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With garden spaces becoming so limited, you can grow a wide range of flowering and foliage plants in every corner of your house to add beauty to your home interiors and to get immense pleasure and fun.
In recent years, there is an increasing interest in house plants which can be effectively used in interior decoration.
Indoor plants need not necessarily be confined to the living room and garden room alone; bedroom, kitchen, staircases, patios and other locations can be decorated with suitable plants. House plants are not restricted to residential houses; there has been tremendous scope in the use of these plants in beautifying offices, hotels, hospitals and almost all public buildings. A bit of greenery helps in breaking or softening the harsh lines of modern office buildings or apartment buildings.
In the modern concept and practice of indoor gardening, the scope of growing plants has been extended to many areas in and around the house including balcony and veranda, terraces and patios and almost all types of plants are being used depending on the environment, particularly light and temperature.
Plants are considered very important in modern interior designs. They make the home environment closer to nature. In decorating indoors with plants a definite scheme is to be followed. Mere placing of some plants here and there is not enough. As a focal point in an interior, the plants are to be arranged in such a way that they become an integral part of the whole. The relationship between the size of a plant and that of a room is important. A full grown Ficus elastica will not suit a small room and a solitary fern will not add anything to a spacious living room. A simple room is brought to life with one or two specimen plants.
A number of tree species which grow into large specimens are extremely useful as house plants. And it is surprising that trees that grow huge under natural conditions may thrive and flourish well in small containers in an indoor environment for years. The most important groups of such plants are the species and varieties of Ficus, having a spectacular effect.
Plants are sometimes used as room dividers. They are quite effective in creating the feeling of a defined space and also in reducing noise levels between the spaces defined by means of strategic placement of plants. Good choice for plants used as room dividers are large foliage specimens such as Dracaena, Philodendron, Monstera, hanging basket stands(species of Chlorophytum Episcia, Zebrina), small and medium potted plants(Aglonema, Diffenbachia). The pots selected should suit the room's dŽcor.
Plants are especially effective when used as a part of a window. They can help to break the plainness of a large expanse of glass. Often plants are used to create more interest at a window or to aid in making the outside appearance to be an extension of the indoor living area. Plants suitable for window boxes are calathea, pepromia, coleus. Many elegant and hardy palms are also considered as ideal house plants.
Thus, an imaginative use of plants can transform a dull spot into positive decorative place. Interesting colors can be added by planting flowering plants along with the foliage plants in such places.
