Fill your home with life, thanks to potted plants

  • By Melissa Rayworth Associated Press
  • Tuesday, April 23, 2013 4:38pm
  • Life

Warm weather and the first buds of spring have been slow to arrive in much of the country. But even if your garden has yet to grow, you can add beauty, fragrance and a sense of springtime to your home by decorating with lush plants and potted trees.

“Designer spaces pretty much always include some element of life,” said interior designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decordemon.com. “The most common way to add life is with potted plants and trees.”

We’ve asked Flynn, California-based interior designer Molly Luetkemeyer and Betsy Burnham of Burnham Design in Los Angeles for advice on choosing the right plants, potting them perfectly and keeping them blooming with minimal effort.

Where to start?

“Talking to someone at a nursery is a really good idea,” said Burnham, because employees at garden stores and plant nurseries are usually glad to answer questions about choosing and caring for plants.

You can choose plants based on the spot in your home where you’d like to keep them (sundrenched windowsills, shady corners). Or you can select a plant you love and then ask for advice on where to put it.

“I’m only interested in plants and trees that are low-maintenance,” Flynn said. “Give me something that requires daily care and/or delicate grooming, and it’s most likely to go from green to brown or black in less than 72 hours.”

Fabulous ferns

All three designers like ferns, such as the maidenhair. “They’re so delicate and soft,” Luetkemeyer said. “and they’re that pale green that’s the beginning green of spring.”

Maidenhairs are fairly easy to care for: “They need to be watered,” she said, “but if you water them, they hang around.”

If you want something larger and bolder than the delicate maidenhair, Flynn suggests the staghorn fern. Just remember that all ferns do best in shade rather than direct sunlight.

Flowering plants

Luetkemeyer recommends daffodils, narcissus and hyacinth. She also loves gardenia plants for their heady fragrance and shiny leaves. But they do require a bit of effort.

“Any plant that’s a woody plant, with a wood that’s exposed, is going to be a little bit trickier,” she said. Consider researching gardenias online to learn how much water and how much light your plant will need.

Potted trees

“A statement tree,” said Burnham, “adds height to your room, and plays with the light at a window.”

Flynn suggests fig trees: “Fiddle leaf fig trees are, hands down, my favorite,” he said. “They’re super architectural and almost kind of minimalist. Since these grow straight upwards, they’re perfect for corners or flanking a fireplace or focal point without growing out and over it.

“The key to using them successfully is ensuring they don’t come into contact with direct light, and that they’re not exposed to dry heat,” Flynn said.

Countertop herbs

Many grocery stores and nurseries sell herb plants such as mint or basil that are already blooming in small plastic pots. You can repot them into more attractive containers, then cluster several together on a countertop.

Perfect potting

“What you plant something in makes just as much of a statement as the tree or plant itself,” Burnham said.

One simple approach is to “put the plant into a fabulous low basket and cover it with reindeer moss,” Burnham said. “You don’t see the soil, and don’t see the plastic container inside.”

Luetkemeyer agrees that it’s worth taking time to choose the right pots: “A pot is sort of like the frame on the piece of art. It sets the tone.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.