With snow and ice bearing down, many of us are left to indoor gardening chores. You may even find yourself thinking about the Christmas cactus, poinsettia or cyclamen you were given as gift.

Indoor plants can certainly add beauty and enjoyment to your home but only while they remain healthy. Many gardeners begin their struggle with houseplants in choosing the wrong location with regard to light.

The amount of light a plant requires will vary by type. When deciding on where to place your plant in your home it will help to understand the window and light environment.

East facing windows receive cool morning sun, and are good choices for most houseplants. However, in the winter, east windows receive more sunlight than the rest of the year.

Remember that light is measured in foot-candles and a bright sunny day outside may register as high as 10,000 foot-candles. Indoors it may drop of to the point of only 300 to 500 depending on where you take the measurement.

Light is certainly important, but the leading cause of death to most houseplants comes from overwatering. Soggy soils can happen for a variety of reasons. First, and absolute, your container must have drainage holes. It is unbelievable to see how many beautiful houseplants are placed in expensive decorative containers that need to have holes drilled.

Selecting a good lightweight potting soil is also paramount to your success. Cheap potting soil sold by the pound is heavy and it simply holds too much water. I still find many unsuspecting gardeners using topsoil from the garden in containers. This is not a good idea from the standpoint of drainage, soil borne diseases and insects.

Once you do have your plant in good soil you can determine whether or not your plant needs watering by gently pushing your finger to about 1 Z\x to 2 inches deep to feel if it is dry. Make this a regular practice before each watering.

Spring is coming, and the landscape will wait, but for now see where some foliage or flowers might add beauty to your home and indoor environment.