When we think of plants, we think of luscious greens, beautiful foliage, and a mixture of textures and aromas. Whether they are grown indoors or outdoors, plants are an extension of our personalities, and adding them to our homes is a great way to add new life into our space.
The great news is, no matter what you’re looking for, there are plenty of plant options out there for you to choose from and we’ve gathered up some of our favorite green plants just for you.
Take a look at our list below to discover all the gorgeous greens that will have you reaching for your car keys and heading straight down to the local garden center ASAP!
Outdoor Green Plants
1. Artemisia
The Artemisia, or Mugwort as it’s otherwise known, has pungent aromatic leaves that are silver, white, or gray. It’s a brilliant plant to use within a mixed border and thanks to the finely dissected leaves, it tends to add a soft texture to any garden or area. It can also be grown in containers if space is an issue.
This plant typically enjoys full exposure to sunlight and if looked after well, it can reach heights of up to 6 feet tall and 12 feet wide.
2. Lamb’s Ear
This plant is known for its soft fuzzy texture and silver foliage that resembles a lamb’s ear, hence the name. It tends to grow best when exposed to full sunlight planted in well-drained soil and can even withstand drought once planted. Native to the Mediterranean, the Lamb’s Ear is considered an attractive plant to use in a border or edging to add texture and variety to your garden space.
Once matured, this plant can reach heights of up to 18 inches tall and can grow to 36 inches wide.
3. Lilyturf
The Lilyturf plant is often used as a substitute for a turf lawn or to cover areas that don’t have regular foot traffic. Its strappy green leaves are fine in texture and during the late summer months, you can find purple, pink, or white flowers appearing in spikes on this plant. It’s quick-growing and also drought tolerant and is perfect for ground cover, to control erosion issues, or to add texture to a pathway or edging.
This plant needs to be planted in an area that can provide both full sun and partial shade.
4. Lungwort
Lungwort is generally grown for its beautiful lance-shaped leaves that are green, silver, speckled, and even patterned and help create a beautiful visual treat for your space. As well as its leaves, this plant also has colorful bell-shaped flowers that grow in clusters and appear in early spring.
This plant loves the shade so it’s best to plant it in a woodland garden that can provide it with this coverage.
5. Pachysandra Terminalis
The Pachysandra Terminalis, also known as Japanese Spurge, can reach heights of around 6 inches but is mainly used as a spreading plant. By using its underground runners it can easily fill a bare area in your garden, making it a great option for a border plant or as part of a small hedge. During the spring months, it features stubby spikes of white flowers which stand out against the toothed, glossy leaves of this plant.
The Pachysandra Terminalis prefers the shade to sunny spots, so if you have an area in your garden that doesn’t receive a lot of sunlight, this plant is perfect for you.
6. Wall Germander
This shrubby evergreen can grow to around 1 foot tall and has a width just over that, making it very similar to Boxwood but smaller in size. Grown mostly for its aromatic foliage, this plant works extremely well when planted in rows as it creates perfectly neat hedges.
It’s often thought of as an old-fashioned plant, but due to it being a bee magnet and the current decline in bee populations, the popularity of this plant is on the rise.
During the summer and early fall months, you can find deep purple flowers appearing on this plant, which when paired with the dark-green, shiny leaves, makes for a glorious sight in any space.
7. Tricolor Sage
Although this plant has violet-colored blooms, it’s more often than not grown for its variegated leaves. Young leaves tend to be purple, however, as they mature, they will turn green with a white margin to them and an aromatic fragrance. This plant can reach heights of up to 40cm and are great for attracting bees to your garden.
Even though sage is commonly used in cooking, this plant is also a valuable decorative evergreen shrub. To make the most of it, include it in ornamental borders among other evergreen plants.
RELATED: Decoration, Spice, Medicine – Get To Know 17 Types Of Versatile Sage Plants
8. Hosta
Hostas are known for being incredible foliage plants, and even though they bloom, the flowers of this plant are often removed to allow the focus to remain on the leaves. They tend to be used in the garden as if they were small shrubs and even though they vary greatly in size, they can often be found in borders or edging. The leaves of this plant come in a variety of greens which range from a deep almost blue-green, to soft creamy light green.
When planting a Hosta, it’s good to remember that the lighter the leaves, the sunnier the spot needs to be, however, the darker the leaves, the more shade it needs.
9. Elephant Ears
This tropical plant is a popular choice with gardeners thanks to its versatility and beautiful leaves. Elephant Ears can be used as background plants, ground covers, or edging and look especially great near water features. Commonly, they are used as a focal point and can either be planted in the ground or grown in containers.
They are considered easy to grow and even though they prefer partial shade, they can also be grown in full sunlight as long as the soil is rich and moist.
10. Papyrus
One of the most important plants in ancient civilized Egypt, Papyrus plants were often used for paper, woven goods, food, and also fragrance. Nowadays, Papyrus is often used as the centerpiece of a water garden. Found in some of the warmest states in the U.S., this plant can easily withstand hot and humid conditions. However, it has no frost tolerance so it should be moved indoors from the beginning of fall.
Achieving heights of up to 10 feet tall, this plant needs to be kept moist for best results, hence it is commonly used as part of a water garden.
Indoor Green Plants
1. Paddle Plant
This bold succulent has big, round beautiful green leaves with pink tips which help bring a dash of color to your home. It favors sunshine, so placing it on a windowsill where it can bathe all day in the sun would be ideal. The Paddle Plant is also very easy to care for as it tends to prefer being on the drier side, so if you forget to water it, rest assured it will still be full of life.
2. Lady Palm
The Lady Palm is a full and vibrant plant to keep indoors and just like the Paddle Plant, it’s fairly easy to care for. Place this plant in a spot where it can enjoy uninterrupted sunlight all day long, and you will have a happy Lady Palm. With beautiful large, thick leaves, this fan palm plant can reach around 3-4 meters in height but is typically known for being a slow-growing plant.
3. String of Pearls
Resembling a pearl necklace with its fleshy green, pea-like foliage this succulent is incredibly easy to grow indoors. It’s best to place it in bright, indirect sunlight and water it every couple of weeks. If planted in a hanging basket, this little gem will trail down and help create a glorious focal point in any home.
4. Albuca Frizzle Sizzle
The Albuca Frizzle Sizzle is a great quirky, fun plant to have around the home, and not only is it easy to care for, but its fragrance is incredible. Similar in scent to vanilla, this plant will fill any room with its sweet aroma.
It can grow to around 8 inches tall, and is famous for its unusual corkscrew leaves. During the summer and fall months, you only need to water this plant every 2-3 weeks, however, during the colder months, you should increase this to every week to keep the soil moist, but not soggy.
5. Jade
The Jade Plant is a firm favorite with gardeners across the globe and growing this indoors is incredibly easy, mainly due to the plant retaining water in its round leaves.
This means that it can often survive more than a month without you having to care for it. Once watered, the plant will rehydrate and continue to grow, and can often reach heights of up to 5 feet tall. The best place for this plant is in a window that catches the sun but can also offer it shade throughout the day.
Final Thoughts
With so many green plants available, besides the ones mentioned above, you can create a tropical green paradise both inside your home and outdoors in your garden. With so many plants thriving in containers, you really can blur the line between garden and home and extend whatever green space you have, no matter its size.
So whether you’re looking for more vibrant green plants to take up space indoors, or if you need more greenery to fill areas in your garden, you have a huge variety of options to choose from, each of which will help create a dramatic, beautiful scene.
The majority of people who have no interest in the subject, and aren’t green fingered assume that all plants and vegetables require the same growing conditions. This is not the case at all. Each plant has its own unique and interesting history and growing process.
I hope you will find The Natural List useful, and that it will help educate you on the wide variety of different flower and plant species there are across the globe.
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