I know, I know. You’re afraid to buy them. They are expensive. True. They collect dust. True. They fade. Sometimes. They are tacky. Not true… if you buy the expensive ones and arrange them right. Indoor plants and flowers make a room feel lived in. I say this often to my readers: if your room is missing something and you can’t put your finger on what it is, chances are good that’s it’s either scale, texture or greenery.
Fresh ivy topiary doesn’t care for permanent indoor life. They winter well indoors but develop bugs mid to late spring. Fresh rosemary or myrtle don’t do well indoors indefinitely either. That leaves you with the option of placing them outside daily (or at the very least on alternating days) to get them the sun they need. That can get time consuming.
You can also keep several outdoor back up’s that you rotate in and out seasonally, particularly if you have a greenhouse. This is way more realistic, but not all of us have greenhouses. What I do is have a couple of back up plants that I rotate outdoors during growing season. Rotating your plants outdoors regularly during growing season will keep them healthy.
Prune and feed the gardener’s creed applies to indoor plants as well as outdoor ones. Keep them pruned. Feed them non-toxic plant food. I use Jobe’s Organic Root Feeder stakes. I do a whole stake in my medium plants and ½ a stake in my small ones. For large plants use 1-1/2 to 2 stakes depending on root ball size. They last two months.
Preserved greenery is a real plant material that has been dried and treated with glycerin. They’re priced much higher than the other fresh or faux products but they don’t fade as quickly if kept out of direct sunlight. Like dried flowers they are dust magnets, however and are a pain to keep clean. They crumble under a feather duster leaving the only alternative (that I’m aware of) is to gently blow them off with a hair drier on cool setting. Not a task I’m willing to schedule into my own home maintenance schedule.
When I’m decorating with faux or fresh topiary I like to do one large scaled topiary in a great jardinière or pot, between a pair of interesting lamps, placed on a lovely tray or a stack of hard bound books. I also love to do topiary in pairs, particularly on the dining room table in pots that coordinate with the room. My go to table arrangement for the dining room is to do a tray of alcohol bottles and wine glasses in the center flanked by two modestly sized topiary, on two stacks of books. I’m guessing it takes about four to five books per stack.
I just want to say thank you for dropping by! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Shiree’ Segerstrom. I started my design business in 1999 and have had design stores, had my own newspaper column on design and have written this blog since about 2010 I believe. I’m a real live person, not a corporation. I truly love sharing my knowledge with you!