Bring Some Spring Indoors with 5 Easy Ways to Care for House Plants

While we’re all spending large amounts of time sheltering at home, you may find yourself wanting to add some greenery to your indoor spaces. Aside from the obvious health benefits of plants to purify the air you’re breathing indoors, having houseplants softens stark environments and gives a sense of connectedness to Mother Nature. The mere task of watering, cleaning or repotting houseplants is proven to reduce stress.

FIVE EASY TO CARE FOR INDOOR PLANTS:

• Snake Plant
• Pothos
• Peace Lily
• Dracaenas
• Philodendrons

Many nurseries are still operating with some allowances for following provincial health measures. A good idea is to choose one or two garden centres and look at their social media accounts as often they post about plants that are freshly delivered or in bloom with many sales or promotions.

Several currently have curb-side pickup, so you can order and pay from the safety of your home and pick it up in their parking lot. Art Knapps Poco, Potters in Surrey, Arts Nursery in Port Kells, and Cedar Rim in Langley all cater to this type of shopping (and are all on Instagram!).

There are many options when planning to “green up” your home. Tropical plants are grouped in to hanging, standing, and sitting categories. Hanging plants are really handy because they don’t take any space. A standing plant or two adds drama to a room and helps anchor it.

Tabletop tropicals like succulents are the small, fun plants we use to dress up areas like powder rooms, kitchens and desktops. These can be rotated with the seasons ensuring these rooms always look fresh. Try to include some from each category to really elevate your space.

A tip to ensure success with plants that will work best in your home is to research what varieties of plants will best suit the light levels throughout. Some plants do better in low light, some require heavy sun exposure in order to thrive. There are many good websites to browse that provide solid information so you will be armed with some suggestions before you phone in your order.

If you have some plants already then perhaps think about upgrading their pots. The variety of indoor pots now is light years ahead of what was traditionally available to consumers for many years. Choose from among ceramics, terra cotta, metals, high quality plastics and much more. The textures, shapes and colours are irresistible. Shopping from local artisans is also a feel good way to spend your money during this time.

Remember, indoor gardening is meant to be enjoyable and is absolutely a great way to pass time while self-isolating. If some of your plants fail to thrive, it’s okay. Other plants will thrive and there’s nothing more gratifying.