For many of us, we have our families at home with us either full time or certainly with restrictions still in place, more than has been the case. We therefore need to keep everyone busy and interested in life and this is the ideal time to plant a seed to a healthier lifestyle. Tuscan Path Product Manager Sally Laing, shares her expert top tips to create healthy green spaces.
Green the house to lift your spirits
There is no better time to bring the outdoors in, so why not fill the house with greenery to help lift your spirits? When you decorate your home with indoor plants, you’re not just making a style statement; research has shown that they make you happier and more relaxed. They are also nature’s air purifiers, which means greening a room increases air quality, helping us all to breathe a little easier. Transform your living space into an urban jungle with big, bold foliage plants, like the Fiddle Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata), to bring a sense of drama to your space, or the Swiss Cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa) with big tropical-like leaves in a Tuscan Path Spencer Pot.
Introduce greenery from ceiling to floor with gorgeous hanging plants like Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum) or Chain of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii) which look beautiful in smaller, heavier pots like Tuscan Path’s Granada Self Watering Pot. Grow hanging beauties where they can cascade down over bookshelves and benchtops, or display them in indoor hanging baskets.
Hands-on learning
Planting is a great way for kids to learn firsthand. The Tuscan Path Reactive Glazed Pot is ideal for growing varieties that excite little green thumbs, like Silverbeet ‘Rainbow’, with its brightly coloured stems or heirloom radishes that come in shades of yellow, red, pink, white and black. Get creative and make cute signs out of old icy pole sticks, plastic plates or ice cream lids. Use water-proof markers to see what fun designs you can come up with! You might like to get the kids to record the growth of their vegetable seedlings on a graph.
Make your home a haven
More than ever, we are coming to understand the value of our home as a place to escape. Take this time to transform your indoor space. Include cheery splashes of cool season colour like pansies, violas, polyanthus and cinerarias in pots and containers, such as the Tuscan Path Cora Pot. Fragrant plants are another highlight for the spring season. The Winter Daphne (Daphne odora) is the perfect choice for dappled shade. Enjoy its beautifully scented pinky-white flowers indoors and perfume an entire room. You’ll also love the Brown Boronia (Boronia megastigma), an evergreen Australian plant with pretty spring flowers in shades of yellow and brown that is famous for its sweet citrusy scent.
Outdoor benefits too
Being surrounded by greenery outside is also so beneficial to our health and peace of mind. Creating an oasis of calm using plants is one of the most satisfying home improvements you can make. Even if you don't have a huge garden, you can fill your patio or deck with greenery and splashes of colour with container gardening.
Melissa King, Horticulturalist and Northcote Pottery Ambassador has some top tips to create an eye-catching container garden with her ‘Thrill, Fill and Spill' planting method.
“To begin, pick out the star of the show – the perfect pot. Consider the colour of your home and garden décor. Don’t go for anything too small because the pot will need to accommodate a few plants.”
“Next, choose a ‘Thrill’ plant – the Prima Donna of your display. The plant should be bold and appealing, with a bit of height so it can be positioned at the back of the pot. Colourful, strappy leafed plants such as Burgundy Cordylines or Phormiums work well.”
“The ‘Fill’ plants are the supporting cast. Look for smaller, rounded options to fill the majority of the container. Don’t be afraid to add a splash of colour here with brightly coloured foliage or flowers.”
“Finally, ‘Spill’ plants are the finishing touch. These are trailing beauties that tumble over the edge of the container and complete the look to create the perfect potted picture,” she adds.
For bigger pots, venture out and use more than one Thrill, Fill or Spill plant. Remember to combine plants together that enjoy similar growing conditions.
Rustic easy-care potted combination
Create enviable potted combinations with Northcote Pottery’s Irondale Cup Planter). This lightweight pot exudes rustic country charm and works beautifully with bronze, orange, burgundy and gold foliage tones.
For a rustic easy-care potted combination, you will need:
• 1 x Northcote Pottery 52 x 38cm Irondale Cup Planter
• 1 x bag of Premium Potting Mix
• 1 x Leucadendron ‘Sundance’
• 1 x Cordyline ‘Electric Flash’
• 1 x Carex Testacea
• 1 x Euphorbia ‘Baby Charm’
• 1 x Carex ‘Frosted Curls’
• 1 x Aeonium
• 1 x Sedum ‘Gold Mound’
First, fill the planter with quality potting mix. Then position Leucadendron ‘Sundance’ towards the back of the container. Plant the variegated Cordyline ‘Electric Flash’ to the side and frame both plants with bronzed coloured Carex Testacea and Euphorbia ‘Baby Charm’. Soften the base of the Leucadendron with silvery Carex ‘Frosted Curls’. Complete the picture with a chocolate coloured Aeonium and a splash of Sedum ‘Gold Mound’.
“I like to jam-pack the pots to get an instant effect, so you get a wow factor that lasts for months,” says Melissa. “If the plants begin to look overcrowded, I simply trim them back or pop some into the garden. You can even refresh the look by replacing plants from season to season.”
Modern cottage garden combination
Liven up your garden with Northcote Pottery’s Glazed Jardin Planter. Its bold and smooth texture is perfect for a happy collection of plants.
For a modern cottage garden combination, you will need:
• 1 x Northcote Pottery Glazed Jardin Planter
• 1 x bag of Premium Potting Mix
• 1 x Leucadendron ‘Purple Haze’
• 1 x Olearia ‘Sweet and Small’
• 1 x Convolvulus Cneorum
• 1 x Carex ‘Frosted Curls’
• 1 x Candytuft
Start the potted combination by filling the planter with premium potting mix. Place the Leucadendron ‘Purple Haze’ near the back of the container. Frame ‘Purple Haze’ on both sides by adding a pretty Olearia ‘Sweet and Small’ and Convolvulus Cneorum. Soften the base of the Leucadendron with silvery Carex ‘Frosted Curls’. Finish it off with a splash of white flowering Candytuft.
“To enhance the modern cottage garden look, combine classic beauties like compact-growing daisies and Candytuft with striking bronze, silver and purple foliage,” says Melissa.
Northcote Pottery is offering garden lovers a chance to win a gardening pack worth over $300. Simply visit their website www.northcotepottery.com and enter your details to be eligible.
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