Get Your Blooms On! Colorful Flowering Plants For Your Spring Apartment Decorating!

April is finally here!  It’s time for you to bring some living color into your living space, let the blooms and flowers take over for the dull, gray of Winter past.  We have compiled a list of gorgeous potted plants that can transform any part of your home into a vibrant sanctuary bringing Spring indoors for good!

The collection below contain some of the easiest plants to maintain and are readily available to New Yorkers at your local bodega, florist, or home center.

Anthurium

Among the best-known Hawaiian tropical flowers is anthurium. Also known as Tail Flower, this exotic beauty features long-lasting red spathes and lush, deep-green foliage.  The red, heart-shaped flower of Anthuriums is really a spathe or a waxy, modified leaf flaring out from the base of a fleshy spike (spadix) where the tiny real flowers grow. The anthurium flowers appear as a roughness on the spadix as compared to a smooth spadix. Most common colors of anthuriums are red and shades of red.

photo courtesy of www.bunnings.co.nz

Geranium

Several types of geraniums are grown as houseplants. Regal or Martha Washington geranium, pictured, has the largest, showiest blooms, but requires cool growing conditions. The common garden geranium (P. xhortorum), and ivy geranium (P. peltatum), also offer showy flowers but on easier-growing plants. Most scented geraniums are grown primarily for their deeply divided, fragrant foliage rather than their flowers, which are insignificant.

It’s so easy to grow that it’s practically no-fail.

photo courtesy of www.waterdrinker.nl

African Violet

African violets are among the easiest to grow flowering houseplants. They bloom year-round with little effort. Choose from hundreds of varieties and forms, some with variegated foliage or ruffled or white-edged blooms. African violet likes warm conditions and filtered sunlight. Avoid getting water on the fuzzy leaves; cold water causes unsightly brown spots.

If you have a bright window, this plant will bloom almost constantly. They’re also really versatile, blooming in almost every color to match your decor. Plus, it’s a sentimental, old-fashioned plant that reminds us of our grandmothers.

photo courtesy of www.bcliving.ca

Calamondin Orange

This hybrid between mandarin orange and kumquat bears fragrant white blossoms in late winter or spring. The wonderfully fragrant flowers develop into showy 1-inch-diameter orange fruits on a shrubby plant with glossy green foliage. Fruits can remain on the plant for many weeks.

You can harvest the fruits after they ripen and use them like lemons or kumquats or make them into marmalade.

photo courtesy of Ashish Rai on www.twitter.com

Hibiscus

Tropical hibiscus is the ultimate plant for creating a touch of the tropics. It forms huge blooms, up to 8 inches in diameter, on a shrubby upright plant that you can train to grow as a tree. Individual blossoms last only a day or two, but plants bloom freely from late spring through fall and occasionally through winter. Keep the soil uniformly moist and give the plant as much indoor light as possible to keep it blooming.

The giant blooms are eye-catching and irresistible. Plus, hibiscus come in a dizzying array of colors — from shades of red to pink to orange, yellow, white, and even blue.

photo courtesy of en.paperblog.com

Jasmine

There are many types of jasmine. Many-flowered, and Arabian jasmine are two of the easiest to grow; just give them plenty of light and moisture. They’ll all bear fragrant pink to white blooms on vining plants.

The beautiful pink or white blooms are the some of the most fragrant you’ll find on any houseplant.

Flowering Maple

Crepe-paper-like blooms in shades of red, pink, orange, or yellow dangle among leaves like festive lanterns. Many varieties have splotched or variegated foliage for extra interest. Grow the plant upright as a tree, prune it back to keep it shrubby, or even grow it in a hanging basket. Its common name comes from the leaves, which resemble those of a maple tree.

This fast-growing plant is almost constantly in bloom.

photo courtesy of www.indoorflowers.net/flowering-maple

Oxalis

Oxalis bears triangular, clover-like purple leaves and an almost constant show of pink or white blooms. Look for varieties that have plain green foliage with or without silvery accents. Oxalis grows from small bulbils in the soil; you can divide these any time the plant becomes crowded in its pot.

The shamrock-shape leaves are beautiful and charming. Plus, it’s a great gift on St. Patrick’s Day.

photo courtesy of www.gardenista.com

Brazilian Fireworks

Wondering where this plant received its moniker? The fireworks part of its name comes from two sources: In late spring and summer it sends up deep red flower bracts that develop lavender flowers, creating an explosion of color. And then, as flowers fade, it can shoot its small black seeds across a room. Like many houseplants, it’s also a great choice for growing outdoors in a shade.

It’s always attractive. You never have to worry about what it looks like when it’s done blooming because the beautiful leaves are marked with silver.

photo courtesy of www.mygardenlife.com

And there you have it.  Color and fragrance, easy to maintain for a price that won’t break your bank.

As always, we hope you have a great weekend, and should you decide you are ready to take a larger step toward making your home a little bit more enjoyable, please consider contacting us for a no-cost in-home consultation to discuss any and all of your renovation needs!