Bring a Little Green Indoors This Winter

Is your green thumb itching for some activity now that gardening season is over? Brighten up your winter by taking the garden indoors with some beautiful, low-maintenance houseplants that are readily available at your local garden center. Here are some ideas:

• Peace lily. With a high tolerance for low light and low humidity, the glossy, dark-green leaves and white blooms of the peace lily make it an easy-care houseplant for winter. Although the lily normally flowers in summer, many varieties bloom throughout the year.
• Chinese evergreen. The Chinese evergreen’s long, arching leaves have variegated markings of silver or cream. When well maintained, this medium-light foliage plant can live for up to 10 years.
• Snake plant. The snake plant is a hardy succulent with sword-shaped, vertically growing leaves edged in yellow. It’s a forgiving houseplant for beginners; dwarf varieties make nice additions to a desktop or tabletop.
• Christmas cactus. This winter bloomer comes in red/orange, white, rose or lilac, offering a pop of welcome color right around the holidays. The Christmas cactus prefers bright light and warm temperatures with dry, well-drained soil.
• Aloe. Aloe is another easy-to-maintain succulent that likes relatively dry soil and sunny spots. Its long, distinctive leaves can be clipped and expressed to make a gel good for treating minor burns, bug bites and dry skin.

Because they grow in a controlled environment, even hardy houseplants are entirely dependent on you to provide optimum growing conditions. Water only as often as recommended on the plant label and position sun-loving plants near south-facing windows.