When you’re designing or decorating a space, you simply can’t go past indoor plants. They can instantly brighten and freshen a space. They bring a modern vibe and feeling as well. But beyond that, having plants around is simply good for us.
Indoor plants help regulate the humidity, purify our air, help us concentrate, reduce anxiety and stress, decrease depression, enhance our memory, increase creativity and improve our self-esteem. They are beautiful and calming to look at and be around. Plus, they just make us feel happier.
But not every plant is suitable for indoor living. Many simply require too much sunlight. However, there are some very beautiful plants that can easily adapt to low light conditions and thrive in your home or office. Here are our top seven indoor plants for low light.
Our Top 7 Indoor Plants for Low Light
1. Aglaonema ‘Marie’
Marie is a gorgeous, low growing and dense foliage plant with a stunning two tone variegation. It looks particularly lovely against dark backgrounds, and is the perfect feature plant to set in a planter unit set on a long table or featuring in a showcase desktop pot.
Marie needs a shaded to dappled light position and because it’s a tropical plant would love a light misting now and then.
2. Peace Lily, Spathiphyllum
The Peace Lily makes the perfect gift for someone who’s lost a loved one. But it also makes a truly fabulous indoor plant for your home or office. It’s a lush, dense foliage plant with glossy green leaves that look incredible as a single planting, and has even more effect when block planted together into one large space.
The Peace Lily also produces delicate white to pale green flowers above the foliage which just add to its presence. Flowering indoor plants are unusual, so we love to add Peace Lily’s to multi-plant areas to give some height and flavour. A fantastic all-rounder.
3. Happy Plant, Dracaena Fragrans Massangeana
The Happy Plant will certainly bring happiness to your space, as well as interest. And variety. With its long arching foliage that features a mid-band of bright lime green nestled between lush, dark green, this plant is perfect for providing height without getting too wide. It’s also incredibly tough, and will thrive at the lowest light levels.
4. Snake Plant, Sansevieria Trifasciata Superba
With its two tone banding, the Snake Plant is a statement foliage plant that is both robust and distinctive. And it cleans air better than most other indoor plants because it has the ability to absorb excessive amounts of carbon monoxide.
The Snake Plant can grow over 1m tall, which makes it a wonderful focal plant and because it’s adaptable to different conditions, you can move it around your space as you like.
5. Zanzibar Gem, Zamioculcas Zamiifolia
A striking plant with thick stems and lobed dark green leaves that have shiny cuticle surface, the Zanzibar Gem is one of the best low maintenance plants in our indoor arsenal. In fact, it can tolerate neglect, drought and low light conditions, and continue to thrive.
Its waxy, glossy leaves also serve to reflect sunlight. This effectively lightens and brightens the room, and the mood of the people in the room. Because it’s a slow grower there’s no need to repot often, either. And a NASA study found it’s unusually adept at removing toxins such as xylene, toluene and benzene from the air.
6. Spathiphyllum ‘Sensation’
This is the giant leaf variety of the Spathiphyllum that is both soft and bold in its foliage. The glossy dark green leaves grow with a layered effect, and are distinctively ribbed, giving the ‘Sensation’ plant a full, lush appearance, perfect for your space.
In higher light positions, ‘Sensation’ will also produce large white spathes that contrast beautifully to the dark, lush foliage.
7. Peacock Plant, Calathea Makoyana
The Peacock Plant takes after its namesake – it’s showy, vibrant and full of life with a glossy foliage featuring a beautiful, feathery leaf pattern. Because it’s a clumping plant, it creates a stunning feature on a table or in a central atrium and adds interest and variation to a multi-plant area. And, like the other plants on this list, it’s very easy to care for.
Choosing Your Indoor Plants
When you create your indoor garden, you’ll want to consider the plants that will suit your interior design style. Will a ‘tropical’ look work best, giving you a lush, rainforest environment? If so, perhaps consider plants such as the Zanzibar Gem. Or do you have a modern interior, with minimalist, clean lines? If so, you may want to focus on more sculptural plants such as the Happy Plant.
No matter what your style, greening your space will add beauty and interest and is certainly wonderful for your mental health and wellbeing.
