With more Barbican residents than ever discovering the joys of indoor gardening, Miranda McArthur explores how houseplants have taken root in our flats – and in our lives.
Was it Covid, confining us to our flats and houses and limiting our access to green spaces, that has made house plants such a big thing of late? Even the RHS, formally rather sniffy about houseplants except for orchids, has now developed a house plant pavilion at Wisley and regularly features indoor plants in Garden magazine.
The Barbican Horticultural Society now has more members than ever in its 35 yr history and while our focus has mainly been on beautifying our window boxes, there is an increasing interest in plants that can be grown successfully within our flats.
Barbican houseplant enthusiasts come in two varieties: those whom choose a few statuesque specimens to enhance the design and architecture of their carefully curated environments. And then there’s the rest of us who have found ourselves with a plethora of diverse plants, many of them gifted in pots or as cuttings from kind BHS members.
A good example of this latter group is Zsoka Koszan, now living in Gilbert House, with a splendid collection of healthy plants, including a pineapple she grew herself from the top leaves of the plant. The resulting fruit was small and not very sweet, but she ate it anyway and continues to grow the upper, leafy part.
Pineapple plant
Some of her plants were rescued by Fiona Savory from orphaned donations to Andrews car park and nursed back to rude health by Zsoka . Two splendid coconut plants were bought at Ikea, which she finds a reliable place to buy good quality specimens. A magnificent Monstera (Cheese plant) has more than doubled in size since she was gifted it by a friend.
Zsoka and her magnificent Monstera
She even has a lemon tree with three fruits on it though she’s rather despairing about the lack of leaves. “It seems to be keener on developing fruit and sometimes thorns than growing new leaves”.
Lemons but barely a leaf
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Annetta Boyett, who has lived in Speed House for many years, is the doyenne of succulent plants and cacti (see her planting wizardry on Speed and Willoughby High Walks, but also on the car park ramp on Fore Street) has wise words to say about choosing the right plants for your particular aspect, your levels of light, your heating and how often you’re around to water them. “ You have to choose plants that want to live with you,” she says, discovering what thrives by trial and error.. Her flat has three balconies full of the most astonishing collection of succulents, but inside she has a smaller collection of plants. Silvery and colourful begonias, unusually tall snake plants (officially now called dracaena but previously sansevieria and colloquially known as ‘mother in laws tongue’) and several smaller succulents.
Euphorbia lactea and an aloe
Commercial compost for succulents and cacti is expensive, so Annetta makes her own. Her recipe: 60% multipurpose compost, 40% horticultural grit (which can be ordered online but is also available at City Flora & Plants on Old Street).
Avoiding the shade of the overhang, she groups pots of plants that need light but not direct sun on the floor.
Happy plants enjoying indirect sun
She admits that it is only because the underfloor heating in Speed (the first block to be built on the estate) is so feeble that growing plants on the floor is possible. My own experience of having to respect the light needs of my Elephant Ear Alocasia Amazonia was that it appeared to thrive growing below a South facing window but, as soon as it reached the window level, its leaves scorched. Now I’ve moved it to a shadier place its much happier.
Re-sited Elephant Ear flourishing
Jakki Moxham’s Christmas cactus clearly loves its position near the window of her Gilbert flat and flowers profusely every November. “I inherited from my husband’s aunt ion Yorkshire and have had it for 35 years”.
Jakki’s Christmas Cactus
Clearly, not all Barbican locations suit all house plants, especially if they are starved of light, but there a plants who don’t mind shade. Garden Express have a great list of 10 easy to grow plants with care instructions (help.gardeningexpress.co.uk). Species include:
Aloe Vera, Dragon tree, Golden ethos, Peace Lily, Rubber plant (ficus elastica), Spider plant, Snake plant and the charming String of hearts (Ceropegia woodii), with its trailing foliage. Most are shade and drought tolerant. In fact the ZZ plant only need watering every 2-3 weeks.
TO WATER – OR NOT TO WATER?
Annetta’s advice on watering is ”Only when they need it”, apparently simplistic but spot on. In Autumn and Winter our heated flats tend to dry out plants, as does the solar gain through the window glass in Summer. This is particularly true for the top layers of compost; sticking a finger at least two inches below the surface is generally a reliable way of detecting your plant’s need for irrigation. Peace lilies are thirsty plants and I’ve often come back from a trip to find mine completely drooping and apparently not long for this world. But give it a good watering (or soaking and then draining) and within a few hours it will have completely perked up. By contrast, most orchids (e.g. phalaenopsis) need far less watering and can easily be drowned by overwatering. I’ve lost more than one orchid through the over-enthusiastic watering of a friend kindly caring for my plants in my absence. Deborah Lambkin, Barbican resident and award-winning botanical artist ( the official recorder of new orchid species for Kew Gardens and the RHS) advises: “ Water every two to three weeks, allowing the pot to completely dry out between waterings. Soak the roots and then allow to drain well.
One of Deborah’s stunning orchid portraits
If you’re often absent from your flat, choose succulents (aloes, cacti, house leeks, etc.) which need sparse watering and will benefit from benign neglect.
I DON’T GROW HOUSEPLANTS – I JUST KILL THEM
This is the wail we hear often at BA Summer parties, usually from residents who would like to have some greenery inside their flats but have previously had disappointing results from plants in their care. We tend to encourage them to try again, perhaps using one of the species listed above, and paying attention to the care instructions that come with the plant. For best results, try moving the plant to different places to see which seem to suit it best. Repot often – the compost in small pot will be drained of nutrients over the course of a year and the growing plant will need more space for its roots. Feed your plants, especially in the growing season, using plant food dissolved in the water or seaweed fertiliser, well diluted.
I CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY PLANTS FOR MY FLAT
There are plenty of inexpensive ways to acquire plants. You can join the BHS and choose free plants and cuttings we have at every meeting, usually with cultivation tips from the members who’ve grown them. Our WhatsApp group often features plants being given away.
You can buy healthy, cheap plants at Lidl, the Co-op, Chapel Market, M&S and, sometimes, reduced or free at Waitrose (often needing to be nursed back to life, having been neglected by busy store staff). Or visit Nic’s Secret Garden and Plant Nursery, near the Tower of London one weekend for a selection of free rescued, donated and grown specimens, lovingly produced by Nic Guerra, long associated with Barbican gardens.
So, no excuse for not having a go with house plants, which will be a cheerful, attractive addition to your apartment and contribute to your mental health.
Miranda McArthur is Chair of the Barbican Horticultural Society. To join (£5 for an individual, £8 for a household) send your contact details to BHS treasurer Jim Durcan (jwdurcan@hotmail) who will provide payment details.
