If you're not sure what to decorate your house with for Halloween, the RHS is urging that you try houseplants this year instead of the traditional pumpkin-shaped garlands and fuzzy black cats. The reason? The latter contribute to plastic pollution, while the former are easily purchases for life.
It's easier to make outdoor Halloween decor ideas eco-friendly – after all, a lot of it is about carved pumpkins. Indoors, though, many people have decorations that are not biodegradable when thrown out and use glitter, which is a form of microplastics.
A snake plant, also known as Mother-in-Law's Tongue
So, the RHS is calling on the public to ditch these environmentally harmful decorations and invest into 'spooky plants' instead. How can plants be spooky, you may ask? We bet the RHS's selection will change your mind.
For example, they recommend a plant called Sarracenia purpurea 'Dracula' / fly killing pitcher plant. Even the name gives us shivers. Fly-killing plants, including the famous Venus flytrap, are fascinating plants that are carnivorous. They slowly devour their insect victims after luring them in. If this doesn't sound like a horror film, we don't know what does.
Sarracenia, or Pitcher Plant
Also on offer are plants with names like Spider star orchid, Devil's Ivy, Mother-in-law's tongue, and even the Jellyfish air plant. These aren't as fancy as they sound, either, with most of the plants being easy to care for, and some even among the best indoor plants for those who aren't normally good at caring for them. Mother-in-law's tongue, for example, tolerates low light and doesn't need much watering. Air plants need hardly any watering at all, and will thrive provided they get enough indirect light.
All plants are available online (rhsplants.co.uk) and in most RHS Garden Centres and Shops. They'll make excellent gifts too, if you fancy the idea of Halloween gifting (why not). Crucially, these won't go off like Halloween sweets, and they won't end up in the recycling bin only days after being bought. And they don't really look so spooky that you'll no longer like having them as part of your indoor garden ideas past Halloween.
Every purchase from the RHS Garden Centres, Gift Shops and online supports the charitable work of the Royal Horticultural Society to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.
