FIVE BEST (EASY CARE) HOUSE PLANTS

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love plants and flowers around my home. I regularly buy fresh flowers to brighten up the living room and kitchen but for the most part I decorate with plenty of faux flowers and plants. We have a pretty neutral home so flowers and plants is one of the key ways I like to inject some colour, especially when the seasons change. It’s also nice to have a wee (ahem, huge) supply of faux flowers to mix and match whenever I fancy a change. However with that being said, we always agreed that when we bought our house we would get a bunch of real house plants to help bring a bit of the outdoors inside, and to help with the air quality. Plants are proven to purify the polluted air in your home so this was one of our main reasons for investing in some real plants rather than just faux!

However where to start…? We really didn’t have a clue other than the fact that we wanted house plants that were easy to care for, air purifying and well, lets be honest – good looking! After doing some thorough research we finally decided on some – 5 to be exact and well, I’ve now turned into a bit of a plant hoarder.

1. SUCCULENTS

We’ll start off with probably the easiest and smallest one…succulents. These cutesy little plants immediately brighten up any area and because they are so dinky you can literally pop them anywhere – work desk, bedside table, window ledge. You can also get the cutest little succulent pots too and the best part, they are incredibly difficult to kill! Most succulents can handle neglect so they’re great for new plant owners. It’s good to let them dry out a little before watering and you can fertilise once or twice per year et voila!

2. FICUS BENJAMINA AKA ‘WEEPING FIG’

This was the first ‘big’ plant that I got and it’s probably my favourite. I got it for our living room and it’s just so pretty with it’s twisting trunk and lush evergreen foliage. These are known as one of the best air purifiers and can usually grow anywhere from 3-6 feet in indoor environments (and up to 60 feet outdoors in its native tropical climates!) Again it’s very easy to care for. Weeping fig trees like sunlight so make sure it’s placed in a room that gets a lot of natural light and keep the soil steadily moist. I usually find that once per week is great for watering but a good tip is to just have a little feel of the soil when you pass by and if the first few cm feels like it’s drying out, just give it a water until it runs out the bottom of the pot. It’s important to make sure that you get a plant pot with holes in the bottom as you don’t want the roots sitting in water – this can cause root rot. Follow these simple steps and you’ll have the prettiest lushest little tree that will be sure to get loads of compliments!

3. ENGLISH IVY

I’ve always loved the look of English Ivy so I was delighted to hear that it is one of the easiest indoor plants to care for…I’m all about that low maintenance plant life. Ivy is used to rain (she is English afterall) so she likes to be spritzed with water every couple of days. She’ll cope with basically any light conditions but particularly likes indirect bright light. Ivy doesn’t like soggy soil so just have a feel and water when the top two inches feel dry. In my home, once per week usually does the job. I have 4 ivy plants I love it that much – one in the dining room, two in the office and one in our bedroom.

4. DEVIL’S IVY

Devil’s Ivy is like English Ivy’s bigger – even easier to care for – sister. This is an ideal beginners plant and is extremely low maintenance. Again, she’ll cope well in most light conditions and needs watering around once per week when the top layer of soil feels dry. This one is amazing as a hanging plant and also looks great on a shelf or mantlepiece. It has lots of large luscious leaves and will generally just get on with things as long as you water and give her a little spritz every now and again.

5. KENTIA PALM TREE (AKA BIG KEN)

Fun fact, Kentia palm trees were used to decorate the Titanic (first class of course). I got this interesting little fact from Patch plants where I picked up ‘Big Ken’. Isn’t he a beauty! I must admit, I wasn’t keen on getting a palm tree but my other half picked this one out and I’m so glad we got him. We have him in the hall and he’s the first thing you see when you open up the front door. He just brightens up the space and injects so much character! This is another great air purifying plant and needs watering around once per week when the top layer of soil feels dry. He also likes a regular little mist on his leaves to keep them looking nice and green (every couple of days should do). If you’re looking for a ‘statement’ easy to care for indoor plant, the Kentia Palm is the one.

And that’s my current easy to care for, indoor plants. If you’ve been thinking of getting some plants for your home but unsure where to start then I hope this has been useful in some way. I never thought I’d be that person with loads of plants but I’m a true convert and have a bit of a new obsession. Who knew I’d be swapping out beauty and clothes for plants eh? JOKES. We all know that will never happen. Oh well looks like I have yet another ‘lust list’. Surely I can’t be the only one?

Do you have any indoor plants? I’d love to know your favourites!

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Lots of love,
Chantelle xx