Showy Decorative Plants

Plants with gorgeous foliage, stunning blooms, and dramatic shapes can add a striking splash of color to your home or office. Growing healthy, showy plants indoors in the winter can help the energy in a place to be more positive and pleasant, and can actually help cure the winter blues. Surprisingly, indoor plants are as easy to care for as their outdoor counter parts. Given the right spot to grow, they thrive just perfectly and a greenhouse isn’t even necessary, as many hardcore gardeners believe. If the air in your home or office is dry, there are a few things you can do to increase the humidity. The first thing that will help is to gather the plants near one another in a group. Next, you can try running a small humidifier near the plants. Also, placing plants on a tray of pebbles filled with water will help. The water level in the tray should be kept just below the bottom of the pots. The water should always be checked when the air is dry, a common occurrence while heating systems are running. Some easy-to-grow plant suggestions to enjoy indoors this winter are described below.

Passionflowers have delightful foliage and bloom multitudes of fascinating flowers all year if given enough light. With hairy green leaves and yellow flowers or delicate pink flowers bearing a subtle fragrance, passionflowers are free flowering (producing blooms all year). They need a bright or moderately bright spot in order for this to happen. Between watering, allow the potting mix to dry slightly, and fertilize your plant in the spring and summer months. To keep the leaves healthy, there should be enough humidity in the air. The vines should be trimmed when they grow too long and lanky. The clippings can be used for cuttings to start others.

Contrary to their name, flowering maples are not related to maples. Actually, they're kin to hollyhocks. These plants bear small, hibiscus-like blooms in shades of red, white, pink, orange, yellow, and even blue. And like the passionflower, if given enough light, will bloom on and off all year. The pretty maple-like leaves are usually dark green. They usually don't need as much water in winter months. During the spring and summer months, fertilize flowering maple plants with a flowering-houseplant fertilizer. To keep them from getting too shrubby or leggy, trim the plants back occasionally. 


Perfect for gardeners who want constant bright indoor color, flamingo lilies will bloom all year, if given enough light. Flamingo lilies are popular with florists. Because of their long-lasting, bright red or pink flowers, they are often used in tropical flower arrangements. Even if the plants don't get enough light to bloom constantly, they still have attractive foliage with shiny, dark-green, heart- or arrow-shaped leaves. During the spring and summer months, fertilize with a flowering-houseplant fertilizer to ensure producing consistent blooming. Give them plenty of humidity all year. 


Giant elephant's ears that many gardeners grow outdoors are too large to be suitable houseplants, but several of the smaller species are spectacular indoors. Many of these plants have very decorative dark green, nearly black leaves highlighted with bright silver veins. This showy foliage attracts attention in all seasons. Elephant's ears grow in moderately bright light, and generally require less water in winter. Fertilize with a houseplant fertilizer through the spring and summer. To keep the leaves looking healthy, give them plenty of humidity all year.

Often overlooked as houseplants, Persian shields are beautiful shrub-like plants, native to areas of southeastern Asia. The plant’s dramatic foliage of wonderful, toothed dark-green leaves painted with tones of silver, pink, and purple on the top and dark burgundy on the undersides will also treat you with small spikes of blue flowers, given the right conditions. Persian shields like a relatively bright spot, good humidity, and light pruning from time to time to keep them from looking too shrubby. As recommended for all these indoor beauties, watering should be done when the potting mix is slightly dry.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.