I love plants, but I’ve also been the person with eleven small pots crowded on one windowsill, half of them quietly struggling. Over time I’ve learned that a few well-placed plants do far more for a room than a crowd of them.

Think in scale

Every room benefits from one larger plant — something that reaches at least waist height — to bring the green up into your eyeline. Then add one or two smaller plants as accents on shelves or tables. That’s often enough.

Choose pots like furniture

A beautiful plant in a plastic nursery pot never looks quite finished. Choose planters that suit the room’s palette: matte ceramic, terracotta, woven baskets, stone. Keeping your pots in a consistent family of colours stops plants from looking like a collection of separate purchases.

Be honest about light

Our winters are long and the light is low, so I’ve learned to choose plants for the room I have, not the room in the photo. Bright windows can host fiddle-leaf figs and succulents; dimmer corners are better for pothos, snake plants and ZZ plants. A happy plant is always the most beautiful one.

Bring in something living, and a room starts to breathe.

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Don’t forget cut stems

If keeping plants alive isn’t your thing, cut branches are a wonderful alternative. A single tall branch in a heavy vase can last weeks and has more presence than a bouquet. Dried grasses work beautifully through the colder months.