DEAR GAIL: What are your thoughts on decorating with plants? Should we get real ones or silk and what type and where? Suzanne
DEAR SUZANNE: I love decorating with plants. They bring the outdoors in, breathe life into any room and soften your décor. Green represents life, nature and growth. It is the most prominent color on the Earth’s surface than any other. It is so prevalent in nature that we never question its place in any room, no matter what the color scheme is.
So with that said, how green are your thumbs? If you have the time, and can grow and maintain healthy good-looking plants, by all means decorate with real plants. Live plants breathe oxygen into the air and make us feel good about having living and growing items in our homes.
But if your thumbs are brown like mine, then silk plants are the best way to go. There is nothing worst than seeing brown, limp and dying plants in a home. It immediately gives the feeling and impression of being un-maintained.
With live plants, first consider where you are going to place them. How much light will them get? What size of container can you use? Have this information in mind when you start shopping for your plants. You’ll want to select plants whose lighting requirements and container needs are suitable for the area you are placing them.
If you’re new to growing houseplants, go to a nursery to purchase them. Talk to an expert and they can properly direct you to a plant that will do well in your homes’ environment. Some that even I’ve had success with are: philodendrons, Mothers-in-Law Tongue, Boston fern and jade plants.
If silk plants are the way you prefer to go, or for those areas of your home where live plants don’t have a chance to survive, there are some silk plants guidelines you’ll want to follow.
First, even though they are silk, you want them to look as real as possible. To do this, select greenery and flowers that are also found in nature. Purchase the best quality you can afford because better quality silk do look closer to real. Even though they are silk, they do require maintenance. Clean them on a regular basis so that the dust doesn’t build up. Shine the leaves to give them a healthy appearance.
If you are going to place silks outside on your front porch or back patio, along with only using plants normally seen in nature and especially in our environment, place them in outdoor containers and then add dirt to the top instead of the fake green moss. The dirt gives the illusion that the plants could be real and if you do spend a little more on them, you’ll have your guests guessing.
Whether live or silk, you’ll want to select plants that coordinate with your rooms’ theme, mood, style and color scheme. Classic traditional arrangements could include roses, iris, snapdragons and carnations. If your dècor is more casual, consider mixing greens and flowering plants of pothos, ivy, sunflowers and daisies. Have more clean lines and smooth surfaces? Use bold exotic flowers. Orchids are a favorite as they have strong lines that look wonderful standing all on their own.
Some other tips are to: cluster plants as it gives them identity and weight, especially if they are too small to be placed alone, group plants in odd numbers and with different heights and create interest by elevating plants. Ferns are especially attractive on a pedestal or in tall iron planters.
Also, place plants so that they relate to the furnishings in the room. Use trees and floor plants to anchor artwork on the wall to the floor or to soften and break the vertical line of a bookcase, armoire or entertainment unit. Avoid placing trees in corners just to fill the space. If you have an empty corner, bring the plant out into the room a little.
Greenery are excellent fillers and bring the outdoors in, so I would definitely add them into your dècor. Just one word of advice, too much of anything is not always a good thing. Don’t overdue and have so much greenery that you can’t see, "the forest from the trees."