Best indoor plants for your home and event

Blog
3 minute read 21 Apr 2022
Orange chairs set up in a recording studio with a backdrop of many tall leafy plants
Not sure which plant is best for your home working environment? Or to have at an event? Broadsword’s Event Manager, Mia Robertson, takes us through her recommendations and the benefits of a green workspace. 

A spell of furlough and eventual redundancy caused by the pandemic in 2020, forced Mia to take a break from working in events. After seeing an Instagram post from her favourite plant shop ​‘Pearspring’ in Dulwich Southeast London, she applied for a supervisor role. During her 8‑month plant sabbatical, she developed an in-depth knowledge, expertise and appreciation for plants. 

Below are the benefits of living and working with plants and Mia’s top tips for keeping your workspaces green, including which plants are the best to use for in-person events.

Plants boost health and wellbeing when WFH 

  • Have green plants in your home. Green is the colour of most healthy, verdant plants and its calming tone tricks the mind into thinking you’re out in natural surroundings. 
  • The beautiful Oxalis triangularis follows the circadian rhythm (24 hour cycle) and will open and close its purple butterfly-like leaves with the daylight and close them at night, reminding one to maintain good sleep-wake cycles.

What to consider before buying plants 

  • The light aspect in your room. Does the sun land directly onto the place where you want to put a plant? If so, cacti and succulents are best placed in direct sun. If you have a spot that has bright indirect sunlight or even a shady aspect, choose plants that can manage lower light levels.
  • The location of the plant in your home. Whilst most house plants appreciate a room with good air circulation, they don’t like cold drafts. Ficus lyrata (Fiddle Leaf Fig) tend to drop their leaves if exposed to temperature fluctuations or if they sit in too much water so it’s best to keep them away from drafts. 
  • Be realistic about how much time you have to maintain the plants. Luckily, most plants thrive on the ​‘less is more’ approach to watering, however some may need more pruning than others.

Plants to use at events 

  • Having a mix of tall plants with structural foliage will create impact and give the most aesthetically pleasing look. For example: Howea forsteriana (Kentia palm), Dracaena fragrans and Strelitzia nicolai (Bird of Paradise) are very popular. There are lots of different types of Sansevieria (snake plant) that can work very well in smaller/​medium planters. 
  • Echeveria succulents work well for tabletops on coffee tables and won’t need watering at all as they store so much water in their leaves. If your event falls during the growing season, they may even flower. 
  • If choosing floral arrangements, you can ask for more green foliage to bulk out arrangements. This will keep the costs down and really showcase any flowers against the leafy greens. 


There are clearly many benefits for plants on a personal and corporate level, hopefully these tips can start the journey of incorporating plants into your workspace for a calming effect, or maybe at an event for a new decorative look.