Missy's Homestead: Indoor Garden Ideas

I love indoor plants.  In every place I have lived I have always had a collection of them.  Even if you don't have an outdoor space you can have  a green garden like environment.   

Indoor plants not only provide great decoration but they help to recycled the air and remove carbon dioxide, create a cheery environment that helps relieve stress and anxiety and in some cases can help remove pesky insects!!  Personally I love succulents, as you all know, but there are a few other varieties that I highly recommend if you are looking to spruce up your indoor space.  Some of my favorite indoor plants include but are not limited too:

1.  The Christmas Cactus - A great indoor cactus/succulent type plant that typically produces beautifully colored flowers during Thanksgiving/Christmas time.  

My Christmas Cactus from my Mother-in-Law

It is often in a larger bush cluster and can be easily rerooted if parts of the plant breaks apart.  They last a very long time and look great indoors.  My mother in law has several that belonged to her grandmother.  Recently she collected leaves that broke off and rooted them in water for my sister-in-law and myself.  We now both have a great cluster of christmas cactus that lives in our house.

2.  Croton - These plants are super hearty and last a long time.  They have beautifully colored leaves and add great color to any indoor garden.  

They also grow fairly rapidly, especially if you continually transplant them to a larger container.  I bought one of these plants when it was super small at like a deli in nyc

and now it is super big!  However, I don't have this one anymore because when I was gone to europe my friend was watching it for me and fell in love with it.  She kept it.

My Croton Plant in my old NYC Apartment

 3.  Sundew - My newest edition to my home garden.  I have always been obsessed with carnivores plants but have never owned one.  Greg bought me one a few weeks ago and it now lives on my windowsill so it can get a lot of light.

Canivorous plants, when taken care of properly, can last for many many years.  The larger pitcher plant varieties sell for a lot of money when properly taken care of.  

These plants not only provide something beautiful to look at but they also help to keep pesky insects from flying around your house.  

My New Sundew

At the Height of my NYC Indoor Garden

My old Orchid.
I gave it away to a friend when I left NYC.  She still has it.

4.  Ivy - I love all varieties of indoor ivy. They are easy to maintain and don't need a ton of water.  The other thing I love about ivy is you can train it to go anyway you want it. It can spread out and look like several plants. 

5.  Orchids - These classic indoor plants bring beauty and greener to a room like no other plant.  They also can last a very long time when properly cared for.  People often get frustrated with orchids because they can be

very temperamentally when it comes to grown back.  Sometimes it just takes a little care and patients to keep these gals alive.  I once had an orchid that wouldn't grow again after it the flowers died after i bought it.  I continued to water the leaves and on day i broke the pot and it started growing back like the next day!  All i needed to do what get it into a larger container!