The Plant Therapist Shares 3 Ways to Amp Up Your Home’s Design With Plants
Hilton Carter, AT’s resident Plant Therapist, knows a thing or two about helping houseplants live their best lives. But besides keeping plants happy and healthy, he’s also a pro at coming up with ideas on how to style them in your space — even if you’re working with low light, limited surfaces, or just want to give a room a green glow-up.
We asked our Instagram followers for their houseplant styling questions, and Hilton had some great solutions for them. We partnered with Greendigs so Hilton could show us how to make them work. Greendigs’s selection of pre-potted houseplants, plant care accessories, and home decor that gets shipped straight to your door made it pretty easy for Hilton to come up with some tips for welcoming plant friends to even the most challenging spaces. Here’s what he came up with!
Where do I keep light-loving plants if I don’t have deep windowsills?
Windowsills are the obvious choice for plant placement, but sometimes they’re just too tiny for anything but the smallest succulents. Hilton likes to use plant stands with a small footprint to give plants a boost so they can take in the sun, which he did here for a vignette of plants using the Cheyenne Terracotta Plant Stand. Besides giving your plants extra height so they can get some sun, stands like this one can also help keep them out of reach of pets. Hilton also recommends plant stands if you’re looking to add visual interest. You can place stands in multiple heights side-by-side to create a little plant gallery or add some green to an empty corner — just be sure to choose a plant that thrives in low light if it’s not going to be placed directly on a bright windowsill.
Where can I keep plants if I don’t have any surfaces for them?
Well…actually, you do have surfaces that are hiding in plain sight. If your space is extremely limited, or if you just want to add some green without taking up any extra space, Hilton recommends looking to your walls. The very chic Modern Stone Propagation Set is an easy, practical solution that lets you liven up your walls with some greenery even if you’re renting. The set comes with a marble base that you can easily mount on the wall without any nails or screws and a test tube vase that magnetically sticks to the base, making it easy to remove for water changes. Spider Plants, Jade, and Pileas are some of the easiest houseplants to propagate, so if you already have one of these in your plant family, why not give it a new space to put down roots while adding a little green to your wall?
What greenery is best for the kitchen?
If you’ve got good natural light in your kitchen and a little space, there’s no reason not to have a windowsill kitchen garden with lots of herbs. Hilton’s favorite place for herbs to grow in the kitchen is on a windowsill or countertop near the sink. Since most herbs require frequent watering, this sets you up for success since it’ll be easy to remember to give them a drink every now and then. He also recommends investing in a stylish pot instead of plastic growers’ pots to ensure good drainage while also adding a touch of color to your kitchen. Greendigs has a number of pre-potted herbs in different pot styles and colors that are all ready to grow while livening up your kitchen and your cooking.