If there’s anything that can make an apartment pop with color and life, it’s indoor plants. Your luxury Denver apartments are beyond stylish enough as it is, but here are some tips on how to add a green thumb's touch to your indoor decor.
Indoor plants are the perfect apartment piece. Not only do they bring a little freshness into small apartment spaces, but they also add a decorative touch to the style of your home. Plants are the ultimate customizable home decor piece: choose your plant that fits your space, choose the planter that fits your style, then hang it from any imaginable surface you have available. The sky's the limit when it comes to your indoor plant life, and we are here to tell you just how to make your apartment pop with green freshness all year ‘round.
Why choose indoor plants?
There’s always a plant that’s right for you
Taking home an indoor plant requires a base level of commitment akin to looking after a Tamagotchi. Well, maybe a little bit more, but we’re just trying to realistically set your expectations. Different plants will require different levels of care, so there is absolutely a plant for you out there, no matter how green your thumb.
They serve many purposes
We’ve already talked a bit about how indoor plants provide a touch of style to your apartment space, especially since there’s such a wide variety to choose from. However, indoor plants serve multiple purposes aside from their aesthetic value.
Indoor plants can freshen your air — one hundred percent naturally! Plants like lavender or herbs are naturally fragrant, so if you take care of them well they will return the favor by adding a fresh fragrance to your apartment.
In addition to being naturally fragrant, indoor plants can make a great addition to your kitchen and your cooking. Growing herbs indoors is easy and doesn’t require a whole lot of effort, so it’s completely realistic to have your own fresh herb garden right in your own kitchen. You can have a kitchen garden whether you live on the first floor or the seventh, and that’s the beauty of indoor herbs!
Now, before we get too much further into this topic, it’s important to remember that your climate is going to be one of the biggest factors into the livelihood of your plants. Yes, even indoor plants are affected by the climate outdoors, so you’ll need to know a little about where you live and what plants would work best.
Indoor plants for Denver’s climate
Tropical indoor plants for Denver apartments
Most indoor plants are from tropical climates, so they are used to living with at least a bit of humidity in the air. Denver’s climate, however, is much drier than most climates are, and even indoor air quality is affected by the outside air. Air conditioning doesn’t really help, either, as it dries out the air even further.
You can water a plant until the cows come home, but leaves lose water so much faster in dry air that the plant might not be able to retain the moisture long enough to thrive. If you want to own and grow tropical plants, then consider purchasing a small humidifier to add a little extra moisture to the air for your plants to soak up. Check out this great list of small plant humidifiers to keep your plant babies alive.
Here are some great tropical plants to have in your Denver apartment home! These mostly require low to moderate light, with a few exceptions, so they will do well in any corner of your home that receives at least a bit of sunshine. Click on the links to learn more about specific care instructions for each plant.
Herbs - high to moderate light
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Chives
- Lemon Balm
- Mint
- Parsley
- Cilantro
Herbs are easy to grow and are the most practical of plants. Check out this article on how to arrange your very own indoor herb garden.
English ivy - high to moderate light
Most ivies are fairly easy to care for, and they yield some great decorative results. Trimming ivy regularly will make the plant more bushy, while letting it grow out can result in long strings of greenery.
Staghorn fern - moderate light
These delicate ferns are hardy plants that can be grown with just a little mound of soil. They make for great wall art as they can be mounted on pieces of wood or in small hanging pots.
Philodendron - moderate to low light
This leafy vine is one of the easiest indoor houseplants to care for, as it requires little light and can last long periods without water. Trim the leaves for a bushy hanging plant, or leave the vines to grow wild and let them weave around your home.
Monstera - low to moderate light
If you’re looking for a big, leafy statement piece for an empty corner, the Monstera is the houseplant for you. This plant, often called the “Swiss cheese” plant because of its holey leaves, has a deep green color and tall stems, making this a great space-filler and decor piece.
ZZ Plant - low light
Zamioculcas zamiifolia: if you don’t get this plant for its ridiculously fun name, you should get it for the ease of care and beautiful leaves. Beware, though, because this plant is poisonous if eaten by children or animals.
Dry-air indoor plants for Denver apartments
If you don’t want to dish out the cash for a small army of humidifiers, then you can always opt for plants that thrive naturally in dry heat. With any dry-heat plants, it's important to make sure that you don’t overwater the plant as it could drown or rot with too much moisture. Check the links to find out exactly how to care for each of these green friends!
Lavender - high to moderate light
Good ventilation, bright sunlight and careful watering allows lavender to thrive indoors. Pruning the flowers often makes the plant bushier, but too much may restrict flower growth altogether. Plus, it gives off a wonderfully gentle scent that purifies and freshens your home.
Succulents and cactuses - high to moderate light
These hearty little guys are perfect for drier climates as they have the unique ability to store water in their leaves for long periods of time. They grow slowly, but with the proper care they can make for gorgeous centerpieces and decorative indoor gardens.
Snake plant - moderate to low light
Snake plants can grow up to 3 feet high, depending on the variety. These plants clean toxins from the air and can occasionally bloom with small white flowers if cared for properly. They require little water and look great as a centerpiece or shelf plant!
Lucky bamboo (in water) - moderate to low light
Lucky bamboo is easy enough to care for when grown in water. All you need to do is change out the water and fertilizer every now and then, and voila! However, make sure to keep an eye on the water levels, chemicals in the water and light levels to make sure that it gets the care it needs!
Cast iron plant - low light
In addition to thriving in drier conditions, the cast iron plant is non-toxic for animals and children, making this the perfect addition to your Denver apartment. Too much sunlight can burn the leaves, so tuck this green beauty into a shady corner, and let it do its thing!
TIP: Visit Planted in Denver’s LoHi district if you’re looking for a good spot to buy indoor plants, cactus and succulents locally. It’s just 10 minutes from our LoDo Denver apartments!
We hope you use these tips to outfit your luxury Denver apartment with some great indoor plants. There’s nothing better than adding a bit of life and freshness to your living space, so try out your green thumb and enjoy the process!
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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/StockSnap
Second photo courtesy Pixabay/WikimediaImages
Colleen Ford is a South African who now lives on Oahu in Hawai'i. She loves to travel, camp, spearfish and hike. She's also part of a super cool canoe club and is pretty decent at it. Colleen enjoys Star Wars and also not being cold ever.
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