Aesthetic plants are stylish, trendy plants which add visual interest and variety to a space. Often these plants are placed indoors, though depending on where you live and what your climate is like, some cute aesthetic plants are also available for outdoor use. Let's look into the plant aesthetic; there is undoubtedly something for everyone to love!
Is There an Aesthetic about Plants?
Even if you live in the city, introducing greenery into your indoor space can incorporate nature into your daily life. This makes the "plant aesthetic" so popular. Plants come in many shapes, colors, and sizes, so there are a lot of aesthetic and creative solutions to experiment with when decorating your home.
What Does Aesthetic in Plants Mean?
The aesthetic in plants is focused, first of all, on the plant's appearance. Tropical-looking plants, for instance, can be used if you're going for an urban jungle look, flowering plants can create a pastel vibe, and trailing greenies are a good fit for a cottagecore aesthetic.
It's not all about the looks, though. Gen Z and millennials are looking for ways to get closer to nature without stopping the grind. The easiest way is to invite the forest into your home. Nature is the best roommate!
Aesthetic Characteristics of Plants
Plants can be "aesthetic" for different reasons to different people, though generally, we can break it down into a few distinct characteristics.
- Form: This refers to the general shape of the plant, including its leaves. There is a ton of variation in the plant world when it comes to shapes. The way how the plant is displayed is an essential factor too.
- Growth Habit: Similar to form is the plant's growth habit. Trailing plants are often hung to display their long stems and plethora of leaves. Others are tall and sturdy, like many types of cacti. A mix of different growth habits in your plants will boost how aesthetic the whole vision is.
- Size: From tall palms to compact succulent arrangements and every size in between, there's a plant for every taste. Size is significant when decorating indoor spaces. Large plants can easily dominate a small area, and miniature plants can get lost and forgotten in wide-open spaces. Small plants are typically under 3.2 ft (1 m) tall, and medium plants come in just under 6.5 ft (2 m). Large plants would be anything over 6.5 ft (2 m) tall. There's also the lateral space they take up to take into account. Some small or medium-sized plants can be as wide as they are tall, so we recommend paying close attention to the plant's overall growth habit!
- Texture: Texture does a lot visually; it's not only a pleasant bonus when touching your plants. Some greenies have a glossy sheen lending to a smooth, polished appearance, while others can have rough leaves and irregular shapes. Delicate, fine-textured plants are best for brighter, lighter areas, whereas plants with a more coarse texture and striking appearance can hold their own as a statement piece in a dark space.
- Color: Color is usually the first thing people use when describing plants, and that's for a good reason. Colors are a language of their own that communicates emotions and moods. Many plants are multicolored; however, some are monochromatic or at least more minimalistic in their color scheme. Don't forget you can also pair your plants with well-matched pots for the most visual impact.
Remember, the parts are supposed to make a coherent whole. Our last advice is not to overly concentrate on just one characteristic. Experimenting with colors, shapes, and textures can lead to creative solutions and unique combinations that sparkle your living space!
House Plants
Aesthetic houseplants are suitable for every room in the house and for every occasion, but some are better fitted to certain areas. Here are some tips for maintaining the "houseplant aesthetic."
For Living Room
If you have a living room, it means you have a lot of decoration opportunities. The best choice would be, of course, plants! Here is the list with the most popular ones:
Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)
Snake plants are a true classic. These popular plants are great for almost any space; however, they would really reign in all their green majesty in the living room.
- Maintenance: Low maintenance.
- Watering: Water when soil has dried completely; these plants have thick, succulent leaves which keep them from drying out quickly.
- Light: Low to medium, indirect light. Keep away from bright, direct sun.
- Size: This greenie usually starts out small but keep that from fooling you. It can quickly reach over a 3.2 ft (1 m) high at maturity, provided they are well cared for.
- Colors: Dracaena ranges from dark green with lighter green stripes to medium green with soft green or yellow bands. Flowers are inconspicuous and white.
- Tips: Avoid excessive watering. Never let your plant sit in water. We recommend wiping the leaves with a soft, damp cloth to remove dust and keep your plant looking lustrous.
Fiddle-Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata)
A cornerstone of the plant aesthetic movement, the Fiddle-Leaf Fig has a unique shape and is easy to care for.
- Maintenance: Low maintenance
- Watering: Water your green pet weekly, only when the soil dries out completely.
- Light: Bright, indirect light.
- Size: Ficus lyrata is rather large; can reach over 6.5 ft (2 m) tall.
- Colors: Dark to light green.
- Tips: Wipe the leaves regularly to keep them free of dust. Early pruning can lead to bushier growth.
Monstera (Monstera deliciosa)
This is a must-have for any plant lover. The unique fenestrated leaves and dark green base of this lush beauty can give a wild tropical feeling to any room.
- Maintenance: Low maintenance.
- Watering: To maintain this plant, keep the soil moist and provide humidity.
- Light: Medium to bright indirect light.
- Size: Monstera can grow over 9.8 ft (3 m) tall and 6.5 ft (2 m) wide, so it's fairly large.
- Colors: Mostly dark green, though rare variegated varieties do exist for a hefty price.
- Tips: Consider adding a moss pole for your plant to climb to appreciate its form and growth habits best.
A living room is often the biggest room in the house, so it definitely requires some leafy plants to feel less empty. Have you picked your favorite yet?
For Bedroom
A bedroom is a magical place where you let go of all the troubles and just let yourself dream away. Let's pick some green companions for your bedroom to create a plant aesthetic!
Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata)
Dragon trees can create a perfect balance of uniqueness and eccentricity. These plants won't take away too much attention from a well-designed bedroom but will not get lost even in the most saturated interior.
Maintenance: Dracaena is very low-maintenance; it hardly requires any pruning.
Watering: This plant prefers for the soil to dry out between waterings.
Light: Medium indirect to low light.
Size: This slender, non-sprawling plant can grow up to 6.5 ft (2 m) tall if unpruned.
Colors: The bicolor variety will have light green with red or pink edges.
Tips: The Dragon Tree loves humidity, so it will be happy to get its leaves misted once in a while.
Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
These are beautiful plants ideally suited for hanging pots due to their trailing, vining growth habit.
- Maintenance: Pothos only requires a little care. However, it may require frequent pruning if you want to restrict its growth.
- Watering: Allow soil to dry thoroughly between thorough waterings.
- Light: Pothos prefers bright, indirect to low light spaces.
- Size: This plant can be as small or large as desired. We recommend pruning it to achieve lush but medium growth.
- Colors: Green (can also be variegated).
- Tips: Pothos vines can be trained to grow on the walls. If you get your Pothos to trail, it will give a fairytale feeling to your room.
Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
These delicate ferns would look great on a nightstand next to your bed. If the Maidenhair fern is the first thing you see when you wake, your day is destined to go well.
- Maintenance: This plant is high-maintenance in terms of humidity and watering; however, it's definitely worth it.
- Watering: It's best to keep the soil damp but not soggy.
- Light: Bright, indirect light.
- Size: Maidenhair is rather small. Typically, it grows under 1.6 ft (half a meter) in height.
- Colors: Light green.
- Tips: Do not let the soil dry out. This can be dangerous for your green pet!
Now that you know all the leafy candidates, it's time for some green magic to happen in your bedroom.
Other Potted Plants
Just in case, we will give you some more indoor plants to choose from. Get ready for more plant aesthetic!
Philodendron (Philodendron)
There are many different types of Philodendrons available, and they all are the true champions of the plant aesthetic. If in doubt, you should definitely grab one of those, and you will make no mistake.
- Maintenance: These greenies are low-maintenanc. Philodendron only infrequently requires pruning to manage its growth.
- Watering: Allow the soil to dry completely between waterings.
- Light: Bright, indirect to low light.
- Size: The size of Philodendron plants ranges depending on variety.
- Colors: Green, variegated, or striped (P. birkin).
- Tips: Avoid exposing your plant to direct, bright light, which can burn the foliage.
Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica)
Even though they are related to the Fiddle-Leaf fig, Rubber trees have thicker leaves that are usually darker in color.
- Maintenance: Ficus elastica requires a moderate amount of care. It needs regular pruning and cleaning.
- Watering: It's best to allow for the soil to dry completely before watering again.
- Light: Bright, indirect light.
- Size: Rubber Trees are pretty large, growing up to 6.5-9.3 ft (2-3 m) tall.
- Colors: Variegated, deep green.
- Tips: Variegated varieties of this plant will need more light than non-variegated ones.
Majesty Palm (Ravenea rivularis)
Versatile enough for the bedroom or living room, these plants add a bit of a tropical, "fancy" feel to the surrounding space.
- Maintenance: Fortunately, Ravenea is super low-maintenance.
- Watering: Allow the soil to dry halfway through the pot before watering again.
- Light: This plant prefers bright light.
- Size: Her Green Majesty grows medium to large.
- Colors: Green.
- Tips: Provide humidity to prevent browning at the tips of the fronds.
Aloe Vera
If you're on TikTok, you already know this one... Sometimes it might seem like everyone has one of those but you. It may be time to make a trip to the garden depot.
- Maintenance: Aloe vera is a very low-maintenance plant.
- Watering: These plants prefer deep but infrequent watering.
- Light: Aloe vera enjoys indirect sunlight. Be careful! Don't expose it to scorching sun rays.
- Size: This is a fairly medium-sized plant, which makes it a universal decoration.
- Colors: Green.
- Tips: Keep a close eye on the temperature. Drastic temperature changes can affect your green pet!
We hope this list will help create your plant aesthetic at home. Don't forget to be creative!
Landscaping Plants
Your plant aesthetic doesn't have to stop indoors! Bring your vision and personality to the outside of your home to add excitement every time you approach your front door.
For the Front of the House
The front of your house is what makes the first impression on your guests, so it's a nice idea to work on a perfect decoration. Here is the list with some green options.
Camelia Hedge (Camellia japonica)
This beautiful plant looks "aesthetic" and provides a multisensory experience with its large, fragrant blooms. From glossy foliage to entrancing flowers, Camelia is perfect for the garden!
- Maintenance: Moderate maintenance is needed during the growing season to ensure your plant has enough nutrients. Flowers should be deadheaded throughout the season to keep the plant looking good and to continue to bloom.
- Watering: The watering should be average for flowering hedges.
- Light: Full sun to partial shade.
- Size: Although these plants are slow-growers, they can reach up to 13 ft (4 m) in size!
- Colors: White to varying shades of red and pink.
- Tips: Use acidic, rich, well-draining soils to encourage blooming and foliage growth.
Juniper (Juniperus communis)
This versatile plant is perfect for your outdoor plant aesthetic, which can be a shrub or a tree... What's to your liking?
- Maintenance: Low-maintenance.
- Watering: Junipers are very drought-tolerant, so avoid overwatering. Once the plant matures, the plant will need watering rarely. The rain should do the job!
- Light: Full sun.
- Size: Due to their sprawling growth habit, these plants can become large both laterally and in height.
- Colors: From deep green to light bluish-green (some varieties can also be different shades of yellow).
- Tips: To get your juniper plant to establish properly and grow well, dig a hole twice the size of the plant's root ball when planting.
Giant Arborvitae (Thuja plicata)
These plants can serve as a quick-growing privacy hedge, giving you the feeling of being in your own private plant paradise.
- Maintenance: Low maintenance and easy to care for; little pruning is required to keep these plants in check.
- Watering: Keep the plant well-watered in its first few years. Once established, Thujas become rather drought-tolerant.
- Light: Full sun to partial shade
- Size: Arbovitae is rather large; it can grow about 59 ft (18 m) tall and 5 meters wide.
- Colors: Shades of green from deep green to bright, light green.
- Tips: Avoid fertilizing the plant in its first year, and avoid planting in areas where the soil does not drain well.
Put your best foot forward and your best plants in front of your house! We hope your garden lights up with new colors and shapes, and you meet the warm season fully prepared.
For Flower Beds
We are here to help you pick the most fragrant and delicate plants to make your flower-beds look like soft seas of blossoms. Check out the list:
Gerbera Daisies (Gerbera jamesonii)
Gerbera jamesonii add a pop of color to any outdoor plant aesthetic.
- Maintenance: Low-maintenance.
- Watering: These flowering cuties need regular watering weekly.
- Light: Gerbera likes light, but it needs to be protected from the intense summer heat in hot climates.
- Size: These plants are rather small; they max out under 1.6 ft (0.5 m) in height and width.
- Colors: Red, pink, orange, white, yellow.
- Tips: Gerbera daisies flower early in the season, so planting them alongside other plants with later bloom times will ensure you've got some color and visual interest in your garden throughout the season. Pruned flowers can make a fabulous bouquet.
Peonies (Paeonia)
Not are these plants beautiful and fragrant, but they are also long-lived, potentially thriving for over 100 years if well cared for.
- Maintenance: Moderate.
- Watering: You need to give these flowering pets a sip more frequently during hot spells, but generally, these are not very thirsty plants, and overwatering is more of a risk than underwatering.
- Light: Full sun to partial shade (protect from afternoon sun).
- Size: Peonies can spread to be about 6.5 ft (2 m) wide and a meter tall.
- Colors: Pink, white, red, deep purple.
- Tips: Selecting different varieties of these plants will ensure a longer blooming season.
Hydrangeas (Hydrangea)
Hydrangeas are popular plants that can introduce unique shades of blue to flower beds.
- Maintenance: Fertilizer use and maintaining a certain pH is necessary to help the plant thrive and get the desired look.
- Watering: These flowers are on the thirstier side and typically need a sip weekly.
- Light: Partial shade.
- Size: Up to 6.5 ft (2 m) tall and wide.
- Colors: White, shades of blue, green, pink, purple.
- Tips: Monitor your soil pH to achieve the color blooms you want. An acidic soil (6.0 and lower) will give blue and purple shades, while an alkaline soil will produce pink and red shades.
These flowers can create a beautiful aesthetic in your garden that will turn heads. We hope they make you feel like you're living in a fairytale.
Tips on How to Boost Your Plants Aesthetic
You may already have some plants, but does the overall "aesthetic" part lack arrangement, order, and even care? Here are some ways you can boost the aesthetic and maximize your plants' potential:
- Consider your plant's characteristics. You don't want your plants to overpower your spaces, but you also don't want them drowning in the background. Look at the plant's distinctive features and try to place them in areas that maximize their visual impact. For example, a large room would call for a large plant, while bright rooms could use contrast with a dark-colored plant.
- Give your plants everything they need. Cute aesthetic plants can only go so far if they're not being cared for. The most important part of developing and maintaining a plant aesthetic is caring for your plants and ensuring each one has its light and water requirements met.
- Invest in plant furniture. Fortunately, this isn't saying to get your plants their own bedroom set and couch. Instead, add elements such as plant hangers, plant stands, and beautiful decorative pots to enhance your plant aesthetic. This will make your plant stand out and provide more visual interest to your space. Aesthetic room plants add so much to the overall design of your spaces.
- Plan ahead. Before diving headfirst into houseplants, it's crucial to understand what you can handle and what will thrive in your home. If you have low-light availability, you'll want to avoid variegated plants and stick with darker-colored plants with lower light demand. If you have pets or small children, investing in pet- and human-safe plants is your priority.
Now you're fully set to go on your green adventure. The more you know about plants, the more fun (and aesthetic!) your journey will be. We are happy to help you learn.
FAQ
What Is the Most Aesthetic Plant?
The most aesthetic plant will depend on the vibe you're looking for and where your plant will be placed. Going strictly by internet popularity, Aloe vera has been ranked as the most aesthetic plant, with over 2.3 billion views on TikTok.
What Aesthetic Has Lots of Plants?
Given the name, the "plant mom" aesthetic features lots of foliage and flowers. Similarly, "bloomcore," "cottagecore," or "naturecore" can be used.
Finding a perfect aesthetic can be challenging. Aesthetic, after all, is rarely created by one plant; usually, it's a combination, a visual ensemble. But once you get into the groove and start feeling it, choosing and combining plants and assembling a perfect visual puzzle should be a lot of fun! Remember, an ideal aesthetic is the one telling your story.
