Going Green #x3E;#x3E; Introducing Houseplants

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No, this is not a political broadcast, though now my birthday is over that is the next thing on the calendar.

This is about greenery in the home, something that I have pinned endlessly on Pinterest but which took me a year to get around to introducing. Before I added these to our home I would stand and look around the living room and feel that something was missing, something quite vital. I couldn't put my finger on what it was. It was only when I thought with newly diagnosed breathing issues that adding a bit more oxygen into the house might be a good idea that I put my finger on the missing piece being living, breathing greenery.

I am not going to lie, I found it really difficult to get hold of houseplants, my local garden centres don't have a huge selection, and the advice on which ones are cat friendly changes with every site you click on. I am popping to Ikea on Monday and you can bet I will be raiding that garden centre section,  I want to introduce a couple more around the living room and my desk area and begin to take a couple upstairs. I desperately want to make a couple of macrame hangers and add some to the landing.

All of these ones mentioned are relatively easy to keep I have found. i have had them a couple of months and they aren't dead yet which means I must be doing something right!! I just find it so humbling that something so simple can in fact make a huge difference to the atmosphere of a room, try it yourself and see what an impact plants can have.

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Airplants >>

I first went for airplants after discovering them in my local garden centre. My Aunt has a few hanging in her kitchen window and I loved the effect, so when I saw them there I set out on a mission. I bought a couple of blown glass hangers which are actually designed for tea lights and came home to discover they were a bit low, Bert would have found a new toy. I eventually bought a load more hangers from Homesense and now have two lots of these, two hangers in the window near the back door and three at mixed heights in the window in front of my desk and I love the effect. They make very tall windows look that little bit more interesting.

To look after them you are supposed to not need much, give them the occasional spray with water and a spray of the special fertiliser once a week and they are supposed to be all good. I have found that as we have had some particularly warm days lately that one of my air plants in particular is looking a bit dry so an occasional dunk under the tap is advised. Mine are all from the brand Love Tilly's who also sell lots of accessories to go with them.

My tip is also to take your airplanes out of your hangers if you are going to spray them, my hangers now have lots of lovely watermarks on them and could do with having a wash!

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Boston Fern >>

This is the second plant to be in this pot. If you follow me on instagram you will no doubt have seen my spider plant, it got a little trim from Bert and is now safely kept in the greenhouse.

I bought this massive Boston Fern thinking it was going to be too big, but it was seriously cheap so I went for it anyway. I am glad I did because it is such a crazy mass of leaves that it looks almost comical. Bert can chew to his hearts content and never seems to make a dint on its leaves and he hasn't had an upset tummy so it must be a safe variety.

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Spider Plant >> Maidenhair Fern >> Ficus

As I mentioned before, this spider is now kept in my mini greenhouse in the hopes it will regrow where Bert has munched its leaves off. It is doing pretty well considering it had such a drastic trim, and I have given it a couple of companions. The Ficus on the left was bought on a whim, I seem to recall all of the houses of my childhood having at least one ficus, i suppose because they are fairly easy to grow. The maidenhair fern may have to find a new home as it isn't getting enough space in there to spread out, so I will probably move it into the macrame planter I am planning. They are currently a happy little trio though and I love to look at them.

I must first sing the praises of this greenhouse while I am talking about plants, it is only around £12 from Ikea and although does not initially appear sturdy, for something that you only really faff around with to water what is inside, I really like it. It is suitably sturdy enough to deter a cat anyway. Bargain!

Have you tried any houseplants to brighten up your space? Any you would recommend?

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