Are you a houseplant fan? I love them and have for as long as I can remember. There weren’t a lot of houseplants in my childhood home, although my mother was a marvellous gardener.

The photo below is not in my house but one I took in the ladies cloakroom, whilst visiting Cape Town last year! I was seriously impressed with this display.

I remember having houseplants in my student room and wherever I’ve lived since. When I was teaching, I always had some in my classroom. Apparently, houseplants are back in fashion. As far as I’m concerned they’ve never been out!

Apart from looking good, houseplants can add a breath of fresh air to any home. The Royal Horticultural Society has an interesting article on the possible benefits of houseplants:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=949

Where we live, in the UK, we are fortunate to be about half an hour away from RHS Wisley. These gardens are truly stunning, as you can see if you watch the clip below. Obviously, they are closed at the moment.

I’m not actually a member of the RHS. This is because of the significant amount of time we spend in France. I’m lucky enough to have some local friends who are members and invite me to go along with them.

The last time I went to Wisley, in February, was to see the ‘The Giant Houseplant Takeover’. This was a spectacular new display inside Wisley’s Glasshouse – a Victorian house reclaimed by houseplants; right up my street! The display allows visitors to wander round a house of six rooms, each showing different kinds of houseplants, which have made themselves far too much at home.

Each room was ‘signposted’ and numbered. The idea was to vote for one’s favourite room at the end.

You can’t tell from my photo but these are bromeliads covering a bed, in the bedroom.

This was one of my favourite rooms. The dining table has been set with succulents and cacti.

I love how the champagne bottle has become a planter.

The bathroom was equally impressive.

After my first visit, I voted for the bathroom and after the second viewing, I voted for the dining room but I loved the whole exhibition!

Unfortunately, it’s not feasible to have houseplants in our French house because there is no one to look after them in the winter but I have indulged in some fake ones to fill the gap!

I hope you enjoyed the visit to the houseplant exhibition and that you are all keeping safe and well.