FLORISTS
Emma Rees-Oliviere, creative director of Myrtle Mee
“Personally, I only have a few houseplants because I spend all my days caring for flowers on the farm, don’t have the bandwidth to look after more green st at home. y da ghter on the other hand is a cra y ho seplant woman, her flat is like a ngle and she has ama ing green fingers. y ho se plant of choice is Pilea peperonioides or Chinese money plant. love the way it looks and it’s s per low maintenance. he only thing it doesn’t like is direct s n. rotate the pot each week so that the plant doesn’t grow towards the light and get lopsided, b t sometimes that might be the look yo are after. Pilea is considered to have good eng sh i. Called the money plant probably beca se its lovely ro nd leaves look like green coins, it’s believed to bring l ck and prosperity to the ho se in which it thrives. I happily tend to my little plants in the belief that they will bring me happiness and oy. arcia ood is the artisan florist of lores, alcot Buildings, ondon oad www.flores ymwood.com he best place to start is to b y a really good plant care book – my absolute favourite is How Not To Kill Your House Plant by Veronica Peerless – a local ath a thor. book like this can save yo r plants and in t rn, save yo money. here are plants for all b dgets b t wo ld s ggest by starting with smaller plants of the cheaper variety and watch them grow – it’s also a lot more fun that way! I do recommend sansevierias or a zamioculcas as they are easy care and hard to kill. owever do look at the right spot for the right plant – string of pearls, s cc lents, and cacti are a great addition to a s nny window sill. Oxalis, erns and Calatheas are great for shade and moist areas. Philodendron scandens and Scindaps s pict s are fast growing trailers, and make a great feat re on bare walls. Palms, Ficus and Pachiras are tall and lush trees, perfect for those larger
The low maintenance Chinese Money plant is Electric Daisy’s Fiona Haser Bizony houseplant of choice
forgotten empty corners. lways have a good look at the plant before yo b y, checking for b gs and eggs and also that the foliage is healthy. When repotting is needed, use a good quality compost that has water retention properties. hen it comes to the act al pot, personally like the more irky shaped designs and a bit of imperfection – it makes the whole thing more interesting to look at. y favo rite places in ath to pick these p are ardenalia, lways S nday Store, and the anti e market on alcot Street. t don’t forget, when starting o t yo r collection, yo can save money for the act al plants by sco ring yo r recycling box first. ins, old c ps, ars, old pans and plastic bottles can be a very creative and cheap way to grow and display yo r plants. lla arks is the owner of lowers of Bath, a er am ridge treet, arkhall, Bath www.flowersof ath.co.uk t’s a known fact that plants are good for the so l. Not only do plants improve the overall look of a house, most plants purify the air therefore reducing stress levels, eliminating air pollutants and increasing creativity – essentially creating a healthier and happier yo Start o t by so rcing a good ality and easy to care for ho seplant and ask yo r florist garden centre for in depth information of how to care for it and what that exact plant re ires to thrive. here’s no better feeling than seeing your plant have babies you can propagate and new growth. One of the best ways to red ce cost when splashing out on house plants is to buy young growth plants as opposed to the mat re plants and n rt re and care for them yo rself over time. lso, if a friend has a houseplant or two that you have taken a fancy to, have a little nose and see if there are any babies on route and propagate so yo ’ll end p with its sibling. f yo think yo ’re the sort of person who kills every plant – there is hope. Start with an aloe vera – these are so easy to care for – act ally the ma ority of people tend to bring them to an end early by giving
