Designers decorate with plants
Decorating with plants “kind of fell out of vogue” for a time, said California-based interior designer Molly Luetkemeyer. “It was such a '70s thing, or I think people associated it with the '70s,” but it's become popular again recently.
Today, “designer spaces pretty much always include some element of life,” said interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decordemon.com. “While that can be anything from coral to tortoise shells, pressed leaves or even a tiny bowl with a goldfish, the most common way to add life is with potted plants and trees.”
Flynn, Luetkemeyer and Betsy Burnham of Burnham Design in Los Angeles offer advice on choosing the right plants, potting them perfectly and keeping them blooming with minimal effort.
Where to start?
“Talking to someone at a nursery is a really good idea,” said Burnham, because employees at garden stores and plant nurseries are usually glad to answer questions about choosing and caring for plants.
You can choose plants based on the spot in your home where you'd like to keep them (sun-drenched windowsills, shady corners or in-between spaces that get a mix of sun and shade). Or you can select a plant you love and then ask for advice on where to place it.
If you have pets or small children, ask whether a plant you're considering is poisonous. And if you want plants that need very little attention, don't be shy about saying so.
“While I'm a fan of making a big statement with greenery,” Flynn said, “I'm only interested in plants and trees that are low-maintenance. Give me something that requires daily care and/or delicate grooming, and it's most likely going to go from green to brown or black in less than 72 hours.”
Warm weather and the first buds of spring have been slow to arrive in much of the country. But even if your garden has yet to grow, you can add beauty, fragrance and a sense of springtime to your home by decorating indoors with lush plants and potted trees.
All three designers like ferns, such as the maidenhair. “They're so delicate and soft,” said Luetkemeyer. “They're fresh, and they're that pale green that's the beginning green of spring.”Maidenhairs are fairly easy to care for: “They need to be watered,” she said, “but if you water them, they hang around.”Consider grouping several together in small pots or buying just one large fern.“They can ground a space grouped together in odd numbers in pots of varied heights on the floor,” Flynn said.
“I love plants that flower in the spring,” said Luetkemeyer, who recommends daffodils, narcissus and hyacinth. She also loves gardenia plants for their heady fragrance and shiny leaves. But they do require a bit of effort.“Any plant that's a woody plant, with a wood that's exposed, is going to be a little bit trickier,” she said. Consider researching gardenias online to learn how much water and how much light your plant will need.And with all potted plants, Luetkemeyer suggests placing a dish underneath the pot to catch and maintain the water, then placing a coaster underneath the dish to protect the furniture or floor.
