At Home with Plants by Mitchell Beazley

Author:Mitchell Beazley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Octopus

BATHING SPACES

RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT ROOM

TIP

Foliage plants are a better choice for a bathroom that’s on the dark side than flowering plants, which generally need higher levels

of light.

We have to walk a bit of a tightrope when designing and decorating our bathrooms. While their main purpose is to be a practical space, they are also a haven, where we undertake the soothing rituals of cleansing and beautifying ourselves.

Most bathrooms tend to fall into one of two camps: light and humid, or dark and humid. While light levels are obviously a key consideration when choosing plants for any space, with a bathroom you need to select humidity-loving plants above all. This means that cacti and most succulents are an absolute no-no. Instead, aim your sights at plants like orchids, ferns and palms, which all like humidity and can also tolerate fluctuations in temperature.

Aloes are commonly associated with bathrooms – perhaps because they are a natural antiseptic – while the Saintpaulia (African violet)

is more than happy with the typically damp and humid conditions. Conveniently, there is a rather cute micro-miniature variety, which is perfect for a small spot.

Ferns had their heyday during the Victorian era but they are now having a bit of a style resurgence. As well as being perfect bathroom plants, thriving in damp conditions with low light levels, they also look pretty dramatic, too. Try a bold Asplenium nidus (bird’s nest fern), a showy Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Fluffy Ruffles’ (sword fern) or an impressive Platycerium bifurcatum (staghorn fern).

When there is the space, bathrooms can lend themselves to some pretty spectacular planting: a pair of tall Howea forsteriana (Kentia palm) bookending a roll-top bath look glorious, as does a ‘living curtain’ of Vanda orchids draping down in front of a window.

How you use your bathroom will help you decide where to position the plants. A good starting point is to have plants within your sightline when taking a long, relaxing soak in the tub or an invigorating power shower. Even if your bathroom is spatially challenged, there is always room to introduce plants: just choose miniature

HUMIDITY-LOVING PLANTS

* Ferns, such as Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’ (Boston fern) and

Asparagus setaceus (asparagus fern)

* Guzmania lingulata (scarlet star plant)

* Saintpaulia (African violet)

* Spathiphyllum wallisii (peace lily)

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