Decor naturel is trending when it comes to interior designs. More and more Kerala homes are beginning to take their gardens indoors to enhance the style quotient the natural way. The refreshing presence of greenery in the veranda, the living room and even the kitchen is proving to be a great way to give your home that much-needed makeover.
Paving the way for interior gardens
Landscaping is constantly trying to surpass itself in aesthetically inclined Malayali homes. From manicured lawns to rambling vines, flowering shrubs, pebble-paved front yards, layered baskets and elevated planters overflowing with greens - outdoor gardens have it all. Bringing a share of the green patch indoors can do wonders to cheer up the ambiance and cleanse the air inside.
The catch in trying to extend your garden to the interiors is that indoor plant varieties must be exclusively and carefully picked for the purpose. Whether you choose to plant non-flowering house plants or the flowering varieties, it is important to know the amount of water and sunlight that each plant will need to stay healthy and lush.
Choosing the right house plants
While choosing non-flowering plants, pick evergreen varieties with a striking appearance. The plants should be placed inside the home according to the amount of light the plants will receive. Plants with colourful foliage should be placed in well-lit areas of the home. Aglaonema, Maranta, Dieffenbachia, Syngonium, Peperomia etc will thrive on verandahs and sun-kissed window sills. Plants with dark green leaves can be stunners when placed in low-light zones. Lady finger palm, Monstera, Mini Philodendron and Spathiphyllum are some of the shade-loving plants that will instantly brighten up an otherwise dull spot. It’s better to choose plants that are fairly grown rather than saplings because they have better chances of growing into healthy plants.
The plants will make a better impression if placed in accordance with the size of the rooms. For instance, tall houseplants will add a dramatic touch to a large living room, creating the impression of an enlarged space. Smaller plants will look graceful in compact spaces like a window sill or a centre table.
How to plant indoors
Select the spot where you want to have your indoor garden. You can either place potted plants in the space or go for a full fledged garden. For instance, if it’s the nadumuttam (open courtyard at the centre of the house) that you want to cover with foliage, you can lay out an organic potting mixture and lower the pots into the soil. This method will give the impression that the plants are directly planted in the soil like in an outdoor garden. In case you need to change or repot a plant, this method will help you pull it out easily along with the container.
Lay out makes all the difference when it comes to setting up an attractive indoor garden. The plants should not be crammed together. Within the nadumuttam, they should be spaced out in a ratio of about 5-6 plants per 100 sqft.
Plants with dark green leaves should ideally be placed in the shady spots of the nadumuttam while the variegated foliage will do well in the sunny spots. Wide open spaces like the nadumuttam and the veranda can be dressed up with pebbles arranged in patterns around the plants. Polished marble chips and terracotta figurines will add class to the whole setting.
Hotels lobbies and apartment foyers can be lit up using layered planters, baskets and hanging containers. Vines that cascade down from hanging baskets will lend a lush tropical feel to your interiors. You can also grow plants together in long plastic boxes. Combining several flowering plants and foliage that spill over the edges of the boxes can be a fun DIY activity for the adventurous home gardener.
Caring for your indoor garden
Most indoor plants need to be watered sparsely. Ideally they should be watered only once in 2-3 days. Let the potting mixture soak up enough water to last for two days. If you want to water the plants everyday, make sure that you leave no more than a sprinkling. Choosing low-maintenance plants will make caring for them easier.
In the early days of the plant, NPK 18-18-18 can be applied to the soil for healthy growth. After the plant has achieved full growth, sterameal can be applied in small doses by digging it into the soil.
The leaves of indoor plants should be wiped once a month with a cloth dipped in a mixture of 2-3 ml of neem oil, 1 litre of water and some soap. This will help remove the dust and retain the shine of the leaves.
Exposing your indoor plants to fresh air and sunlight once in two weeks will do them a world of good. Leave them outdoors for 2-3 days and you will see them gain a healthy glow. Look out for paleness in the leaves or excessive falling of leaves. If it happens then it’s your cue to start watering the plant more liberally. If the leaves shrink with patches of grey spreading along the edges, you are most likely exposing the plant to too much sunlight.
Flowering plants for indoors
African violet, Gloxinia, Orchid varieties like Dendrobium, Phalaenopsis, Cattleya and Dancing Girl are some of the stars among flowering indoor plants. The rewards of turning a home gardener are many - the cleansing effects on the air, the admiring looks on the faces of guests and the sheer joy of flattering yourself with a garden to wake up to.
