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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Winter Living Room Greenery

Friday, January 4, 2019


Winter months can be bleak, but adding live greenery to your living room can keep the inside of your home from looking cold and dreary. 


Winter living room greenery to brighten homes after Christmas
Add living plants to white flower pots and crocks for a crisp look that goes with any color scheme all winter long. 


W I N T E R   L I V I N G   R O O M   

G R E E N E R Y 



Greenery is a neutral that goes with all styles . . . French Country, Farmhouse, Traditional, Modern, Minimalism. White pots can be found in every style with the simplest white pots going with all styles. 



Winter living room greenery to brighten homes after Christmas
Live greenery can be part of your Christmas decor, but can remain for weeks beyond the Christmas season. Whenever I remove Christmas decorations, the house always seems bare and lifeless . . .  sort of melancholy that the joyous season is over and all the family gatherings are past . . . unless I keep live potted plants. 



Winter living room greenery is often white poinsettias
Some years poinsettias continue to brighten my living room, but this year I used three of my favorite house plants to decorate the blanket box used as a coffee table. 



T H R E E   F A V O R I T E   P L A N T S   

F O R   W I N T E R   



R O S E M A R Y 

Winter living room rosemary plants to brighten homes after Christmas
Rosemary is one of my favorites for winter because of its fresh fragrance and cone shape. Just a light brush with your hand releases a faint clean smell. When trained in a tree shape it looks like an undecorated Christmas tree. 

Rosemary plants in tree shapes are available every year beginning in November at our local large home improvement stores and garden centers. Buy your plants as soon as possible to get the best shape and freshest plants. The longer a plant sits at a home improvement store, the more likely the plant will be damaged by lack of water or exposure to bad weather. 


I V Y 

Winter living room ivy wreaths to brighten homes after Christmas
Ivy trained in a wreath shape is another favorite house plant that transitions from Christmas to all winter. Before the days of sparkly lights, ivy was one of the traditional greens used in decorating houses, businesses, and churches for Christmas. 



M Y R T L E  

Winter living room myrtle topiaries to brighten homes after Christmas
Myrtle topiaries are my third favorite potted plant for winter greenery. While not traditionally associated with Christmas, myrtle topiaries are among my favorite plants during the holidays and all during the winter. 



Winter living room myrtle topiaries, ivy wreaths, rosemary trees  to brighten homes after Christmas
Since sunlight floods the living room even during the shortest day of the year, plants on the coffee table get plenty of light from all the windows. 



Winter living room myrtle topiaries, ivy wreaths, rosemary trees  to brighten homes after Christmas
The three plants offer a variety of shapes and textures and are large enough for the scale of the living room. 



Winter living room myrtle topiaries, ivy wreaths, rosemary trees  to brighten homes after Christmas
Sadly, I do have to admit having trouble keeping all three of these kinds of plants alive as house plants at any time of the year, not just during the winter.  

Rosemary plants give me the most trouble. They seem never to recover from going too long between waterings. Once they get too dry, branches die, never to sprout new growth. 

Ivy plants indoors tend to get spider mites which kills the plants. 

Myrtle topiaries need constant moisture, but not over watering. 



Winter living room myrtle topiaries, ivy wreaths, rosemary trees  to brighten homes after Christmas
When the Christmas tree is taken down, these three plants will continue to provide greenery in the living room for the winter months. Fingers crossed, I keep them well tended. 


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