The Best Indoor Plants to Have in Your Kitchen

The thoughtful and well-planned addition of indoor plants is a sure-fire way of injecting personality and style into your kitchen space. A delightful splash of natural fauna can really offset those cold granite worktops and stainless steel finishes—as well as complementing the organic wood aesthetic in your kitchen. A selection of plant life will create a warming sense of vitality and colour.

If you’re stumped as to which plants will thrive in your kitchen, much depends on the environment they’ll be living in. How much natural light will they have? How much space do you have in your kitchen; how much counter space? Temperature, humidity, how often you cook. These are all important considerations when choosing the right plant.

As well as the clear aesthetic qualities of beautifying your space with greenery, there’s also the numerous health benefits to enjoy. Indoor plants improve the air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. They also purify the air around your home and eradicate toxic vapours.

But which plants should I choose?

Philodendron

Fast growing and with eye-catching heart-shaped leaves, Philodendron can be a super feature for your worktop counter. This low-maintenance plant will flourish in low-to-medium indirect light. Philodendron also has the handy ability to remove formaldehyde from the air which is great news if you’ve got a gas oven. For best results, water once a week.

Fiddle Leaf Fig

If you find yourself with a few too many empty spaces in your kitchen, or want to visually soften a rigid surface, the fiddle leaf fig is the perfect choice. This giant-leafed plant will happily shoot towards the sunlight that cascades through your window; if watered every one to two weeks, expect anything up to six feet in growth once fully formed.

Aglaonema

Aglaonema, often known as a Chinese evergreen, is a sucker for bright, direct sunlight. There are red or green varieties to choose from, and its low-maintenance qualities make for a great houseplant for anyone with a busy lifestyle. Water once a week and watch the vibrant broad leaves flourish in your kitchen window.

Peace lilies 

Along with their unquestionable beauty, peace lilies are also remarkably good air purifiers. To keep your kitchen feeling fresh, then, these fabulous plants are a no-brainer addition to your space.

If you’re not the most naturally green-fingered: fear not. These plants can tolerate short periods of underwatering and are perfectly happy in a humid climate. The ultimate low-maintenance indoor plant. To get the best out of your peace lily, pop it in an east-facing window to avoid the direct afternoon sunshine.

Herbs 

If you’re thinking of introducing some fresh growing herbs into your kitchen, it makes sense to choose those which you use most frequently for cooking. 

Basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme are the most popular herbs to grow. And the process is pretty straightforward, too. Most supermarkets sell pre-potted herbs and it’s really just a case of placing them in a sun-catching window and keeping them watered.

Spider plant

A brilliantly adaptable houseplant. They’ll thrive in bright open spaces; and do perfectly fine if the light in your kitchen is at a premium. These robust specimens are equally comfortable in varying temperatures and humidities, too. An ideal, fits-all plant for any kitchen type; graceful, elegant and looks equally at home on a countertop or with its long pendulous leaves hanging out of a basket.