Houseplants do more than just beautify and fill empty spaces. They offer a host of physical and mental health benefits too. They can help lift our moods, instil feelings of calm, provide a natural solution to cleaner air and even make us more productive. And you can place them just about anywhere around the home. Here are a few ideas to give them some height:
● Need some privacy in front of a window? Hang baskets of sun-loving plants instead of curtains or blinds for a living window treatment.
● Fill a forgotten corner with a cluster of test-tube planters, strung up at various levels.
● Turn a blank wall into a ‘living wall’ with a grouping of several statement plants in interesting containers. Or use a number of identical containers in a crisscross, triangular, square or circular arrangement for added interest.
● Not just for ‘on top’ of the coffee table, glass-bubble terrariums can add a whole new dimension hung low, ‘above’ the table, instead. Mix and match them in various shapes and sizes, and fill them with a variety of plants.
● Create a vertical garden on a narrow wall with mounted box planters in wood or metal, one directly above the other. Use a selection of cascading and trailing plants for a more cohesive effect.
● Plants that love warm, moist air will thrive in a light-filled bathroom. Hang them in your line of sight as you relax in the bath.
● Hang an upside-down garden above the dining-room table using Boskke Sky Planters. Derived from the old English word ‘bosky’ (which means ‘a small forest’) these clever planters use a drainage system that ensures no mess and no fuss. They’re available in various sizes and colours, from R300 up.
● Turn large glass jars into an indoor herb garden by securing them with pipe clamps to a wooden board or crate and mounting this on the kitchen wall within easy picking reach. Chalkboard jars would work especially well here as you can label each one – basil, mint, thyme, etc.
● Suspend an indoor, custom-made pergola from your living-room or kitchen ceiling and ‘green’ it with a climbing plant or vine.
● Install a long, narrow plant box on a wall in a study or home office (preferably on the wall directly across from your desk or workspace) and fill it with a range of plants to help improve concentration and boost creativity.
● Think ‘out the box’ in terms of containers – from hanging colanders as planters in the kitchen, to galvanised metal buckets mounted in a row on a wall, terracotta pots painted in an assortment of bright colours or plastic pots covered in floral fabrics using spray adhesive.
● Also think ‘variety’ in terms of plants. Choose plants that bloom with flowers that are fragrant and last a long time, or plants with colourful foliage or leaves with unusual shapes and textures.
● Quick tip – the soil in hanging containers will dry out much quicker than the soil in your garden, so be prepared to water daily, unless you are using water-wise plants.
Leave a Comment