Plants are more popular than ever especially since we have been spending more time at home. They clean the air, add a fresh quality, provide bright green color, and last longer than flowers. Here are my favorite EASY Plants To Brighten Your Home. This is a completely updated post.
We are also learning from some other bloggers about their favorite plants and flowers! Their links are at the end of the post.
If I can keep these 10 plants alive, so can YOU!
In the past, I have bought houseplants at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Lately, when I see a nice-looking plant at Trader Joe’s, our grocery store, or Target, I will add one to the grocery cart. It’s a great gift to YOURSELF.
1. Snake Plant — Very Easy
This plant, also called Mother In Laws’s tongue, is super tolerant and is great to grow in narrow spaces and when you want some height. It needs little water. Notice that it has new growth for Springtime?
Note: I water all my plants on Sundays to varying degrees. For example, the Snake plant needs very little water but other plants can get droopy and need more.
2. ZZ Plant — Super Easy
Another super easy plant. This ZZ plant is in the foyer of our elevator landing and it gets very little natural light. This is about seven years old and I sort of forget about it.
3. Phalaenopsis Orchid in the Foyer — Just Needs a Little Love
Orchids don’t like direct sunlight…and just want a few ice cubes a week. Easy. I don’t really keep them after the blooms are gone…but lots of people put them in their backyards until they come back. When buying orchids, I look for two stems and lots of buds. This was a gift from my Florida girlfriends. I will replace them with orchids from Trader Joe’s or the SF Flower Mart.
4. Peace Lily — Less Easy But Pay Attention; it tells you when it’s thirsty
Who doesn’t want a tranquil plant? I can tell when it’s drooping that it wants an extra little H2O. I’ve moved it to the bathroom where it likes the steam from the shower.
5. Fiddle Leaf Fig — NOT Easy for everyone unless…
I’ve been lucky with Fiddle Leaf Fig trees the last several years and I think it’s due to the fact that I place them where they get a lot of indirect afternoon sunlight...and I water this one about a quart a week with plant fertilizer every other month.
More Info: Fiddle Leaf Fig Care Guide
6. Bromeliads — Very Easy
I put bromeliad plants at the base of the fiddle leaf fig tree a few years ago and they just keep growing. I water them through their centers and they drain into the tree’s base.
7. Boston Fern — Easy
I bought this fern at Target. I only water it once a week.
8. Bird’s Nest Fern in the Living Room — Easy!
I place this plant on the coffee table instead of flowers when I don’t have any. Nice pop of color.
9. Button Fern — Medium Difficulty
This plant also tells you when it’s thirsty when the leaves shrivel a bit (which seems more than once a week). And since I only like to water my plants once a week…this is a little tougher.
10. Basil Plant – Easy as I replace it every few weeks when all the leaves are gone
I add fresh basil to pasta, salads, appetizers, and as a garnish.
The Sill Retail Plant Store
Have you heard about The Sill? We have one on Union Street here in San Francisco. I went there last weekend with my daughter and Chief…
Pots and Planters
Here are some of my favorite planters. In fact, I have these and they are only $15 for three.
And those are EASY Plants To Brighten Your Home! Let’s visit my friends for some more plant and flower fun!
CINDY HATTERSLEY DESIGN
MOST LOVELY THINGS
HELLO LOVELY
MAISON DE CINQ
MODERN HOUSE VIBES
SHABBYFUFU
Hi Mary Ann- I really enjoy your blog. Your post about houseplants came at the perfect time. I transplanted a money plant, fern, and coffee plant last week and suddenly I’ve been plagued with gnat/flies! I don’t know if it came from the organic soil or from being outside while I was transplanting them. Right now, I have the plants “quarantined” in plastic bags. I sprayed them with a mixture of castile soap and water. I hope they recover. I also have a bird’s nest fern, which seems okay for now. How long do you wait before you “transplant” from the plastic container to your decorative planters? Or do you place the plastic ones inside the decorative one? I will definitely check out The Sill since I live in the SF bay area. My daughter and I frequent the Flower Mart and Delano plant shop too. Thanks again. This post was so helpful (especially if I have to start all over), but fingers crossed that my plants recover
It might be the soil, Pamela. I find we get them sometimes with the basil plant from Trader Joes. I wait a pretty long time before transplanting them (like a year of two). In the case of our fiddle leaf fig, it was five years! It was a big job. but the tree seems really happy now.
Love all your plants and going to add a few you suggested and see if I can keep them alive. Alway need a challenge.a question for you I have a huge pot, using it in our office…very similar to the one your fiddle leaf is in. I plan to plant a big ficus tree…did you fill the pot with soil…my husband is trying to tell me that is way too much soul and needs some filler at the bottom🤷♀️
We had the tree in a smaller pot inside the big one but about six months ago we put a liner and rocks in the big pot, added more soil and let the tree “spread her toes”. But that was after several years.
Mary Ann,
I’m glad you shared which plants are easy. I knew about the ZZ plant because of my job with a developer, before I retired. They were in a room on top of file cabinets that didn’t get much sun and they continually put on new growth. I find philodendron to be great for darker spaces in the house, but if there’s plenty of sunlight I enjoy English ivy.
Fun topic and I’ll enjoy checking out all of the talented women who have posted.
Karen
Hi Mary Ann,
Those top two plants (zz and snake plant)tolerate very low light levels. The rest need more. We have a lot of windows and natural light. I have a lot of plants! I water on Tuesdays before my Zoom art class, but I was told to give very little water to my Fiddle Leaf so I have been skipping it every other week. I see how well yours is doing and it makes me rethink my approach. I’m going to increase the water and see what happens.
I keep my orchids and neglect them and they come back every year. I’ve had one in our bathroom for at least 6 years that I got at Costco. It’s so great when the blooms come back, makes me smile every time!
Have a great upcoming weekend!
XO Heidi
Great post! It just doesn’t feel like home to me without flowers and plants dotted about the place. Thanks also for the info on the three white plants pots at CB2!
You are welcome. Paula. I love mine.
I have been lucky at getting my orchids to rebloom lately so I have more plants than usual. (can never have enough right?) I love ZZ plants, so easy to grow, I think they thrive on neglect haha. I have one in my bedroom and it is started to outgrow the pot. The brass bamboo tray in your photo is like one I have only mine is round…I scored it at a moving sale last year for $2.00!
Linda
I know…my poor ZZ plant in the elevator landing 🙂 I got my bamboo tray at a Boy Scout neighborhood sale for around $10–you beat me.
Your apartment is a plant paradise! You are an amazing indoor gardener. That fiddleleaf fig is incredible and looks so beaufiful in that space. Our new house has a lot of natural light like your apartment. Maybe I should give a few of those a try. I love Boston Ferns but have had no luck! This was a great post, so informative, almost makes me what to go buy some plants that I can kill!!
You won’t kill them, Cindy!!
A treat joining you today and love all of your indoor garden!
Thanks for joining us, Janet!
I need all the help I can get, Mary Ann! So thank you for this primer – right now I only have herbs growing inside – but no apologies for all of the everlasting varieties in beautiful urns and terracotta pots! I find I am more interested in the containers than the plants even though I aspire to clean the air since there is no substitute! Thanks so much for including me in today’s lineup, and Happy Mother’s Day week!
Good info! I have had two orchids for almost three years. They go through bloom cycles, and I don’t mind not having blooms some of the time. I bought some fiddle leaf figs several months ago and they seem to be doing well now, but they were iffy for a while. Pothos is another easy one.
Restaurants in Arkansas are opening, but I’m in no hurry. Our infection rate is increasing quite a bit as things open up. 🙁
I love the addition of green plants in any room, and the orchid is a favorite! Happy long weekend, my friend ~
I have a house full of hundreds of dollars worth of gorgeous (free!) orchids because people toss them when the blooms are gone. After the blooms have dropped, all you have to do is repot them in a slightly larger pot — use orchid potting mix only as they don’t grow in soil — water them thoroughly every 2 or 2 weeks (I put them in the kitchen sink & soak them heavily & let them drain well) & give them lots of indirect light & plenty of patience (it can take 2 or 3 months for them to rebloom). They’ll flower their heads off for you for years if you give them a chance. I have some that are at least a decade old that still bloom beautifully; their flower spikes last for months & they look as fresh as they did when I rescued the poor things from someone’s garbage.
Oh my gosh that is so fantastic!!!
I’ve had a $5 orchid flower three years running, and this has been in my office building. Plants in my apartment have definitely livened up the work from home environment. Where I live cafes and restaurants are allowed 10 patrons (subject to one per 4 square metre rule). Enjoy the birthday celebration. Mine was last month during much tougher restrictions. Great post!
Looks like a button fern to me as well
Thanks!
Glad to hear I’m not the only one who saves the orchids. Great post. Thanks for the plant suggestions.
Thank you, Marlena.
The three white pots remind me of rolls of TP! Only in this time would I think of that!
HAHAHA! They are really cute in person.
The last plant is a button fern! Good post!
Ok, Jennifer…I am definitely going back in to edit!
Yor unknown last plant looks lie a button fern to me.
Oh good…I can go back in and edit the post if you are sure.
Is #9 a button fern? I love the looks of them and need to find one.
Thanks! I got it at Trader Joes!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO H O W A R D !!!!!!!
HOW EXCITING TO SEE YOUR DAUGHTER AND COMPANY!!!!!!
I LEARNED SNAKE PLANT FROM THE BOOK I WON FROM ANNIE!!!
ALL PLANTS DOING WELL AND I WAS SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOU TOSS THE ORCHIDS TOO………….I ALWAYS FEEL GUILTY!
TO BE HONEST THAT IS THE PLANT I LIKE THE LEAST!!!DON’T ASK ME WHY BUT PEOPLE LOVE TO GIVE IT TO ME!IT WAS MY MOTHERS FAVORITE!!!!BUT NOT ME…………..I have a few sitting outside waiting to be walked to the compost!ALWAYS HARD FOR ME TO DO!
IT WILL BE OUR SECRET!!!!
HUGS AND DRIVE NORTH!!!!
THEY ARE OPEN!CALISTOGA my friend went back to work in a SHOP YESTERDAY!!!!THINK NAPA IS OPEN TOO!
XX
Ha! I feel guilty about throwing them away too! It will be really nice when I can come to have lunch in a restaurant with YOU!