Garden Therapy! Hardy Houseplants!

Garden Therapy!  Hardy Houseplants!

Compared to the East coast, we have had a very mild winter season here in Utah, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t have a bit of spring fever!  I’m especially excited to get outside and do some gardening, but since Utah is considered to be a Zone 6 growing climate, and planting flowers outside is not generally advised until right around Mother’s Day, so other than doing some basic clean-up, I have had to rely on hardy plants on my porch and inside my house to tide me over until then!

Although we may dream of having an indoor “Shangri la” garden of sorts, our time restraints and abilities aren’t always conducive to creating it–that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little piece of plant paradise in our homes!

 (via “Decorating With Plants” by Marybeth Little Weston)

A Few Hardy, Awe-Inspiring Houseplants!

Pothos:

Although my mother and grandma adorned their homes with beautiful plants, my first houseplant was a variegated pathos that hung in a macramé plant holder in my first college apartment!  It is so hard to believe that macramé has made such a huge come-back in home décor, (…who would have ever guessed???) but pothos plants have always been popular houseplants because of their hardiness and their brilliant green leaves!

Now days, I usually put one out on my patio during the summer months.  Pothos plants trail beautifully and just need to be watered every few days, but they don’t do well in direct sunlight.

Variegated ivy plants are very similar to pathos as far as their ease of care, stunning leaf color and trailing quality.

Ferns:

My mom used to have a large fern sitting on a gold pedestal stand in the entryway of her home.  Other than needing to give ferns a good weekly watering, along with an occasional spritzing and a some filtered morning light, ferns are a great way to give a blah corner in your home some great color and texture!

Ferns make great outdoor plants in your yard too, as long as they are kept in a spot that is mostly shady!

I’m in love with the new little air ferns that are so popular today and require little or no care!  Pinterest is chalk-full of eclectic ideas on displaying these fun ferns!

Succulents:

If there was a special plant award given for the best “come-back” plant of the year, succulents would win it, hands down!  Home Depot even has a special section of their plant area devoted to succulents!  I have leaned that the key to succulent care is not to overwater.

It tickled me to see that my daughter, who lives in New York City, even gave her urban apartment a little punch of plant life with some fun succulents!

Kalanchoe:

This time of year, I really start craving some natural color in my home, but other than bunches of fresh cut flowers from a flower shop or grocery store, I couldn’t find too many hardy flowering houseplants until I came across Kalanchoe plants.

Kalanchoe come in a variety of colors and are reasonably priced  at most garden centers.  They have a long blooming timeframe and will do well outside on your porch or patio as long as temperatures are above freezing.

Other colorful plants that do well both inside and out are coleus, begonias, and geraniums.  I remember my grandmother transplanting many of her begonia and geranium plants into clay pots in the fall and putting them on her kitchen window sill before the first freezing temperatures of winter–then she would plant them back out in her yard during the spring and summer months.  I am just not that ambitious, but it sure made for lovely flowers inside…and out during each season of the year!

I still like to get some fresh cut flowers for around my house too!  Although tulips aren’t really considered to be hardy flowers, since they only last about a week or so, it just doesn’t seem quite right not to have a vase or two of them around the house during springtime!

Another thing I do to get the most bang for my buck when it comes to fresh flowers is to pick out a variety of what florists call “filler” flowers at my local flower shop.  I can’t explain why, but they seem to have a better longevity than some of the regular sized blooms and are just as pretty!

As great as the plants are themselves, finding some neat containers and pots to plant them in and then displaying them in ways that accent your home décor is just as fun!

All your Easter candy gone, why not fill your basket with pansies then!

With bright forsythia blossoms in it, this old bucket I got never looked so good!

This rustic plant décor, via “Country Living” magazine, is definitely my zen!

According to an article by Yahoo Makers having houseplants can actually help improve the air quality of your home too!

I’m always looking for some new plant ideas to change things up a bit in my home, please share some of the hardy houseplants you love. 

–Mary