Impress your mother. Go, pick a houseplant

Richa Pant in Lucknow gives you tips on how to choose ones best for your home.

Any indoor living space must incorporate houseplants, as they bring a unique beauty into the house. Two or three elegant houseplants can bring special grace to any room. You might want to have a money plant on your study table.

Houseplants are beneficial to us too. They not only convert the carbon dioxide we exhale, into oxygen but also act as natural filters removing indoor pollutants and toxins from the air.

Choosing houseplants

The key to choosing houseplants is picking the right ones to match the way you and your family have done up your house and of course the growing conditions available.

Here are some examples of where to place which houseplant in your house:

- Poorly ventilated bathrooms are ideal for ferns, which love humidity.
- A hot, southwest window is ideal for cacti.
- A room facing northeast suits houseplants that tolerate less light.
- A brightly-lit bedroom is ideal for palms.

Foliage plants are the backbone of most houseplant collections. They provide varied shades of green, and a rich variety of textures/shapes year-round. Flowering plants add bright splashes of colour and exquisite scents.

Artificial environment
Houseplants can't be treated like outdoor plants, because they can't establish the extensive underground network of roots essential to normal plant development. Their confined systems need constant input, like a human patient receiving intravenous nutrients. So they need extra care.

A few common houseplants
- African Violets
- Amaryllis
- Begonia
- Bonsai
- Cactus
- Dieffenbachia
- Ferns
- Geraniums
- Palms
- Philodendrons
- Poinsettia
- Rubber Plants
- Spider Plants
- Herbs

Many herbs can be grown indoors as houseplants and can survive in the limited light conditions of your home.

- Examples include chives, basil and parsley.

- The writer is a freelancer based in India