I don’t know about you, but I get really excited about seeing some of my favorite indoor tropical plants growing and thriving outdoors. Besides just the novelty of seeing a plant many of us think of as a “houseplant” growing outside, it’s also interesting to observe how their growth habits differ in a natural environment.

Backstory - I just took my boys on a vacation to Puerto Rico. We were thrilled to learn it’s home to El Yunque National Forest, the only rainforest in the US National Forest Service.

In the capital city of San Juan as well, there were many “indoor plants” we saw growing as stunning landscape plants. (Including our favorite FLFs!) It was spectacular, and I want to share with you some of the botanical wonders we saw there.

Monstera deliciosa is a botanical and design icon due to it’s statement-making leaves. Photogenic foliage has made this tropical plant an internet star with its’ strange and beautiful holes, monster-sized leaves, and deep green tropical appearance.

As a result, we see them unfurling all over social media both in houseplant circles and in heavy rotation as a green interior design accessory. Plus, they even make the cut as décor itself, and you can find them on everything from wall art to throw pillows.

Best of all - Monsteras are easy houseplants to care for, and can be grown to impressive size with minimal fuss.

Let’s explore this wild and wonderful tropical plant together. In this post, I’ll cover:

• Monstera characteristics (it’s NOT a Split Leaf Philodendron, and how to tell the difference)

• How to care for your Monstera - soil, water, light, fertilizer

• Design tips for making Monstera a beautiful part of your interior décor

I undertook a major landscape redesign project last spring of the side garden of my home. Now that it’s grown in some, I want to show you how it turned out, which I’ll do soon. Today, I want to show you my garden “mood board.” It’s not a mood board in the traditional sense, but a collection of imagery from Pinterest that helped me pull together design ideas before starting actual design work.

There are lots of opinions on the best indoor plants for beginners and the green-thumb challenged, but even so, there are certain plants that repeatedly make the lists. What one person considers an easy-going plant will be influenced in part by our home-growing environments, but also on individual plant preferences.

I’m the first to admit I have my own set of plant preferences and prejudices, and while a couple of the contenders on this list are the usual suspects, a couple are more often overlooked but are every bit as easy in my opinion. Take a look and give them a try if they’re new to you, and if not, let me know what you think.