'It would be very odd to be in a room without a plant, wouldn't it?': How to decorate with houseplants, inspired by our Chelsea Flower Show stand

When Vita Sackville West said ‘a flowerless room is a soulless room, to my way of thinking; but even a solitary little vase of a living flower may redeem it’, I imagine she would surely include potted plants in her edict. If you enjoy plants outdoors, there is nothing more natural than wanting to bring them inside. A well-tended plant can light up a neglected corner, grace a dining table in place of an arrangement, bring either a sense of formality or ease to a room, or splash of colour or a strong punctuation of form; and science says they can even make you feel better. There is nothing else that adds a spark of vitality to an otherwise static interior quite like, well, something unmistakably alive.

For Jane Kennerley, who has created the planting scheme for Country Life’s A Garden Lover's Library stand at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the lure of indoor plants is not simply a matter of aesthetic enjoyment, but a nostalgic nod to the houseplants of her childhood and those that tended them. The library, designed by George Saumarez Smith of ADAM Architecture, is a graceful connector between outdoors and in; botanical art and his own curation of beloved gardening tomes fill the walls making it a place of solace for anyone who loves both books and borders.

It is Jane’s interior planting, though, which blurs the boundaries of garden and room most of all. It is full of her old-fashioned favourites, all of which were popular before the current fad for splashy variegated tropicals took over. Pelargoniums, especially the scented classics such as velvety tomentosum and Attar of Roses, are almost impossible to walk past and not touch in order to get a whiff of their scent. Citrus and rose trees, in terracotta pots, add structural weight and symmetry to the room. Charmingly dowdy stalwarts, including spider plants and aspidistra, are comforting in the homeliest of ways. For Jane, these plants speak to her memories of family and friends more so than other fashionable choices; anyone who loves plants can likely relate. It’s these humble, ubiquitous houseplants that were often a part of the daily rhythm and fabric of our homes as children — and on which we practised our green-fingered skills. A particularly doted upon Christmas cactus or a jade plant from an aunt? A grandfather’s collection of amaryllis or granny’s geraniums on the windowsill…

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This instinct to bring the garden inside is nothing new; evidence is written across human history, from the potted palms of the Ancient Egyptians to the ferns and orchids of the Victorians. Historically, scented and flowering plants were brought inside for enjoyment, but also to mask bad odours. More recently, they’ve been used to boost wellbeing, with science showing that they reduce stress, improve mood and increase focus and productivity. The health benefits aren’t only physiological, as plants have been shown to improve air quality by removing toxins and adding oxygen to their surroundings (though experts suggest you would need a veritable indoor jungle to have a marked improvement). Sounds like a good idea to us.

Houseplants generally fall into two categories: year-round indoor plants — the tropical ones which require bright, diffused light and have specialised watering requirements — and the garden varieties — which can happily jump from indoors to out and back again as the season demands (think pelargoniums and amaryllis). Both categories have their place and lend a different feeling to indoor spaces when seen through a decorative lens. A well-chosen pot is key. Aged, mossy terracotta suggests ease and earthiness, a ‘just-in-from-the-garden’ temporality; while antique porcelain, such as the Chinese blue and white pots chosen by Jane, make whatever they hold feel polished and elegant. Handmade studio pottery can be especially apt for tropicals, leaning into their groovy, graphic nature, but what makes for a visually pleasing pot doesn’t necessarily mean it‘s well-suited for plants. Drainage is key, so if there are no holes, add a layer of substrate like gravel or broken pots, and keep a watchful eye on water levels. And a keen houseplant enthusiast can spot an amateur a mile off for not using a glazed saucer.

Tropical houseplants, like huge, split-leaved philodendrons and lush pothos plants with their trailing vines, have a retro quality to them and hark back to the 1970s vogue for loft living, the industrial conversions and their huge, casement windows just begging for a patchwork of plants. These types of flora need low-maintenance, but specific care; their holy trinity of needs — light, humidity, temperature — must all be in alignment and they should not, under any circumstances, be moved outside. Most originated in jungle ecosystems where it is quite hot and moist. Maidenhair and Boston variety ferns make for fabulous houseplants, but you’ll need a mister to keep them suitably hydrated.

The indoor-outdoor sort of house plant is just that, one which can be brought inside or left out as suits the season. These plants often have an elegant, country-house feel; they scream ‘my gardener has just brought in this lemon tree from the greenhouse’ (even if you live in a top-floor, city flat). Think herbs, or myrtle, trained in standard topiary form and used to flank a mantel or sideboard — like garden designer Bunny Mellon famously did — or a humble bowl full of violets, dug up, unceremoniously, from the garden and used as a table centrepiece.

Pelargoniums are the undoubted heroines of the genre, classics for a good reason and endlessly addictive to grow and collect. Originally from South Africa, they love bright, direct sunlight, moderate watering and a cool dormant winter — all easy enough to manage indoors, though they will benefit from a summer holiday to the nearest sunny balcony or terrace. The deliciously pepperminty Pelargonium tomentosum, as selected by Jane, is an excellent indoor specimen. It is tolerant of gentle light and its velvet leaves will tumble nicely rather than grow leggy and loopy as other pelargoniums are wont to do if they don’t get enough sun.

Houseplants effectively extend your garden inside, a boon to city dwellers or those with small gardens. And to those worried about maintenance, ease up on your need to get it right, right away. As a wise man once said, a few house plants will probably die in order to learn how to keep them alive.