Bringing the Outside In
Photography by RYAN RHODES and HILTON CARTER
When living in a townhome or a condo, your outdoor space may be limited or even nonexistent. So, what can you do to bring the outdoors in? How can you relish the benefits that living, natural flora provides?
We sat down for an exclusive interview with plant expert extraordinaire Hilton Carter to get his advice. Carter is a beloved creative and an award-winning author who is passionate about propagating plants—the process of cloning a plant from an existing one using a piece of its anatomy. His own home is an oasis of luscious greenery, and he gave us a peek into his process.
Q: So Hilton, in your own home, why so many plants? What do they do for you on a physical and mental level?
A: My mother raised me knowing the importance of adding greenery into the home. While she had the right idea with adding fake plants, I grew to appreciate the wildness that comes from owning live plants. It all started with my passion for plants and for the arts.
Q: Moms know best! And now, in your own home, how do plants inform your design style or the color palette of the home?
A: Adding a larger plant definitely gives the room an anchoring feel. The fiddle leaf fig can grow to be very tall, and height is a great way to add a statement. It draws your focus to its largeness and makes everything else feel like a detailed accent. It creates a flow of energy by shifting your attention from the busiest corner of the room to then appreciating the smaller thoughts like a color-blocked candle on the coffee table.
And don’t forget about the floor! For my sunroom, I chose tile because this is the room in the house with the most plants and would be the most at risk for any water damage. I chose a mix of neutral and natural colors, including terra cotta and sage.
Q: If someone lives in a condo or has a small outdoor space, do you have advice for bringing the outdoors in?
A: Bathrooms and bedrooms are really fun places to add vining plants if there is ample light. The humidity of a bathroom will help them thrive, and it adds that little special touch that will make your bathroom stand out. Bathrooms are typically a space that people don’t put a lot of intention into styling, which is why adding a vining plant will spruce things up.
Q: If someone is lacking ledges or surfaces to place plants, what can they do instead?
A: Use your wall space! I have a collection of mounted staghorn ferns. Vining plants are also a great option; they can hide dents, cracks, or stains on the walls. You have the option of installing trellises to allow vining plants to grow upward—or hanging them high and letting them cascade down.
Q: Do you have a favorite plant?
A: My favorite is the fiddle leaf fig! It’s just one of the most transformative plants you can bring into your home to make an instant statement. My first born (purchased) was a fiddle leaf fig I named Frank.
Q: What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever put a plant?
A: I wouldn’t call it weird, but I think one really unique space I have in my home is my in-floor planter. I got the idea to install an in-floor planter that drains to the outside when repairing termite damage in my new home. I did have to remove the plant when my daughter began crawling, but now that she’s a bit older, I’ve begun to use the planter again.
Q: That’s amazing! So, is faux greenery ever acceptable? And if so, when?
A: Yes! There’s no shame in going faux! My mother had faux plants in our home and spent the time she had, when she wasn’t working, nurturing me. She had no room for real plants. Nowadays, I’ll often see plants placed in spaces where they truly can’t thrive. Plants are not props. They are living things that need light and care to survive. I hate seeing a beautiful display of live plants in a room where the environment is clearly unable to support them. If your space won’t allow for a real plant, go faux!
WANT MORE?
Grab a copy of Hilton Carter’s latest book, The Propagation Handbook: A Guide to Propagating Plants.
In this book (Carter’s fifth), he walks you through the essentials of “plant parenthood” in his signature engaging, accessible style. Both beautiful and practical, this book guides us through taking cuttings and root development to potting and displaying our newly propagated plant babies.
Hilton delves into the various techniques for propagating plants, from the basic stem cut method to more complex techniques such as air layering and grafting. He digs deep into each propagation technique, offering invaluable tips and sharing his top five favorite plants for each method of propagation. He also presents inspiration for stylish displays, from creating living walls to showcasing new plants in repurposed vessels to building bouquets of plants as they develop new roots. More than 300 of his photographs demonstrate the steps involved in each process and shine a light on stunningly styled new plant starters.
Available at bookshop.org and amazon.com
~ This Bringing the Outside In article was excerpted from the pages of NEST Magazine…To subscribe to NEST, click here. For the full Winter 2023 issue, click through here.