As our time spent in the garden starts to reduce, with shorter days and anticipated colder weather, it is a good opportunity to focus some of our attention on any indoor plants we have. There was a time they seemed to lose favour, but looking at the many new shops springing up with a wide variety to choose from, I think they are back as a positive trend.
I remember, when I was younger, everyone had a cheese plant. They seemed to go completely out of fashion and have now become quite popular again, I recently bought a plant, often mistake for a cheese plant. It is a close relative of the Swiss cheese plant, called the Philodendron Monkey Mask or Monstera adansonii. A cute name for a cute plant and so called due to the slight resemblance of the leaves to that of a cheeky monkey.
It is easy to care for so long as it has moist, warm conditions. The plant has a vining habit and often grows entwined in and around itself, with new leaves and vines sometimes growing through the holes in existing leaves. This can lead to leaves tearing which gives the plant a shabby chic rather than pristine appeal. My small one sits on my bathroom window ledge.
Other popular plants at the moment are cacti, in all shapes and sizes. They seem to be everywhere now and are usually sold in a small container, of which there seems to be a myriad of options to suit any design trend.
The thing with houseplants is that they don’t just look good, they can purify the air around us too.
READ MORE: Making the most of short days in the garden
Rumour has it that being surrounded by houseplants is good for our mood too. If you don’t have any then why not invest is a few to brighten your home for the winter?
My collection exceeds 80, throughout the house, ranging from succulents to cacti to feature plants. On my desk, I have a small group of succulents, cacti and air plants all carefully placed in a selection of different containers. In my book you can never have too many.
My oldest plant is a Christmas cacti, which belonged to my grandparents and was acquired in the 1960s. When they passed away their daughter had it and when she died in 2004 it came to me. It usually flowers profusely every year.
Through the winter months my indoor plants grow significantly in number, as I transfer all the succulents from the garden indoors for winter protection. It can be quite a difficult balance to try and accommodate them all with the regulars there all year round.
Read More of Geoff’s garden at www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk
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