Styling Your Space With Plants
It’s no surprise we love plants. Not only can they make our space feel more alive and vibrant, but they also help reduce stress and fatigue. House plants also offer more benefits like boosting productivity, concentration, and creativity. They also help keep the air clean in the home by absorbing toxins, increasing humidity, and producing oxygen.
So, what’s not to love!? I know I know, I hear it all the time from clients…
“I don’t want to take care of them!”
“I always kill plants!”
“Who waters them when I’m out of town?”
And the most popular question I get… “How do I choose which plants and pots?”
In this blog not only will we walk you through how to choose, but we will also share our favorite planters with you!
Before I tell you how to style your house plants, let’s rewind and talk about my black thumb journey. I loved the benefits and look of plants, but after many plant funerals and spending way too much money replacing them I needed to figure out how to maintain them long term.
The first step I took was putting a reminder on my calendar every two weeks to water them with my busy schedule.
The second step was buying these cute plant cards to stick in the plants with directions. We also love these waterproof black and white ones that you can write on with this pen.
The third lesson was getting low-maintenance plants that match the environment in my home (my house, the Treehouse, loves a bullet-proof plant like the pothos that requires low light and low water). To learn which plants might work, I found a shop in town where I vibed with the employees, and they became my teachers. I would show them photos of the space, tell them how much light it typically gets, and whether or not I’m trustworthy enough to take care of said plant. From there, they guided me to what the best options were. More on this in the next section.
After much improvement, but still experiencing my black thumb saga, I decided to go one step further. I hired someone to come to my home every three weeks to check on my plants. I found it cheaper to have someone caring for my plants than to frequent the local plant shop for replacements. In-home plant care isn’t common yet, but I’m sure you could call around to your local shops or search Craigslist to find someone who could help you!
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT PLANTS
Assess your home’s lighting before purchasing plants. Do you lack natural light or are surrounded by trees/buildings? Then you should consider lowlight plants. The range of varieties for each species is vast; there’s over 70 types of snake plants (Sansevieria) alone! For my home, Colleen from Solabee recommended snake plants (Sansevieria), ZZ plants (Zamioculcas zamiifolia), Pothos (Epipremnum aureum), and Philodendron to name a few.
✨Pro Tip✨ This can be really overwhelming, so again, lean on those who know plants best! Especially the pros at your local plant shops. I guarantee they will be so excited to help you out.
HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT POTS
When you can, source pots locally at plant shops, or your local vintage shop will have some unique pieces with tons of character. Your plant’s home should be aesthetically pleasing too! Reminder to make sure your pot has drainage if the plant calls for it.
✨Pro Tip✨ Make sure to know what size container your plant requires, as some plants need room to grow! You can ask your local plant shop these questions.
Some of our favorite planters to hang on a wall:
Naturespire has practical holders for walls so water can drain! They are nothing fancy, but we love it so the plants can do the talking!
Some of our favorite planters for a table or floor:
We love these pedestal planters by Mantel
Our favorite stand by Rejuvenation
You can’t go wrong with this planter stand from Room & Board
These are great for a pop of color and an element of surprise at Sazerac Stitches
And of course, you know we love Uashmama planter bags!
For our Slender House project, we decided to use Naturespire to style plants in the guest bathroom. This not only added a fresh and visually appealing element to the space, but also proved to be perfect for the owner who was concerned about her pets getting into house plants.
Plants contribute a lot of positive energy to my spaces, so my home is FILLED with them! I let go of perfection. 80% of my plants are thriving and 20% look sad, and that’s okay to me. It’s a representation of life and it’s ups and downs. Eventually I’ll get around to finding a happier spot for my sad plants or I’ll plan for a funeral. ;) Start with one plant, test out how it alters your space and its needs match your schedule. You don’t have to rush into being a plant owner, start small and build from there. If you’re someone who isn’t able to care for plants or has some other conflict (pets, allergies, etc.), there are faux options too!
Happy green thumbing!
Wendy
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HELPFUL LINKS
If you live in the Portland metro area, we can’t talk about plants without mentioning The Plant Doctors! From house visits to bringing plants back from the dead, they are the unsung heroes of Portland house plants.
Here is a reel with Solabee teaching us about low-light plants!
Affiliate Disclosure: Teal and Wendy hand-pick every product they recommend. Some product links are affiliates and may provide a small kickback to T&S at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, they earn from qualifying purchases.
