In&Out plants: houseplants of the month for May

It’s fun to share your patio or balcony with some indoor plants. It looks surprising and original, and for your In&Out plants it’s the lovely summer break.

Your garden as a second living room
Open the doors, wander in and out, and the In&Out plants can go with you, because they’re happy both indoors and outdoors. Calla lily, Campanula, Celosia (Cock’s Comb), Balloon flower (Platycodon) and potted Lily are the quintet that brings the fragrance, colour and verve of summer into your home and garden. Beautiful colours, lots of flowers, shapes that will astound you (you can spend hours staring into Celosia’s swirling maze!), and you can make it as serene or as jazzy as you like.

Oasis behind the front door
House and garden are increasingly merging – think of outdoor kitchens, sedum roofs and green interior walls. Such a private ecosystem does not necessarily have to be a sensible shade of green; it works just as well with colours. In&Out plants let you enjoy innocent white and sunny yellow through to Mediterranean lilac and a southern mix of yellow, orange and red. This interiors style includes stimulation of the senses, and you can be sure that the colours of Calla and Celosia and the fragrance of lilies will help with that. This is how you create a your own Garden of Eden in which to recharge.

Blooming beauties
All In&Out plants are natural jewels. Calla is a stylised beauty with a sexy calyx, Campanula and balloon flower treat you to hundreds of marvellous bells. With Celosia you can choose between plumes and stunning crinkly flowers in colours such as vivid purple, bright pink and flaming red. And the stately potted lily offers plenty of greenery with a crown of majestic flowers with magnificent markings.

Style to suit your taste
With so much choice in terms of colour, you can style entirely to suit your taste. For example, allow the colours to progress from peaceful white and yellow to ever brighter shades outside to give an attractive sightline. Or create brilliant corners with different plants in the same colours: potted lily, Campanula, Celosia, balloon flower and Calla in various shades of pink or white make a spectacular combination, for instance.

Caring for In&Out plants

In&Out plants prefer a light spot, but preferably not in full sun.
They will bloom more beautifully and longer if you keep the soil slightly damp and give them some plant food once a week.
You can remove wilted flowers to keep the plants looking fresh.

Global group
Apart from a tropical Celosia and South African Calla, the In&Out plants are mainly native to the northern hemisphere. They don’t like cold, but they enjoy European summers. They’ve all been growing in the wild for centuries, but special cultivation techniques have optimised them for brightening your living room and summer garden.

In&Out plants trivia

Tradition says that the Gods drank from the Calla’s calyx.
The balloon flower’s five petals are reminiscent of pentagram, and represent the five Taoist elements: wood, water, fire, metal and earth.
Celosia represents humour, warmth and boldness. It’s the plant you give a friend who could do with a little push in the right direction.
According to myth, the goddess Venus had a mirror which only reflected beauty. Cupid dropped it, shattering it into a million pieces. And all those pieces continued to create beauty all around them by blooming as beautiful bells: Campanula.
Potted lily is a stately, aristocratic houseplant with a history dating back centuries, and represents the human connection with the divine.

For more information see: www.thejoyofplants.co.uk

Published on: 26 dubna 2017