Our love of houseplants has deep roots. History has recorded that the ancient Greeks filled their villas with violets in terracotta tubs, while the Romans preferred blowsy roses in marble urns. The Chinese grew miniature trees in dishes. The Pharaohs

One of Earth’s most ancient plants, this is a great air purifier. It also boosts indoor humidity and counteracts the drying effects of central heating and air conditioning. Nature’s little caretaker, not only does this plant dispose of airborne nasti

For most of us, the living room is the focal point of our home and more often than not the space that best reflects our sense of style. Houseplants can be used to accentuate the overall look of this room, whether it’s adding a bit of boho chic with l

About five years ago, I began making terrariums. It started with a few friends hanging out at the weekend and making bottle gardens. It sounds funny now, thinking back, but throughout university, while living in London, houseplants played a leading r

To make your closed terrarium, you will need a demijohn, compost, small stones, activated charcoal, carpet moss and some ferns. You can also use humidity-loving plants such as fittonia. You will also need a selection of tools as instructed in the ste

While you’re dreaming of discovering the perfect container for your new terrarium (see page 14), plan a feature wall for your living room with Sanderson’s new Glasshouse wallpaper range. Its Terrariums design is filled with botanical beauties (cacti

It’s tempting to gather armfuls of greenery when you visit a houseplant store and end up with a shopping basket resembling a miniature jungle. Slow down, take your time, choose each plant with care and start with just one. Your experience will grow a

Summer Rayne Oakes takes a love of houseplants to the next level. Currently the owner of more than a thousand plants in her Brooklyn apartment, she is also the host and producer of YouTube plant advice channel Plant One On Me. Her blog and Instagram

The kitchen offers plenty of opportunity to try something a bit different when it comes to houseplants. While luscious green leaves look great in all rooms in the house, edible plants are the go-to choice to place on a sunny windowsill within easy re

Herbs are the natural choice for kitchen plants, so you don’t need to do much to make the most of them. First, choose a really light location – many herbs are native to hot countries so will enjoy growing on a sunny window ledge. If your window is so

You could hardly fail to notice the popularity of making Christmas wreaths – last winter just about every florist and craft shop advertised these creative classes. But wreaths aren’t just for the festive season – they’re a novel way to bring more gre

Simply buy a pack of living lettuce or grow your own from seed then transform the plant into a nourishing and vibrant work of edible art. Here’s how… Wire wreath frame, moss (in sheets if possible, available from florists), compost, spool of wire, y

Thoughtfully designed kitchens have done away with many of the familiar storage tricks of previous decades. Remember floor-standing pan racks with shelves sized to fit your range of saucepans – why not bring them back as plant stands? Great for a for

Plants such as herbs look great in a single planter as you can choose from so many different leaf shapes and textures. If you pot them up into the same soil, check that you choose plants with roughly the same water needs to make sure they all stay he

The fabulous houseplants in our ‘Perfect Plants’ guide are just a fraction of what the internet’s most stylish plant store, Hortology, has to offer. Search its extensive site by plant name, the room you want to buy for or even hunt by the latest gree

Personal style is how we all show off our individuality to the world. The same approach should apply when introducing greenery into your home. What will make your spaces different from those of your friends and family? How do you create that ‘wow’ fa

We spend a third of our life in bed, so it’s important we get the peace and tranquility we need in the bedroom to encourage a great night’s sleep. While splashing out on luxurious bed linen and a high-quality mattress might be a bit of a stretch, hou

Two years ago, we’d decorated every room in our home apart from our bedroom. Colours, design and ideas had come easily and styling decisions were made quickly. But I was stuck in a round of “what about…?” or “this colour is on trend” conversations wi

If you want to work up to something as dramatic as Hilton Carter’s plant hammock (page 72), a simpler step is hanging some plants. These look great in groups, especially if you hang them at different heights. Let the texture of the pots play a part i

Plant stores seem to be sprouting up left and right these days, some specialising in succulents and purifying ficus trees, others crammed with dried leaves and flowers for DIY decoration. Friends get together on the weekend to swap plant cuttings, an

Flowers and leaves, newspaper, craft tape, large book and a heavy weight, two panes of glass of equal size, decorative tape or washi tape Carefully spread each leaf or flower on a sheet of newspaper and place another sheet on top. Feel free to use a

What happens when your mother offers you an extremely large philodendron, but you don’t have any more floor space for it? Well, for me, I decided to look up. Realising we weren’t using the high ceilings in our home effectively, I suggested to my wife

Make sure your over-ambitious swipe to hit the snooze button on your alarm doesn’t result in your bedside buddy taking a tumble from its pot. Stick to smaller plants for the bedside table, like the lovely Pilea in our picture, and even think about hi

Lush, verdant, vibrant and life-affirming, green is a constant in our lives. Intrinsically linked to the natural world, green can be energy-boosting, mood-enhancing and grounding. Green is the colour of new growth, of country gardens and meadow field

Often the smallest room in the house with low light, high humidity and warm temperatures, the bathroom might not seem the most obvious place to grow houseplants. However, there are plenty of varieties that will thrive in the heat and moisture created