Dear Plant Stylist: "Help me keep the vacay vibes going!"
In our Dear Plant Stylist series, we share styling and lighting inquiries received by our in-house stylists with our audience. So read on-- you just might find that your plant styling questions are answered below!
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Dear Plant Stylist,
Vacation was amazing. I felt so relaxed and I got to enjoy being in an environment with really lush plants everywhere. I swear I could feel the way they affected my mood (more peaceful, like I was breathing in good air.) Any recommendations for recreating this at home with plants that have a tropical look, but can thrive indoors? I have post-vacation FOMO now.
Best,
V.F.
Hi V.F.,
Ah, yes, the post-vacation FOMO. We know that feeling well. Often when we go on vacations, that means we’re traveling a bit beyond our usual stomping ground, so we’re seeing greenery that’s exciting and unusual. And sometimes vacationing means that we’ve left urban spaces for destinations that are closer to “nature”, i.e. the beach or, if we’re super lucky, a tropical climate. All of these factors, combined with the main, cognitive shift (that we are on vacation!) can mean that we feel better overall when we’re on vacay. But you are definitely onto something when you mention that the air felt healthy and you felt more relaxed. There is no doubt that plants purify the air, and that even just seeing the vibrancy of green plants naturally boosts our mood.
Balmy summer evenings call for tropical plants like the Monstera Deliciosa or Kentia Palm. Photo by @stevenfingar
Many indoor houseplants originate from tropical climates in places like south/southeast Asia and South America. It’s easy to inject your home with a tropical aesthetic that will elevate it above the ordinary by incorporating plants like these. Perhaps the most renowned plants with a tropical aesthetic are the Monstera Deliciosa, Bird of Paradise, and Kentia Palm. The bonus: they are all easy-care, low maintenance plants that don’t require a ton of water. Birds of Paradise should be situated in the brightest available spot, and receive as much direct bright light as possible. Kentia Palms and Monstera Deliciosas love to receive a steady stream of indirect, bright light, so they should be placed four or more feet from windows that receive direct light.
If you have any questions about how to determine the space your light receives and where to situate your plants within it, be sure to check out our Light Requirements For Plants: Explained! blog post.
In regard to the air purifying effect of plants: this has been abundantly documented, not least of all by NASA’s amazing Clean Air Study. We’ve simplified the process of selection by offering our Air-Purifying Plants collection, which lists the best of the best air purifying plants that we offer.
Tropical settings are all about texture, created with plants like the Bird of Paradise and Tiger Evergreen. Photo by @renrevic
Now, onto more aesthetics. We often feel that the difference between spaces that read as cold or stress-inducing, and spaces that make us feel creative and comfortable, largely comes down to textures and colors. On vacation, you likely experienced a lot of textural variation in the plants that you saw. Even in super-specific climates like deserts, where plants have all adapted to the same harsh environment, you’ll note that the native plants exhibit a wide variety of textures. Every plant evolves with its own special form, to maximize its functions and protect it in nature.
You can relish an abundance of texture and color by mixing and matching plants. Rubber Trees, for example, are smooth and glossy, with deep, rich pigmentation. Dracaena Lisas bring the lush texture of the jungle home with their emerald foliage, which falls in a lazy cascade from their columnar base.
The Zanzibar Gem is an ideal textural plant, because its wandlike, long stems provide fabulous vertical growth, and each stem is adorned with a profusion of luscious leaves.
And just for fun, who’s dreaming of the Mediterranean? The Desert Cactus and the Olive Tree will both help bring the look to life (and with minimal care to boot). Photo by @deborahbrett
Mixing and matching plants is a great way to mimic the biodiversity of natural spaces in your home, and the results are always fresh and exciting.
Even smaller plants can provide a perfect dose of texture and a wild aesthetic, like the Parlor Palm, the Pilea, and the Jade Pothos.
Choosing diverse pot colors and wood stands, and utilizing other textural accessories like baskets or macrame, is a great way to cultivate the feeling that we have when we experience unexpected visual treats. You don’t have to invest in floor to ceiling kilims or bedeck your entire home in that iconic, banana leaf wallpaper to access the novelty of far-flung places! (But you can, and we’d love to see that as well!) The goal is to spark wonder, a feeling of peace and an in-home reminder that we are natural beings.
Happy hunting, and let us know how it goes! Living greenery is truly the key to making that vacation feeling last in your everyday life.
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