Nest | Pilea

Once a rare sighting, the round, glossy leaves of pilea are now seen increasingly in our homes. This is largely because they are so easy to propagate.

Plantlets that spring up around their base can be snipped off and potted on in a twinkling, with the resulting plants dispersed among friends.

“They’ll lean towards the light,” says Alice Howard of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop, “so keep them out of direct sunlight. Otherwise, they are as easy to care for as they are to propagate.”

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Nest | Succulents

We’ve all bought succulents expecting them to be a breeze to look after, only to find they bolt or simply perish. 

“Most succulents are killed from over-watering,” says Alice Howard of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop. “Wait until the soil is completely dry, then water. They need constant light to prevent straggliness.” 

Hang them in a pretty planter, like these, to keep them in your eyeline for daily pleasure and monitoring.

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Nest | Cacti

You can be fooled by cacti: they look unchanged week after week, bristling stoutly in their pots, not growing. Worried, you water around their roots, and then you water a little more. Then suddenly, they rot and die. “Cacti are a good option for the negligent plant owner,” says Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop, “as long as you make sure the soil is dry before watering. And don’t water during winter.” Replicate their desert origins in a
well drained pot on a sunny windowsill and they will thrive.

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Nest | Oxalis

For a plant with such theatrical qualities – its purple leaves track the light and fold up at night like butterfly wings – an oxalis is remarkably low maintenance. Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop, recommends adding grit to the pot, and feeding every so often. And don’t give up on it during winter when it dies back – it will recover in spring and reward you with pretty lilac flowers in summer.

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Nest | Calathea

No one puts a calathea in the corner. This most flamboyant of houseplants with its dual-tone leaves – stripes on one side, deep purple on the other – deserves to be centre stage. As long as it’s kept out of direct sunlight, that is: “Its natural habitat is the jungle floor,” says Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop Artisan Store & Flower Shop, artisan store and flower shop, “so direct light will scorch its leaves. Mist regularly and water consistently, so the soil doesn’t dry out.” Do all of that and a pot of tropical lushness will be yours. 

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Nest | Ferns

With its delicate, feathery leaves, a potted fern will bring a soft lushness to any room.

Cluster a few different varieties together and the effect is even lovelier, conjuring up the speckled shadows of the forest floor.

Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop Artisan Store & Flower Shop, recommends keeping its woodland origins in mind when bringing a fern home: “Don’t place it in direct sunlight,” she says. “And don’t let the soil dry out – mist regularly, especially when the air is dry.”

A little sylvan corner right there.

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Nest | String of hearts

This pretty plant with its string of heart-shaped leaves is just lovely tumbling from the top of a cupboard; add a couple more to create a delicate screen. 

“Let the soil dry out and then give them a good drenching,” says Alice Howard, owner of Botanique Workshop, artisan store and flower shop. “And mist the leaves, otherwise they can get scorched.”

They are easy to propagate, too. Each strand can be planted in a new pot to make a new one – in no time at all, your flat surfaces will be festooned with verdant delicacy.

String of hearts in terracotta pot, from £10; Brass mister, £14, both from Botanique Workshop, Exmouth Market, London EC1 (botaniqueworkshop.com)

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Home truths: Houseplants

Maybe it's our love for all things Scandi that kickstarted the houseplant revival. The Danes and Swedes have always appreciated the power of plants in the home, whereas we lost sight of it in the 80s when too many parched spider plants expired on windowsills. Or perhaps it’s because we now spend between 80–90% of our time indoors, and hanker for a link to nature, however slender.

Whatever the reason, a potted plant does us good both mentally and physically, and is a cheap way of enlivening a room. Try one of these five lovely house plants:

1. ALOE VERA (Barbados aloe): a very undemanding desert plant, above, with sharp spiky leaves and tubular flowers. Can withstand both direct sunlight and damp and humid conditions. 

2. CHINESE MONEY PLANT (Pilea peperomiodes): can be tricky to find but worth the search. Its lily-pad shaped leaves on long stems have a white spot in their centre. 

3. MONEY PLANT (Crassula ovata): a bringer of fortune. It needs little attention but is happiest in direct light.

4. PURPLELEAF FALSE SHAMROCK (Oxalis triangularis subsp. papilionacea): each stem has three butterfly-shaped leaves that fold up at night. Pretty pink flowers in spring.

5. STRING OF BEADS (Senecio rowleyanus): trails prettily from a hanging planter. It looks delicate but is hardy and requires infrequent watering.

Turn to page 118 of April's The Simple Things for more on the wonderful world of houseplants, including planters, displaying your plants, terrariums, airplants and house plant accessories.

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Give it a Grow: Pilea Pepermioides

WHAT IS IT?

A rather trendy leafy houseplant that, until fairly recently, caused a bit of a brew-ha-ha in the horticultural world because none of the experts knew what it was called. For years it had regularly appeared at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s help desk to be identified by mystified members of the public. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that it got a name, when Kew botanist Wessel Marais suggested that it was a Chinese species of Pilea. It now has several common names, including the Chinese money plant, the missionary plant and the pancake plant.

WHY WOULD YOU?

It has a rather appealing story attached to it: the plant was introduced to Europe in 1946 by a Norwegian missionary who had been travelling in the Chinese province of Yunming. Making the most of the plant’s easy-growing nature, he gave cuttings to friends and family in Norway, who in turn passed it on to friends in Sweden, then the UK and so on. It’s easy to grow, needing indirect light, good drainage and an occasional drink when the soil is dry.

WHY WOULDN’T YOU?

It can be hard to find a plant because more often than not, it’s ‘passed on’ rather than sold via nurseries. Try eBay. 

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Make: A macrame planter

Projects to perk up the plant life in every corner of your home

Creative gardening need not be restricted to outdoors. Or, indeed, to off-the-shelf plant pots. Making a hanging plant holder is a craftier way to display greenery, and a great project for anyone finding themselves low on either time or space. 

The ancient craft of macramé was a hit with the Victorians, although it’s most associated with 1970s homespun style. Plant hangers are back, given a colourful – and, dare we say, tasteful – makeover. You can, of course, buy one (see page 8 of February’s The Simple Things), if all that knotting brings back painful memories. 

Hanging plant holder

 
You will need: 
textile yarn* 
scissors
2 plant pots, ideally already containing a plant

1 Cut five pieces of the textile yarn, each of about 4m long, and one more of about 40cm (you can adjust the measurements to your desired length).
2 Fold each of the longer pieces of yarn in half. Group all the folds together, then create a loop by wrapping the smaller piece of yarn around the grouped threads several times and tying firmly (A). 
3 Divide the 10 pieces of hanging yarn into five pairs (B). 
4 About 20cm below the top loop, take the first two threads and knot them together. Repeat for each of the pairs (C). 
5 Then, take the right hand thread from the first pair and, further down, knot it with the left hand thread from the second pair. Repeat for each thread until each piece of thread is tied to another (D). 
6 Repeat the process down the length of the yarn. The bigger you make the gap between the knots, the more space you’ll have for the pot, but you’ll need to make the knots closer together to hold the bottom of the pot. 
7 Test for size with your plant pot, before tying a secure knot underneath the pot with the threads. 
8 To add a second pot, repeat under the bottom knot using exactly the same knotting system. 
9 Finish with a large knot containing all the yarn and neaten the ends with scissors.

Project by Laetitia Lazerges, a Paris-based pattern designer who blogs at www.vertcerise.com and www.doityvette.fr. She has also written several DIY books and sells bright and fun paper goods on Etsy at www.vertceriseshop.etsy.com.

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From the February issue

Think posts

Mindfulness posts

Make: Terrarium PLUS introducing the Urban Jungle Bloggers

Creative gardening need not be restricted to outdoors. Or, indeed, to off-the-shelf plant pots. Making a terrarium is a craftier way to display greenery and is a great project for anyone finding themselves low on either time or space. Building terraria is a revival of a past craze, which - hopefully much like your plants - has refused to die. Turn to page 106 of May's The Simple Things to find out how to make your own.

Got a taste for the green stuff? You're a born Urban Jungle Blogger.

Urban Jungle Bloggers is a mutual project initiated by Igor of Happy Interior Blog and Judith of JOELIX.com. They share a passion for plants and living with plants and decided to kick off a monthly blog series about living with plants, which soon turned into a thriving green community with almost 600 international bloggers joining in.

The Urban Jungle Bloggers team announces a monthly topic around styling with plants and informs the community through a monthly newsletter. Everyone who wants to can then join in and interpret the given theme according to their own style and home. There is no obligation to join in every month, so Urban Jungle Bloggers can pick whatever topic they like and share their green inspiration. Every blogger's efforts are then shared with the community on www.urbanjunglebloggers.com and on social media.

Don't have a blog? You can still join in. The team uses the hashtag #urbanjunglebloggers on Instagram which allows everyone to share and tag their green pics, with the images then shown in an interactive gallery on the Urban Jungle Bloggers website.

To join in, sign up for the monthly newsletter here. 

Find the terrarium make in May's The Simple Things. Buy, download or subscribe now.

How not to kill a houseplant

THE HOUSE PLANT IS BACK (and not a spider plant in sight!). Create an pretty indoor country garden like this one or a striking display of succulents (the minimalist houseplant perfect for the lazy gardener). Don't be put off by any previous disasters, follow the golden rules of how to keep your house plants happy and your indoor garden will thrive.

9 ways not to kill your house plants

1. Position with care. Choose plants that suit the light levels and temperature of the room in which they'll be positioned - don't expect a sun-loving plant to thrive in a cold, shady area.

2. Avoid extremes. Windowsills in direct sunlight will be too hot for most houseplants. Don't place houseplants over direct sources of heat, such as radiators. Make sure you keep delicate plants away from drying draughts.

3. Seek the light. Ensure there's sufficient light for your plants to photosynthesise effectively.

4. Pot on regularly. You should aim to repot your house plants into larger pots every two years or so to help them thrive. Use a good compost such as GroChar from Carbon Gold.

5. Be well equipped. Use the proper tools for indoor gardening. You'll need a long-spouted watering can, a mister, a long-handled fork and a pair of scissors.

6. Water wisely. Don't overwater house plants - adding drainage material to the bottom of the pot will help to keep roots aerated and ensure they don't drown.

7. Allow to rest. During the winter, move plants to a cooler position - most plants are dormant at this time, so don't need as much sunlight. Reduce the amount of water and food you provide to prevent mould and root rot. Move plants away from windows, which will be too cold in winter.

8. Be vigilant. Learn to recognise potential problems early on before a pest infestation or other physiological problems kill off your plants. Danger signs for low air humidity include flower buds falling off, leaves withering and leaves with brown tips. Signs of high humidity include mould, rot and soft growth.

9. Think long-term. Some popular house plants have a short growing period, so choose plants that will thrive for longer if you want a year-round display.

Read more about how to create your indoor garden in The Green Room, Issue 20 of The Simple Things, out now.

The House Gardener by Isabelle Palmer. Photography Helen Cathcart. Cico Books.