Welcome to the jungle: Plant-lover transforms her city apartment into a lush green paradise with more than 150 shrubs and flowers - and gains more than 35,000 fans in the process
- Sydney woman Rachel Smiles has decorated her home with over 150 plants
- The green-fingered interior enthusiast created a jungle inside her city apartment
- Her favourite plant is a Philodendron Gloriosum which has heart-shaped leaves
- She recommends keeping plants in plastic nursery pots for ease of arrangement
- Ms Smiles is flattered when guests say her home resembles a nursery
Interior enthusiast Rachel Smiles (pictured) has turned her city apartment into a lush green jungle by filling her home with more than 150 plants
A young woman has turned her city apartment into a lush green jungle by filling her home with more than 150 plants - and earned 35,000 online fans along the way.
Interior enthusiast Rachel Smiles has been furnishing the shelves and corners of her Sydney flat with a plethora of potted and hanging plants since 2018, when her collection began as she started swapping synthetic greenery for the real deal.
'I decided I was finally grown up enough to replace a plastic plant with a real plant...and there the obsession started with one plant, then 20, then over 100,' she said in interview with indoor plant specialists Jungle Collective on Facebook.
The green-fingered decorator has brought a sense of the outdoors, indoors, with every inch of available space overflowing with plants in a kaleidoscope of green.
Bright emerald vines tumble from book cases, whose shelves are stacked to capacity with olive cacti and a variety of native Australian succulents
Bright emerald vines tumble from book cases, whose shelves are stacked to capacity with olive cacti and a variety of native Australian succulents.
Pickle coloured plants with enormous leaves are draped on top of each other across the living room, while small shrubs sitting in golden pots provide a pop of colour amidst the green.
Even the balcony is bedecked, with narrow window boxes lining the ledge and bulky black containers stuffed with stems of bamboo littered across the floor.
Even the balcony is bedecked, with narrow window boxes lining the ledge and bulky black containers stuffed with stems of bamboo littered across the floor
Pickle coloured plants with enormous leaves are draped on top of each other across the living room, while small shrubs sitting in golden pots provide a pop of colour amidst the green.
Caring for plants in a heatwave
- Watch weather forecasts so you can plan ahead for a particularly hot day
- Water plants more regularly, but make sure to check the soil to avoid over watering. Sticking your finger in the soil to feel its dryness is a good way to test if water is needed.
- Water in the morning to give plants time to absorb water before the heat of the day hits. Water the soil, not the leaves, and deeply allowing it to reach all of the roots in the pot.
- Group plants together to increase the relative humidity they're in. Trays or bowls of water nearby also helps moisten the air.
- Shuffle plants away from hot spots in the house. On super hot days, they're better off being in low or even no light than they are in intense heat. Many plants, particularly the hardy ones such as devils ivy, will survive in a dark room for a week before needing to be rotated back into a brighter spot.
Source: Rachel Smiles via Lush Little Jungle
Ms Smiles shares plant care and interior design tips on her website, Lush Little Jungle, including advice on keeping gardens healthy during intense heatwaves like those Australia has faced over the past three months.
Her favourite plant is a Philodendron Gloriosum, a crawling plant native to Colombia with pastel green, heart-shaped leaves that are soft and velvety to touch.
When she hosted a dinner on Christmas Eve, her friends shimmied to their seats past layers of eucalyptus leaves, homemade pots of mini-succulents and delicate lengths of feather grass.
Ms Smiles' is flattered when people comment on her plant collection, especially guests who liken her home to a nursery or garden warehouse
When Ms Smiles hosted a dinner on Christmas Eve, her friends shimmied to their seats past layers of eucalyptus leaves, homemade pots of mini-succulents and delicate lengths of feather grass (pictured)
Ms Smiles' is flattered when people comment on her plant collection, especially guests who liken her home to a nursery or garden warehouse.
'I never grow tired of hearing that one!' she said.
For ease of rearrangement, she recommends keeping plants in their plastic nursery pots rather than transplanting into heavier, decorative containers which are more difficult to move.
