Tolerant Plants Part 2

Bedrooms

Once upon a time, plants were never seen in a bedroom. They were considered unhealthy and kept strictly downstairs. They would most likely have greatly suffered upstairs in rooms more often than not kept unheated. In these days of central heating, bedrooms are usually heated, though kept cooler than the rest of the house and at a fairly even temperature, and there is often plenty of space to show plants off to advantage. Sometimes a bedroom is the only room cool enough in a house to grow cyclamens or azaleas well. Both are plants which like quitecool conditions. Bedrooms are often the prettiest rooms in a house but commonly forgotten when houseplants are bought. A pale-pink or cream colour scheme for example, or an all-white lacy bedroom needs the contrast of bright green foliage to bring it alive. Bedroom furniture often has large very bland areas of plain colour which need the change of texture and pattern that comes from a foliage plant such as Ficus benjamina or even from a little plant such as Pilea cadierei or Hypoestes phyllostachya. For pure luxury and a sense of hedonism a beautifully scented plant such as a hoya or Jasminum polyanthum or a pot of lilies, or ‘Paperwhite’ narcissi in spring, make spectacular bedroom plants.

If you simply need splashes of colour to emphasize a particular scheme, then a hibiscus, begonia or chrysanthemum would make a perfect choice for bedroom conditions. For something more everyday, providing there is enough light, a Fatsia japonica is a good choice and will slowly grow quite large. The variegated version of this is very pretty and delicate and would look super in a bedroom. A spare bedroom is a good place to overwinter pelargoniums, fuchsias and other plants such as cacti which might need a cool period of rest. But even if this room is a rest home for Worn out plants they can still be grouped together prettily and an eye can be kept on them so they don’t turn into a dust-laden dried-out mess.

If you don’t want a large plant or group of plants in a bedroom, a small basket with two or three variegated ivies together or the cold-hardy piggy-back plant (Tolmiea menziesii) with its soft, pale-green foliage would look lovely on a dressing table or bedside table, especially in a spare bedroom, which is not heated at all times and therefore colder than the rest of the house.

Porches and Conservatories

Porches come in all shapes and sizes and can be tacked on to any side of a house so the amount of sun they receive can vary enormously. Most usually do have lots of light but they are cold and often draughty. A conservatory or glazed addition to a house is a different matter as they are usually heated and insulated even if only to keep temperatures above freezing on winter nights, but a porch, built to protect a main door, isn’t thought of as a room in its own right and is often not heated.

It is a really rewarding place to have plants as they give such a lovely warm welcome to visitors and there are surprisingly quite a few plants which are perfectly happy in these rather Spartan conditions. A porch which is simply a shelter from the weather but is still open to the air will only be suitable for the kinds of hardy outdoor plants which you might grow in tubs in the garden: a bay tree perhaps or something with scented foliage such as lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) which releases its beautiful scent when you brush past it or pinch a leaf. If the light is not very strong then plants should be allowed to bask outside every now and again.

A more closed-in and protected, but cold, porch is a good place for a collection of cacti which can stand low temperatures with little harm. You could instead decide to concentrate on summer plants in your porch and make a spectacular display during the warmer months of the year. There are dozens of annuals which could be potted-up such as morning glory (lpomoea violacea), the pretty yellow Canary creeper nasturtium (Tro-paeolum peregrinum), black-eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata), or the wonderfully scented half-hardy tobacco plant Nicotiana alata. This is a tall plant with large white fragrant flowers. The tiny-leaved foliage plant, helxine or mind your own business (Helxine soleirolii), once beloved by cottagers, comes in three types, plain green, silver variegated and golden and looks effective in a mass or simply in a low row. Saxifrages, pelargoniums, fuchsias and jasmine in the same way as soleirolia, are happy with cool conditions and shade, and would be ideal if your porch only gets strong light for part of the day. In spring, primulas and cinerarias would thrive in thes.e conditions and later hydrangeas could take over to give plenty of colour throughout the summer. If you have plenty of space a plant of the pale-blueflowered Plumbago capensis would look spectacular and although it’s very vigorous it can be cut hard back after flowering to keep it in bounds. It does like plenty of light so is perfect for a glass porch.

If you are lucky enough to own a conservatory, and more and more people are building them as a sensible way to create more space and make a perfect plant-growing environment, then all kinds of opportunities for keeping exciting plants open up. A conservatory provides plenty of light and if kept slightly heated many plants which wouldn’t be happy indoors because of the dry atmosphere and low light levels can be successfully grown. The whole subject is vast and there are plenty of books covering this specialized area of indoor gardening.

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