one that isn’t messy.

xVital, our liquid nitrate fertilizer, is perfect for indoor plants. Unlike solid fertilizer, xVital easily makes its way to your plants’ roots and doesn’t end up all over the floor. Our fertilizer is also known to help plants’ leaves maintain their bright, vibrant color, so it’s perfect for indoor plants that serve as home decor. Keep your plants beautiful with xVital!