Best Decorating With Plants

WALK INTO ANY GARDEN CENTER or store with a reasonable selection of houseplants, and you will see evidence of the huge diversity of plant shapes and forms that exist. Among these shapes you will find some that are more appealing to you than others, but you will also need to bear in mind how suitable they are for the specific locations you wish to enhance in your house.

A tall, striking, “architectural” plant may be called for to provide a dramatic reature in a prominent position in a large, vmply furnished living room. A smaller, more crowded room may be better served ry low-growing foliage and flowering rlants grouped together on a windowsill r table. No matter how attractive a par- rrcular specimen appears in the store, always try to imagine it in your own h ome before buying it.

Plant shapes fall into six principal -~: ups, but there is some overlap among me groups.

1 Upright

 

A plant such as Sansevieria trifasciata, mother-in-law’s tongue or snake plant, • void be defined as upright, with its dramatic tall, sharp spikes. Such plants rave no hint of spreading or trailing •terns to soften the outline, even after several years’ growth.  

2 Bushy

Many indoor plants are classified as rushy. They may have several stems or mst one main stem, which divides low r own into a number of branches. The Tranches spread out to form a more or .ess rounded, bushy shape, which is well rimished with foliage. Dieffenbachia w..culata, dumb cane, has a bushy habit, -s do pot chrysanthemums. But with the -tter, it is the way the raisers treat the r -ants, rather than their natural habit of zr wth, that gives them their form.

  

3 Trailing

stems cascade down, sometimes con- .:ruling the plant’s pot entirely. In some instances, the stems are prostrate, such as those of Zebrina pendula, wandering Jew, or Ficus pumila, the creeping fig.

 

The stems of other plants strike out upward to begin with, then bend over gracefully as they develop, giving the effect of a fountain. The ever-popular Chlorophytum comosum, spider plant, has this appearance, although it is not just the grassy foliage that produces the effect. As plants start to mature, they produce lots of “baby” plants on the ends of long, pliable stems; these cascade down to make the plant a true trailer.

  

4 Climbing

 

A climber generally has lax stems, which will trail if they are not supplied with supports, but which will scramble eagerly upward when they are able to. Sometimes these plants need encouragement to start climbing; often nothing will stop them.

They may have twining stems, clinging tendrils, or aerial roots to support them in their upward quest.

5 Standard

Standards are treelike plants that have a main stem and a branching head. Ficus benjamina, a popular example, also has an attractive weeping habit, hence its com­mon name of weeping fig.

6 Architectural

The term “architectural” applies to forms that are unusual and dramatic. The shape and outline of such plants is bold and eye-catching, and architectural plants are usually grown as stand-alone specimens. They are always large plants, tending to be tall rather than spreading, such as Chamaerops humilis, the European fan palm, which has big, boldly cut, fan­shaped leaves and sturdy, hairy stems.

Plants give a room an inviting air. Here a bushy Fern and round-headed standard azalea lead the eye to the staircase wall, which is lightly clothed with a lax-stemmed creeper.