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Color is what makes a house a home, and your family will enjoy taking care of indoor plants as well. If you want to find additional benefits for houseplants, think about the quality of air that house plants are going to add, and the colors, the feel of living things all around you - it is all an outstanding feeling.

You are most likely wondering just how hard it is to care for houseplants. Well, caring for houseplants is actually quite easy. You need dirt, the plant, light and water. Very few plants require any special light, but you might want to read up on the plant you are purchasing if you feel you don’t know much about that one type. Many green plants will need some amount of indirect light, which means as long as you have a window in that room the sunlight will come in and the plant will enjoy it.

If you have never had any types of plants before, you will find that many plants are going to grow slowly. You could have a small potted indoor plant, and it could be a year before you need a bigger pot. You can then use the smaller pot for another house plant that you have. In the living room, you could have hanging plants, plants on the end tables, or on the coffee table. Sometimes if you have large window sills you could even put small pots on the window sill of your living room for a great overall effect.

There are some types of house plants that are going to also produce flowers. If you find that you have a plant, that you want to keep until it flowers, you may be waiting a few seasons. Some indoor plants, such as a Christmas cactus are only going to bloom once a year, and then sometimes it won’t bloom again for two years. It is a wonderful time in the living room where the plants are colorful and many textures of the leaves are available as well.

Perhaps you want something a little different in your indoor garden such as exotic plants. You could choose from plants that are sun loving, desert loving or that are even aquatic. The choices you have are vast and you don’t have to have an indoor garden that is all green hanging type of plants as many people think about, but you can have flowers indoors, or plants that smell like candy.

What you need to watch for are plants that are going to attract insects. Insects are attracted to some plants but rarely. Geraniums indoors are going to attract small white flies. Spider mites are attracted to plants that are overly wet but there are also sprays for all types of little pests that you can use if you would happen to have a little creature in your plants. Don’t worry though the little pests are few and far between for the normal semi warm climates such as the indoors of your home.

Watering is not going to take much of your time at all. Indoor gardens really only need attention once a week or every two weeks depending on the variety of plants that you have chosen. The yucca cane plant is low in the water needs area for example. What you can look for is a calendar in your kitchen or on your computer and make little notes to yourself if you really think you are going to forget for weeks at a time. Otherwise, when you put your finger in the dirt and you find that it is a little dry add a little water and your indoor garden is going to be thriving!

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If you plan to grow more than one or two plants at a time, chances are most of them will be foliage plants. Though they aren’t as showy as the flower bearing varieties, foliage plants can also be quite beautiful. In addition, they are simple to grow, easy to propagate and acclimate well to nearly any indoor environment.

Foliage plants are the backbone of every home garden. With few exceptions they know no seasons, growing and prospering throughout the year. Thousands of species of foliage plants are common and easy to find, and a large number of hybrids extends this variety even further. While planning your indoor garden you have almost an unlimited choice of plant size and shape, leaf form and colour. The two species described here will grow in any part of the country with equal ease and are available everywhere.

Peperomia sandersi is one commonly cultivated Peperomia. It has been called the Watermelon Begonia because the distinctive color and striped pattern of its leaves resemble the watermelons found in the American south. As the leaves of this plant are smooth, shiny and oval-shaped and the stems are red or pink, how it acquired the nickname Begonia is a mystery.

Peperomia is a low growing, bushy plant with fleshy leaves and stems along with being an indoor house plant. Originally found in the jungles of Brazil, these plants like lots of warmth and humidity and dislike exposure to wind or even slight drafts. Place them in partial shade, being careful not to give them too much sun, and provide them with plenty of water and good quality plant food. To keep your Peperomia happy, give it only room-temperature water. Propagate it by stem or leaf cuttings, preferably in the spring when the growth rate is at a maximum.

Pick-a-back Plant, also known as Piggy Back Plant (or by its botanical name, Tolmiea menziesi), gets its name from the curious way that it propagates: new plantlets sprout from the joint where the leaf meets the stem on the parent plant. The pretty, heart-shaped leaves of this species are light green, delicate and grow at the end of long stems. Pick a-back Plant should be well watered and kept in only partial sun.

In its natural state the plantlets root as soon as they touch the ground, so propagation is simple: just place a new leaf-bearing plantlet in a starting mixture and allow it to root. If you prefer you can place the plantlets in water, but be sure to used purified water. A good way to do this is to treat it with dissolved charcoal. The Pick-a-back originates on our own West Coast, growing from California on up to Alaska.

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The world over, gardening is a popular pastime among people from all walks of life. Whether planting vegetable patches to save money on produce, or planting a variety of plants for the sheer pleasure of the craft, gardening has remained a relaxing and humbling experience for hundreds of years. While outdoor gardening is the preferred style of most serious gardeners world-wide, giving your inner sanctum some plant love is much advised as well, and brings with it a new set of techniques and tricks that may escape even the veteran outdoor gardener.

Indoor plants function largely as decorative, while also instilling the room with a sense of nature and cleanliness. From window sill herb gardens that provide an extra dash of charm to both the room and dishes, to an elegant vine plant hanging its tendrils down lazily from its perch, to a small rubber tree in the corner of a room, the options for indoor gardeners are as diverse as the ones available for outdoor gardeners.

The variety of options doesn’t end there though. Annuals and perennials can get a head start by being groomed indoors for the coming season, and gardeners with a real eye for meticulous detail and the wish to cultivate something truly extraordinary can take on the task of rearing begonias or African violets.

Coleus are a striking plant, with a dazzling display of colors made especially effective when catching the rays of the sun from a windowsill perch. Baby’s tears are evocatively named for the striking image they portray, teardrop shaped leaves spilling elegantly over the side of the pot. A plant favoured for fall time grooming is the chrysanthemum. The winter doldrums can be beaten by planting a variety of striking flowering plants to bloom before their time, such as daffodils, hyacinths or crocuses.

Hanging baskets containing a variety of plants can supply any room with a unique look. Just make sure they’re high enough to avoid the heads of your tallest house mates. Kitchen windows are the perfect place for herb gardens and other salad friendly delights. They’ll provide your kitchen with a sumptuous smell that just may cause others to think it’s meal time all the time.

For the salad lover the tiny gourmet leaves of the mesclun plant will tempt your palate and those of all around you. The best things in life take time is a saying that the mesclun doesn’t adhere to. It grows its delicate leaves quickly, and spoils just as quickly. The indoor gardening enthusiast must constantly be on the lookout for the perfect opportunity to harvest these leaves and make them a part of a delectable salad immediately. The extra monitoring effort will be well rewarded with a great tasting salad.

Indoor gardeners are certainly not wanting for options like bamboo palms for example when it comes to their craft. What it lacks in the appeal of being outdoors and knee deep in dirt under a baking sun, if you want to call that appealing, it more than makes up for with variety and charm.