Fall Indoor Plants for Your Lake House

Photo courtesy of Pinterest.

Indoor plants add a sense of life to any room. A dull furniture set immediately becomes more colorful with hanging plants or potted flowers on a side table. Especially at a lake house, bringing the outdoors in is a relevant trend. It allows natural lakeside scenery to integrate into your home decor seamlessly. Plus, the beauty of indoor plants is that you aren’t bound by gardening zones.

Indoors, you can engineer the environment for them to grow. However, it would be best if you still considered seasonality for house plant care. As the seasons change, so do plants’ needs. For this season, check out these fall indoor plants to maintain your lake house’s bright, happy atmosphere. 

Red Aglaonema

Photo courtesy of Costa Farms.

Red aglaonema is one of the most colorful house plants with a green base. Its varying shades of red and pink add color variation to fall’s typical orangey-brown tones. Plus, it’s simple to care for this slow-growing plant that only requires indirect sunlight. That ability to use lower light environments makes it perfect for a home office.

If you’re working from your lake home during COVID-19, keep in mind that office plants have tons of psychological benefits from stress reduction to increased creativity. If you’re new to plant care, this is the perfect, low maintenance addition to your lake home. 

Snake Plant

Photo courtesy of Better Homes and Garden.

Of all fall indoor plants, this one might be the easiest to grow. As a succulent, it tolerates low light and is quite forgiving towards forgetful owners. It’s considered a plant of steel due to its hardiness. This trait makes it perfect for a second home like a lake house, where you won’t be readily available for plant maintenance.

Snake plants are also strikingly beautiful with a combination of yellow, light green, and dark green. Additionally, it’s an unintrusive floor plant because its thick leaves grow upright. Like aglaonemas, they require indirect sunlight so you can place them in most rooms of your lake home — provided it’s not a pitch dark basement. 

Amaryllis

Photo courtesy of gardeners.com.

When it’s cold outside, and trees are bare, the amaryllis’s red, white, and pink shades add a rare vibrancy for your selection of fall indoor plants. Its colors also bring out a festive, decorative flare during the cold-weather holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

To grow them, pot the bulbs yourself and keep the soil damp but not wet. However, growing the bulb in water is also an option. Whichever you choose, remember to plant your amaryllis in a heavy pot. If the pot is too lightweight, the flower will keel over once it grew to full size. 

Goldfish Plant

Photo courtesy of Green Obsessions.

Native to Mexico, Brazil, and Costa Rica, this house plant comes in 25 different types. Its name comes from the bright orange blooms that resemble goldfish among tiny dark leaves. These colorful blooms are most vibrant in the summertime. However, they’ll keep their fiery tone in the fall, as long as you care for it properly.

To keep your goldfish plant alive, place it in bright but not direct sunlight with some humidity. Because of its curved leaves, it looks attractive as a hanging plant.

Aloe Vera

Photo courtesy of Smart Garden Guide.

You may think of aloe vera only in relation to sun protection. However, it’s status as one of the best fall indoor plants shouldn’t be ignored.

As a succulent, it’s tough and requires little water to stay alive. Mostly, it just needs indirect sunlight, making this plant perfect for your lake house’s kitchen or den.

Although its juices can aid in healing cuts and burns, be sure not to ingest this plant as its toxicity can cause nausea and indigestion. 

Christmas Cactus

Photo courtesy of Almanac.com.

As indicated by its name, the Christmas cactus’ beautiful colors will help you start celebrating the winter holidays. These tubular, bright blooms will be a perfect addition to your windowsill this fall.

Unlike typical cacti, this plant isn’t native to arid environments. It’s native to the rainforests in Brazil. Since they’re accustomed to humid environments like this, you’ll need to water more regularly.

Croton Plant

Photo courtesy of KOMARGALLERY/GETTY IMAGES via mydomaine.com.

When it comes to fall indoor plants, the croton plant is a particularly fun choice. Usually grown outdoors in tropical climates, it also makes a great house plant. The shades of dark gray, orange and yellow create a whimsical yet striking look.

Because it’s native to a tropical environment, it dislikes humidity. Keeping the plant on a pebble tray and regularly misting it should do the trick! Also, it’s crucial to avoid moving the croton plant if possible. It doesn’t like being transferred to new environments, and doing so will result in leaf loss.

Rubber Tree

Photo courtesy of Vintage Revivals.

If you’re in search of a tall, sturdy house plant, a rubber tree is perfect. When it’s young, it can fit comfortably on a desk. However, it can reach extraordinary heights. In the rubber tree’s native home of southeast Asia, it can grow up to 100 feet tall, and domestically, it stretches between six and ten feet. It prefers indirect light, so a placement by a sheer curtained window is perfect. 

In addition to preparing your existing house plants for fall, we hope you add one of these new fall indoor plants to your collection. No matter which you choose, they’ll help evoke a peaceful atmosphere in your lake home. 

Breath Easy: 4 Tips For Fresher Air In Your Home

The best part about fall around the lake is the crisp, clean air that drifts in through the open doors and windows.

Of course, it always feels better to be outside this time of year than inside, but how do you get the clean, fresh fall air to follow you indoors?

Instead of spraying pumpkin spice air freshener inside, or piling on the potpourri, here are a few tips to help you get fresher air indoors:

interior view looking outside through a window at the lakeWindows

Pretty obvious, right? Open your windows!

Open your storm door if you have a screen door as well.

Opening the windows allows fresh air to circulate, and if you have a house that faces the sun, the sun is a natural disinfectant.

So open the curtains and let the sun shine!

If it’s too hot during the day, just open the windows once the sun begins to set for a few hours, or all night if you’re comfortable.

You’ll wake up feeling nice and cozy in your warm bed, while you enjoy the sound of the falling leaves and the smell of the lake drifting in on the breeze.

Plants

Plants are a crucial addition to any home if you’re really hoping to clean the air.

Aloe Vera is a great choice, and can also double as a salve for burns. Weeping fig trees, spider plants and English Ivy also make a great addition.

If you struggle with light in your house, get a sturdier plant breed, like the Warneck Dracaena or the Chinese Evergreen, which do not require much light to survive.

Just be careful if you have pets or small children- some of these plants can be toxic if ingested.

Air Purifier

The least glamorous of the options, but arguably one of the most effective, is an air purifier.

You can buy any size of air purifier at your local super store or even a home improvement shop.

Some of them filter through the air, while some use an ionizing light to neutralize odors, dander and create good ozone that is better for humans to breathe.

They usually run very quietly, and can serve as light white noise for a child’s room as well.

They need to be cleaned often, so make sure you pay attention to the manual when you buy.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are entirely different from candles and potpourri.

While they smell just as great, arguably better, essential oils have calming and invigorating tendencies.

If you want to clean the air in your house, or just add a touch of freshness, get some peppermint, clove or lavender essential oil.

Mix in a spray bottle, 10 drops to 2 cups of water, and spray around your house.

Essential oils have disinfectant properties as well, so you’re cleaning the air while refreshing it.

Hopefully this list keeps you feeling refreshed and energized in your home this fall, and lets you enjoy the fall air while stuck indoors.