Decorating Tip: Bring your Space to Life

Do you have a space in your home that just seems a little flat or lifeless? If you do, one way to bring some immediate life to it is with the addition of a house plant. Many people fear plants and think that they’re impossible to keep alive. This really isn’t the case. Most houseplants only require two things: sunlight and water. If you make sure that your plant has enough light, that’s half the battle right there.

As far as watering plants, that’s really going to depend on the humidity in your area. Here, I water my indoor plants once a week. One thing I would recommend is to leave the plant in a separate, plastic container (even the one that it came in). Just place that container in the decorative object you’ll be using to display the plant. When it comes time to water your plants, remove them from their decorative homes and place then, in their plastic containers, in the kitchen sink. Let them sit there to drain for a few hours after you’ve watered them. That way, you know you won’t have any build-up of standing water. Another handy little tool is a glass water globe. Just fill them up with water once a week, and the plant can draw as much water as it needs from them.

Plantzilla likes sunshine.

Adding a plant to a room brings color and life into the space. The addition of a live plant adds dimension and motion to a room. With just the slightest effort most plants will live a long time. As testament to that, I would like to point out the fiddle-leaf fig that’s called “Plantzilla.” Plantzilla lived in my parents’ house for many years before coming here eight years ago. As you can see, at ten feet tall, she’s doing quite well even though she’s about twenty years old. Just for reference, she started out life as a small potted plant--small enough to sit on an end table.  If I can keep Plantzilla alive, surely anybody can manage with a normal sized plant.