My job is both a blessing and a curse. I get to visit some of the most stylish homes around the country, meet wonderfully creative homeowners and see first-hand what makes a home beautiful. Sounds like a total blessing, you might say.
So what’s the curse? There are often so many brilliant ideas to steal that I end up paralysed by choice – particularly as I live in a one-bedroom flat and have grand designs but a small budget. It is a lovely Victorian conversion, but it lacks the character and space of a country cottage.
One idea I have noticed cropping up again and again, however, is surprisingly easy and relatively inexpensive to recreate: the rise of the indoor pelargonium.
Once considered old-fashioned, these cheerful plants are appearing in stylish homes in all sorts of colours, shapes and varieties.
A way to add instant character
In the most chic homes, pelargoniums are a long way from the regimented rows of scarlet and fuchsia flowers that may spring to mind. Their appeal lies in the looseness of their styling: they look just as glorious in an aged terracotta pot perched on a kitchen stool, seen above in Lucy Ogilvie-Grant's kitchen, as they do clustered informally on a sunny windowsill or placed among books, ceramics and collected objects on a side table.
Choose a scented variety, interesting foliage or softer shades of pink, white and burgundy, and the effect feels characterful, rather than old-fashioned.
I have one old faithful of my own, given to me by Country Living’s former Houses Director and propagated from his scented ‘Attar of Roses’ pelargonium.
Thanks to the folly of youth – and perhaps some less-than-attentive care – it is now quite leggy and I am still waiting patiently for it to flower.
Three more scented varieties have recently joined it, ordered from Fibrex Nurseries, a Worcestershire-based pelargonium specialist recommended by my mother: ‘Boths Snowflake’, ‘Charity’ and the rather less catchily named ‘P. odoratissimum’.
They may not yet be putting on much of a floral display, but they still have plenty of appeal. Scented pelargoniums earn their keep long before they flower: rub your fingers against their leaves and they release fragrances ranging from rose and citrus to mint and apple. Their foliage can be just as decorative as their blooms, which makes them an easy way to bring colour, texture and life into a room.
An economical choice
More importantly, unlike a bunch of cut flowers that may last little more than a week, a well-cared-for pelargonium can keep growing and flowering for months.
For anyone who likes to have something fresh and pretty on the kitchen table but cannot justify a weekly trip to the florist, they offer a much more economical alternative.
For now, my three newcomers are lined up on the living-room windowsill, less as a styling decision than for their own benefit: pelargoniums are sun-lovers and need plenty of daylight to thrive.
Once they are more established, however, I plan to put them to work around the flat – one as a centrepiece on the dining table, another on the mantelpiece and the third wherever it can bring a little colour without being deprived of light.
What to know about caring for pelargoniums
There are three main things to remember when caring for pelargoniums.
- First, never overwater them. Wait until the soil is dry about an inch below the surface, and make sure they are planted in well-draining compost.
- Second, place them somewhere that receives plenty of light, at least 6 hours a day, which is why they are such a natural fit for sunny windowsills.
- Finally, prune them regularly, removing spent flowers and yellowing leaves to encourage continuous blooming and keep the plant healthy.
I’m sticking closely to these rules in the hope that my new additions will flourish before I expand my collection. Even so, I already have my eye on the following varieties for my remaining windowsills. It’s time we all embraced the return of the pelargonium.
Pick of the pelargoniums
Variegated Fragrans
Daisy Bendall is the Houses Editor at Country Living and House Beautiful, where she spends her days sourcing some of the most inspiring homes across the country. Prior to specialising in real homes, Daisy worked for Good Housekeeping, Red, Elle Decoration and Prima, styling shoots, covering the latest decorating trends and hunting down the best buys for your home.
