Plants are known to reduce stress levels, increase concentration, productivity and even cure illness. It's no real surprise that more of us are bringing them in to our homes.
With London offering little in the way of outdoor garden space, there's every opportunity to still get creative and utilise your interior to make a botanical haven. Dedicating a Sunday morning however to explore Columbia Road flower market and essentially going in blind can be a very overwhelming experience.
To provide more realistic and informed help, we recently spoke to Caro Langton and Rosie Ray from Ro Co who shared their wisdom and experience in the field of buying the right plants for your home or urban space. Encouraging everybody to invest in plants and merge them in to their homes, the brand emphasise capturing the charm of indoor plants in a way that is sustainable, affordable and inspiring. As such, we asked for some tips on approaching interior plant arrangements and how to make them work in any space.
Where To Start
As a busy man, both in work and leisure, it's more than likely you don't want to start with anything that's too difficult to look after, but will still brighten up your home environment. With this in mind, Caro recommends cacti:
"If you want ease, this is definitely what you should go for. They like to be ignored and you can get some really elegant, almost architectural varieties which add a bit of green without overpowering a whole room. In terms of styling, we think a group of plants in different sized pots works well."
"Smaller flats tend to have less natural light. If you want to utilise space, we'd suggest a simple hanging planter in a bedroom or a collection of pots on a clear windowsill." Caro also advises, acknowledging that we're certainly not all graced with a grand amount of space to work with, however insisting on not feeling overly restricted with the types of plant that you should buy. "Certain tropical plants like Monstera look impressive and do very well with lots of diffused light."
Rope plant hangers can be very useful and you should also consider placing plants on top of cupboards and window sills. Concrete pots provide the perfect opportunity to do so stylishly; "I think for us the attraction is the contrast of texture between the natural and the man-made. It's also a pleasure to see the differences in surface grain and pattern of each new pot that we cast and polish."
Terrariums
Terrariums are a great option for people with limited space who are looking to create a community of small plants. A terrarium works as a type of miniature ecosystem, allowing heat and light to enter a transparent case, creating a natural small-scale water cycle and essentially providing an ideal environment for plants to grow.
To create a simple homemade terrarium, "the most important thing is drainage." says Caro. "Start off with a layer of small stones to prevent any excess moisture causing rot. If you want to keep things even more basic, you can put a small potted plant inside a glass vessel.” One last key tip to remember if you think that terrarium building might be your botanical avenue is to bear in mind: "Desert plants should have the lid off; tropical plants require the lid on.”
Improve Your Wellbeing
We finally wanted to know Ro Co's evaluation on how having plants around you can improve your life. They agreeably confirm, "In the UK we spend far too much of our time indoors. We think plants make a room feel more spacious; they give a room depth. We also believe that nurture is incredibly important for everyone. The home should symbolise this, and plants provide the perfect background.”
Visit the Ro Co site to discover more about the planting studio’s activities.