The Best Indoor Plants to Liven Up Your Space

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The Best Indoor Plants to Liven Up Your Space

After a year spent between four walls, we all learned the best indoor plants can be the perfect home companions. Unlike unruly roommates and disaffected toddlers, houseplants won’t leave dirty dishes in the sink or have a full-blown meltdown mid-Zoom. Instead, they’ll (politely) add oxygen to the air and (quietly) reduce stress. With 2021 primed to be a year of growth and renewal, what better way to start than by joining the Green Thumb Gang? What's more, finding the best indoor plants online has never been easier—and we have all the tips and types to get you started.

Indoor Houseplant Tips for Beginners 

• Know your lighting: Starting or growing your green family requires an understanding of the lighting in your home, so take some time to find out what direction your windows are facing. For the darkest nooks and crannies, consider low-maintenance options like air plants and dried flowers. Plants that bloom and those that are sturdy (hi, Jade and Aloe Vera) love sunny windows. 

• Know your space: Are you working with a sprawling square footage or is “shoe box" more like it? Hanging plants are great for the latter, and for the former: Consider potted floor plants. Most of these “baby trees” have thick or long leaves that fan out into the open, creating an element of wilderness and unpredictability. Proceed with caution excitement.

• Know your limits: If you're new to the whole Plant Mom thing, you may want to try low-maintenance, high-impact plants first. Curb appeal? Check. Not too needy? Check. Gives off that “You could leave tomorrow and I’d continue to thrive in spite of you” energy? Definitely. A low-maintenance, show-stopping houseplant can instantly add dimension to any space without much lift on your end. 

• Be pro-propagation: One of the joys of growing indoor plants is propagation: The act by which a new plant is born from the cutting of an existing plant. Propagating house plants is a genius way to add to your houseplant collection without subtracting from your wallet. Plus, they make great last-minute hostess gifts. Just pop a propagated stem or two of Pothos into a narrow vase (or a reclaimed dark blue kombucha bottle), tie a silk ribbon around it, and rest assured that your gift will be the pride of place.

Now for the fun part: Read on to find and shop the best indoor plants for 2021. 

Best Low-Maintenance Houseplants

Ignore the tiny voice in your head that says "I want to garden but I just can’t keep anything alive” because these damn-near indestructible picks are your saving grace. The below houseplants thrive on being left alone (which is very relatable) and require watering twice a month, maximum.

ZZ Plant

Red Anthurium Flamingo Flower Plant

Ruby Rubber Tree

Calathea Orbifolia Plant

Best Plants for Small Spaces

We’ve never met a tiny room that didn’t look just a touch more inviting with the addition of a strategically-placed houseplant. Choose an indoor plant with an unexpected burst of color—like pink, purple, and neon yellow.

Four-Inch Polka Dot Plant

Nerve Plant

Braided Money Tree

Ponytail Palm Plant

Best Indoor Hanging Plants

Hanging plants can populate your house without taking up precious square footage, and you can position them without obstructions for optimal lighting. Not to mention, there's something undeniably chic about an unexpected burst of green above your head. Who needs a Balinese hotel lobby when you can have gorgeous hanging plants overhead at all times?

Boston Fern Hanging Plant

Rhipsalis Baccifera Plant

Raphidophora Hayi Plaque

Philodendron Brasil Hanging Basket

Best Plants to Propagate

A propagating houseplant is the gift that keeps on giving. Patience is the name of the propagation game, so choose a plant that you genuinely love—you’ll have its offspring all around you! Propagated houseplants will help create a natural flow throughout your space.

Hanging Spider Plant

Potted Pothos Plants, Three Pack

Maple Eclair Propagation Hanger

Grown Up InstaCollection Plants

Best Floor Plants

If you’re dreaming of luxe palms nestled in slouchy straw baskets, you’re not alone. A massive houseplant lends gravitas to your room and helps anchor the textures in your home. If your space is stainless steel and grey everything, a smooth ceramic-based bush maybe just your vibe. If controlled chaos is more your vibe, opt for palm-y plant that’ll let it all hang out.

Potted Date Palm Plant

Potted Fiddle Leaf Fig Bush

Potted Bird of Paradise Plant

Benjamin Money Tree

Dried Flowers

Dried flowers are quite literally frozen between life and death, but that’s precisely what makes them an invaluable part of your indoor landscape. They're often overlooked when it comes to indoor plants, but since they won't die in the dark, you can rotate them throughout your space as you see fit. 

Dried Pampas Grass

Dried Natural Yarrow Bouquet

Preserved Floral Bunches, Set of Three

Dried Star Flowers

Flower Arrangements

Fresh-picked flowers are an easy way to brighten up a countertop, and local farmer's markets tend to have plenty of pre-arranged, seasonal bouquets. But if you're not comfortable poking around market stands right now, a bi-monthly (or monthly) flower delivery service can be a convenient alternative. You'll be sent in-season blooms, and the fixed drop-off date will give you something to look forward to on the day it arrives.

Farmer's Choice Bouquet

Shus Flower Peony Lover Bouquet

Designer's Choice Floral Arrangement

The Meringue Bouquet

Air Plants

Have a cold tile or steel appliance-overload situation in your place? Air plants crave stable, humidity-filled environments and can warm up any space—so we’re looking at you, bathrooms and kitchens.

Geometric Ball Air Plant

The Cathy Succulent

Tillandsia Xerographica Air Plant

The Rex Air Plant

Best Air-Cleaning Plants

Thanks to their ability to purify the air you breathe, these indoor plants will bring you one step closer to the oasis of your dreams. Depending on their size, they can live anywhere you want. But if you want to hone in on their full benefits, place them in areas you spend the most time—of course, that's basically all corners of your house right now but once things go back to normal, look to bedrooms, home offices, and living rooms.

Red Prayer Plant

LiveTrends Air Plants in Teak Planters, Set of Two

Golden Gate Ficus Bonsai

Nepenthes Pitcher Plant

Best Low-Light Plants

Finding a houseplant for a space that gets limited natural light doesn't have to be filled with trial and error (a.k.a., yellowing leaves). Peace Lilies, Snake plants, and Monstera Deliciosas are all durable picks that can spruce up even the most cob-webbed corners of your home. 

Preserved Fern Kokedama

Peace Lily Plant

Monstera Deliciosa Plant

Potted Snake Plant

Best Trailing Plants

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your living green wallscape won't be either. But with time and some creativity, you can set your plants trailing, vining, and climbing up a storm. Set them in a wicker basket or a hanging planter, and watch the long, droopy stems bring greenery into neglected spaces, like empty window sills, dressers, or showers.

English Ivy Plant

String of Succulents Collection, Set of Three

Tradescantia Tricolor Plant in Striped Pot

Scindapsus Picta Satin Plant

Best Succulents and Cactuses

Blame it on their low profiles (literally) or prickly edges, but succulents and cactuses don’t always get the shine they deserve. As unassuming as they are alone, when clustered together, they can dress up a narrow window sill or a barren kitchen countertop.  And since they're so smol, you can pot them in all kinds of quirky planters.

Echeveria

Sahara Succulent

Pink Christmas Cactus

Mother of Thousands Succulent

Best Pet-Friendly Plants

Pets love sniffing, licking, and snacking, but the last thing you want is for them to be ingesting poisonous leaves. You can rest easy with the picks below, knowing they’re safe for the furry friends in your life.

Variegated African Violet Plant

Friendship Plant

Victoria Birds Nest Fern in Grower Pot

Areca Palm Plant

Brionna Jimerson is Glamour's social media manager. You can follow her journey to turn her apartment into a botanical garden here.

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Brionna Jimerson