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Landscape gardening for the home
Indoor plants get a raw deal in Britain. The green-fingered Dutch understand only too well the benefits of flourishing house plants and use them as an integral part of their interior design, but we lag far behind. That may be about to change. Interior landscape design is big business. Modern buildings with their high glass atriums and huge areas of windows demand the softer shapes and contrasting green of plants. The time is ripe for homes to get the same treatment. Research has shown that plants can relieve sick building syndrome by increasing humidity, reducing noise and air temperature, and removing pollutants from the air. NASA has shown that the Dragon Tree, Dracaena, widely used in interior landscaping, is very effective for “scrubbing” pollutants such as benzine and formaldehyde from the air in stuffy offices. “Plants can also help to direct people into certain areas in public buildings, and to relieve stress and make them feel more comfortable,” says Nick Brammall, of Ambius, one of the largest international interior landscaping companies.
The only interior landscaper to be invited to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show, Ambius works in partnership with the RIBA, advising architects on the use of plants in buildings.
One of Nick’s favourite projects at the moment is the Lowry Designer Outlet, Salford Quays, Manchester. “The planting is quite simple, with a restricted range of plants, but it’s effective,” he says.
The shopping centre is in a high-profile area: its huge glass frontage overlooks the Lowry Gallery and the new BBC building is fast taking shape next door.
“In an office we would top-dress the soil with shingle,” says Nick, “but in a shopping centre that would get thrown around by children, so it is dressed with bark.
“Using plants to direct shoppers into or away from certain areas is also important,” he adds.
“We have used a variegated form of Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, Sansevieria trifasciata, as a barrier plant in large, long dull chrome containers, and it works really well.”
Nick believes that containers are just as important as the plants - a view echoed by Ambius technical director Kenneth Freeman. “Plants are only half the story,” he says. “The containers and overall display designs are just as important as the species selected.”
This is good advice to transfer to the home, along with Nick’s plea to use a limited range of plants. A group of four or five African Violets (Saintpaulia) or Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus) in identical cache pots on a shady kitchen windowsill will bring colour and life to a room for months.
Of course, plants which are suitable for public schemes may not be suitable at home. Light levels are generally lower in large buildings, and the air is often drier; large spaces call for big, bold plantings which would be out of scale in the home. But there are general trends to follow.
“Colour seems to be making a comeback, along with a slightly less stark and architectural look,” says Kenneth.
A Dracaena hybrid, ‘Pride of India’, is Nick’s choice, with brilliant yellow striped foliage, along with a giant form of the Peace Lily, Spathiphyllum, which does well in low light and flowers every couple of months.
Orchids are on trend too, and are used in smaller displays, where the long-flowering Phalaeonopsis hybrids are invaluable. These make easy house plants, despite the orchid’s reputation for being temperamental. Give them a light windowsill, feed every couple of weeks, and the reward will be all-year bloom.
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