Lifestyle and interior designer, Geneva Vanderzeil reveals her tips and tricks on how to master the perfect botanical garden inside the house
Indoor plants are on the rise with platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok showcasing some of the best plant-decorated homes.
During lockdown, plants have become a way to occupy people’s free time as well as to help relaxation.
With 235k followers on Instagram, Brisbane interior design guru, published author and social media influencer, Geneva Vanderzeil, inspires her community with lifestyle tips to improve their routines and wellbeing.
“I guess a big part of what I’ve always done is I’ve always tried to integrate content that I think is useful for people. That’s something I always ask myself whenever I create any content is ‘is this useful for people?’”.
And for her, plants are an essential element for a calm and happy home.
“For me, plants are just uplifting, they provide visual relief in a space as well as purifying the air, adding natural scent and adding hydration back into the air…Creating a botanical garden is all about bringing plants into your space that have properties that make you healthier and happier”, she said.
“They have the potential to make you feel happier and make you excited to get out of bed”.
Additionally, Geneva believes having plants benefits people mentally and physically.
“The plants probably offer more for me than I do for them because they add oxygen to the air and remove toxins from the air. I love adding Aloe Vera which you can also use on your skin if you’ve got any irritation. So, I guess it’s like a symbiotic relationship really, plants provide you with all these things and then you look after them and you created a space where they’re going to thrive”, she said.
Geneva has collaborated with Herbal Essences’ bio: renew Potent Aloe Shampoo and Conditioner, to bring to life a ‘botanical shower’ – a new and trendy way to enjoy indoor plants.
” I love the idea ( that) people can bring botanicals into their shower both in the form of a product that really works and also in the form of plants that really make you happy and can improve your wellbeing”, she said.
How To Create The Ultimate Botanical Shower
“In the bathroom, there are so many plants you can bring in which will thrive in low light and humid conditions, as well as purify and hydrate the air around you, making your bathroom an amazingly healthy space to be in.
“The first plant I chose for the bathroom was Aloe Vera. These plants are so incredibly hydrating, are one of the hardiest plants to keep in the house, and due to the humidity in the bathroom, require virtually no watering. It’s also an insanely hydrating botanical and great for soothing your skin. Similarly, I’ve noticed that the Herbal Essences bio: renew Potent Aloe collection has been so hydrating for my hair, the Aloe in it has made my hair so nourished and shiny”, Geneva explained.
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Other plants she recommends in the shower are Eucalyptus, Monstera, Dieffenbachia, Pothos, Peace Lily, Spider Plant, Bamboo, Ivy, Snake Plant and the Cast Iron Plant.
However, it’s important to know that not all plants will thrive in these conditions.
“I think it’s really comes down to choosing the right plants because obviously not all plants are going to love those conditions, but I specifically chose plants from tropical and humid climates so I knew that they would really thrive in that environment.
“What I like to think about is that the fishbone cactus for example loves to have a really tropical and humid field so I knew that that would be a plant that would thrive”, she said.
How to begin your plant-parent journey
Taking care of plants can be a huge responsibility which is why many choose to stay in the world of fake plants.
Geneva, however, offered easy ways to keep plants thriving with the least amount of work.
“If you’re new to growing indoor plants, my suggestion is to incorporate ones that are hardy and don’t require much water. That will mean they require less maintenance and can handle a little neglect. I love the Rubber Plant, Zanzibar Gem, Snake Plant, Monstera and Pothos because they’re plants that thrive no matter the conditions. I think that’s a good place to start and then build your comfort level from there”.
Creating a botanical shower can also help those wanting to start as certain plants are able to survive through low light and humid conditions bathrooms have to offer.
“They’re also the plants that no matter where you put them in the house they can handle it. If you go away for the weekend and you don’t water them. Whereas, there will be other plants like ferns and various other plans but that you don’t get that flexibility, so that would be my recommendation”.
