Two major factors are responsible for this new direction. First of all, a mini-jungle requires far more time and effort than most indoor gardeners can afford. Secondly, there was the influence of an important movement within the rank of interior designers. Minimalism, as it is known, dictates that less is better. To its proponents, clutter - whether in the form of furniture, accessories, or greenery - is antithetic to a well-designed interior.
Leading the way toward a minimalist approach to decorating with house plants were professional interior landscapers, horticulturalists who specialize in creating "plantscapes" for the lobbies of office buildings and other commercial spaces. Typically, they would use a large and often spectacular potted tropical tree as the focal point of a design. Sometimes a single specimen would be the entire design, but more often the tree would be embellished with tropical vines or with a number of smaller tropical shrubs to create a botanic tableau. This same simple technique can be used in a living room or solarium to create an artistic scene that, while easy to maintain, is as striking as a bold piece of sculpture.
There is a wonderful array of plant materials to choose from, with the only significant limiting factor being the amount of light available at the intended location. In sunny spots an outstanding tree for the centerpiece of a plantscape is a pony tail (Beaucarnea recurvata), also known as elephant-foot tree due to the distinctive swell in of the trunk. Although this tree grows to over thirty feet high in its native habitat, potted pony tails grow rather slowly and usually remain under six feet tall if kept in a relatively small container. The plants are undemanding and will thrive indoors if their soil is allowed to dry between waterings.
A lovely complement to a pony tail would be a grouping of medium-sized succulent plants, which also prefer bright sun and fairly dry soil. Good choices might include variegated agave (Agave angustifolia marginata), whose blue sword-shaped leaves are lined in white, and candelabra plant (Euphorbia lactea), a spiny plant with distinctive silhouette suggesting a surreal candlestick.
If flamboyant color is desired, a dazzling sun-lover is croton (Codiaeum variegatum pictum). Although the plants frequently are sold when just a foot tall, large crotons - up to six feet high - also are available. The long leathery leaves come in red, copper, yellow, orange, and green, including many exciting color combinations. It is best to accompany croton with just some handsome greenery such as Japanese fatsia (Fatsia japonica), noted for its lustrous maple like leaves.
Where sun is bright but not direct, one of the most decorative tropical trees on the market is weeping fig (Ficus benjamina). Above the sturdy beige trunk is an elegant canopy made of arching stems filled with pointed bright-green foliage. Large indoor specimens, six feet or taller, may develop characteristic aerial roots that dangle from lower branches. The only problem with this magnificent plant is that upon arrival it probably will drop many of its leaves. Keep soil barely moist - but do not fertilize or repot - and leaves will reappear.
A showy embellishment for weeping fig is purple cissus (Cissus discolor), a climbing vine with patterned foliage in green, silver, and
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