Indoor plants, outdoor treats

Break the rules and give your house plants a summer holiday, with Michael Perry's mixed pot display ideas

- Michael Perry

A house plant doesn't always have to fly solo. Many indoor plants with similar growing needs can be mixed together, just as you would with outdoor plants. Your displays can be cutting-edge and creative and, above all, long-lasting and very easy to maintain.

Furthermore, some of the tougher, more durable types will also be super happy growing outside over the summer months. You can add a whole new dimension to your patio or balcony when you change up your petunia plugs for a few cuttings of pothos!

Here are a few fresh ideas that blur the lines between indoor and outdoor growing, and are bound to get you looking at your house plants in a whole new light.

Tropical vibes

This colourful summer pot could rival any typical garden bedding display. I've chosen long-flowering kalanchoe, with a backdrop of exotic Codiaeum variegatum, plus a trailing peperomia it's certainly a good blend of thriller, filler and spiller. And this container would, of course, look great indoors, too.

Plants

➊ Codiaeum variegatum x 3

❷ Peperomia rotundifolia x 1

❸ Kalanchoe Mixed x 3

You will need

• Peat-free potting compost
• Controlled-release fertiliser and/or moisture-retentive crystals
• 27cm pot

Method

1 Consider the position and care your plants will need and add fertiliser or moisture-retentive crystals if useful.

2 Arrange your display with the plants in their pots to make sure you're happy with the look, then remove the pots.