Office Room Plantscaping
by Ruby Bayan
The nice thing about container "plantscaping" is the convenience in moving greenery around without having to dig up earth. Established plants in assorted pots and planters can be arranged in the most imaginative groupings to give an office room a hint, a statement, or an outcry of artistic expression.
One's plantscaping imagination may be encumbered by the environmental limitations of an office space -- such as small windows or inadequate lighting, low humidity, and inadequate space. But with the many varieties of indoor plants, and the wealth of available information on container plant care, these environmental limitations are no longer valid excuses for inability to create a beautifully plantscaped office garden.
That blank corner next to the window is the best place to situate the biggest pot in an office plants collection. A tall palmera, a trio of adult corn plants, or an exotic banana plant, in a textured clay planter, will lend a dramatic flair next to the mahogany bookshelf.
The bookshelf itself can be an upright garden of crawlers, like the Marble Queen ivy, or "leapers", like the spider plant, strategically spaced among books, trophies, and travel souvenir. Trailing plants left to prosper on the shelf will drape naturally down the shelf edges for that cascading effect.
A waist-high filing cabinet set against the window can act as a stage where various container plants can be elegantly plantscaped. Full-sun varieties, like orchids, bromeliads, hibiscus, and hawthorns can be grouped together to form an outdoorsy mini garden. Herbs and flowering annuals will also add to the medley of colors.
What to put on the side table by the door? How about a group of assorted African violets in full bloom? A decorative lamp shade will give the violets the illumination they need to keep blooming. And the artificial light will literally enhance the flowers' wondrous radiance.
And finally, for those empty spaces on top of filing cabinets and shelves, there's one plant that can almost be said as the one destined for such locations: the ubiquitous Boston Fern. In its full regalia, it can make the most vacuous-looking area come to life.
Arranging plants, whether outdoors on open earth, or indoors in pots and planters, simply involves a touch of creativity and a little imagination. The environmental limitations of an office space, therefore, should not hinder a natural plant-lover from creating an awe-inspiring orchestration of lovely flowers and foliage.
[First published by Windowbox.com.]
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