Philodendrons are a timeless plants that add style and glamour to your home.
The philodendron has continued to provide classic style and glamour to living spaces for the last century. My condominium was built in the early 70’s. It has a dated vibe – which I love. I was born in the 60’s and grew up in the 70’s so the design elements (not to mention TV shows, movies and music) from that era are comforting.
In those days, ferns were the house plant du jour. Their ubiquitous use (or overuse) in homes and sitcoms became a running punch line not lost on Martin Mull when he called his talk show, “Fernwood Tonight.”
My new home is larger than my studio apartment. Rather then fill up my space with furniture, I decided to consider making plants a key part of my decorating scheme. Not only do they soften up empty corners, but they also add a dimension to spaces that décor cannot. More precisely, plants add life!
What kind of plant to get?
I live (Southern California) in a semi-arid climate with long, dry, hot summers, making ferns feel out of place – even though they’d compliment my home’s 70’s vibe. But somehow, they seem out of place.
I’d spent time wandering the plant aisles of several big box home improvement stores only to be disappointed by their limited selection of larger indoor plants. But that didn’t stop me from picking up smaller house plants – (an anthurium that I put next to my fireplace for a pop of color from its red flower and some variety of mini ornamental philodendron on my dining room table).
I watch a lot of old Mexican and US movies and have been paying attention to the plants used as set décor and began noticing philodendrons. They seem to give a tropical, “bringing the outdoors-in” feel that appeals to my aesthetic.
Finding a Philodendron
It so happens there’s a large nursery half mile from me that I pass on my daily walks. It’s huge. Riverside is filled with plant nurseries. These aren’t your “garden-variety” flower nurseries but huge wholesale operations that grow and sell large specimens of trees, shrubs, and succulents. Most staff drive around it in ATV’s – it’s that big. I paid a visit since it was open to the public.
Initially I wasn’t looking for a philodendron. What brought me there was my desire to find decent sized, drought tolerant plants that would do well in large containers and could handle almost full sun. A friendly nursery staff member encouraged me to explore the grounds. While looking at rows of giant blooming aloe vera (I bought two!) I came across aisles of large philodendrons in the further reaches of the nursery.
It was a have-to-have a first site
I put down $36.00 on two “Lacy Tree Philodendrons! One I put in the ground in front of my home and the other in a large pot in my dining room/kitchen. Several weeks later I was at a different plant nursery and noticed they had somewhat smaller philodendrons with a different leaf structure. I shared my excitement about finding good-sized philodendrons with a nearby staff member. She said that they’re considered the “Great Dane” of plants. As in, super cute as puppies but grow into Marmaduke. Even if I knew that before buying them, it wouldn’t have changed my mind.
I’m happy with my philodendrons and you will be too
There are many varieties and sizes of philodendrons making it a great plant to consider for your living situation. If you want an affordable, low maintenance, throwback-to-the-past plant that will warm up your place, the philodendron is well worth it!
