INDOOR PLANTS FOR HOME DECORATION
Mr. Shoaib Munir, Dr. Adnan Younis, Dr. Atif Riaz
Indoor plants have become increasingly popular as decorative assets, particularly in city homes where outside greenery is scarce. An amazing variety of foliage now blooms in homes. Flowering plants, evergreens, shrubs, small trees, even palms, cactus and succulents. Almost all of them flourish the year round, so that a feeling of spring persists even when the weather is very hot outside.
It is easy and a fun hobby, particularly as you can start or add to your collection of living potted plants anytime, and in any season you choose.
A single plant will highlight a dinning table, a fireplace mantel or piano, and a large collection of foliage and flowering plants will bring a dramatic focus. There are literally hundreds of places in your home where plants will serve not only a decorative function but a useful one as well. The benefits of indoor gardening are numerous. Indoor plants can be used to add color and fragrance and herbs can be used for both aesthetic purposes as well as for cooking. Another great thing about indoor plants that, they purify the indoor air by absorbing carbon dioxide, and releases oxygen.
Starting an indoor plantations for home decoration require a little preparation. Space and lighting will likely be the biggest factors determining what supplies are needed to get the plants growing. A good quality, loose potting soil should contain all the nutrients the indoor plants will need for initial few weeks. Choose the containers for plants according to the space. All plants benefit from air flow, so position them near windows or fans. Do make sure plants are not exposed to a direct air flow for too long; if they’ll likely dry place the plants at the place where proper light is present.
Flowering plants that may either flower all at one time or keep flowering over various periods of time. Some of them are begonias, lilies, roses, chrysanthemum, tulips, poinsettias and daffodils. Some green plants or having foliage beauty could also be used. These are dracaena, caladium, coleus and ferns.
Plants like money plant could live in water without soil and grow very fast. Some indoor plants can withstand with adverse home conditions like rubber plant, snake plant and syngonium. Some plants like caladium, variegated rubber plant well suits for large container decorative specimens. Plants can also be used as hanging baskets in the rooms. Herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, mint and chives are good plants to have in homes. Aloe is also a good plant and can be used for various things such as burns, cuts and irritations. Another good example of indoor plant is the spider plant that requires low maintenance. Bonsai trees can create such a wonderful atmosphere in homes. It is likewise your own, living miniature forest, whether you have three or five trees.
Indoor plants need care and love to grow. Use distilled water or water with low mineral quantity for the plants. Watering plants with cold tap water not only can shock them, but also can harm them with mineral deposits and unhealthy pH levels. And keeps air flowing around plants, airflow will move humidity and air particles around plants, allowing them to really breathe. Keeps them under or near fans constantly moving air across plants clean the plants regularly with a foam or cotton cloth.
Keep plants like family safe from insects and pests. Check them regularly. Do not do over watering because it kills the plants. Do not leave your plants in the dark because if they have not enough light, they shall appear pale and have spindly, rather than full growth. Plants’ roots become a jumbled mass when they have over grown a pot; leaving plants in pots too long with this kind of root over lapping will eventually restrict the plant’s further growth and health. When a plant becomes too large for its container, re-pot it.
Exposing plants directly to both heat and drafts will speed up their drying processes and essentially be the same as leaving indoor plants. Interior air in homes can be dry. You shall know about it that your plant lacking enough humidity when they become brown at the tips. Bedrooms and other rooms that are commonly used as resting or relaxation rooms should not be out fitted with spiky or spiny plants. Dying, sickly plants are bad for the soul, so be sure to take good care of your plant so that it will take good care of you.
