A bed of dreams

From the living room with the chess table, we moved towards the bedroom next. Where the first two rooms had been green with lushness, in the bedroom there’s a bombardment of colour. It’s hinted at to start with, but when you set eyes on the bed, it’s full on. Reds, yellows, oranges, burgundies and pinks against a backdrop of green, and more brown furniture.

I did warn you.

The plants here, the brochure tells me are “neat and low maintenance” and just like me in the mornings may take some time to be at their best, but and now I’m wondering about the comparison I’ve started, “are capable of bringing drama and life to the house.” That’s definitely true of the plants, the photos show that, and probably true for me too, but sometimes in a more understated and less in your face kind of way - or I’d like to think, anyway.

One detail that many people were missing (or at least the people viewing this at the same time as us) was the adornments on top of the four posts of the bed. They’ve a pineapple like look to them, but I couldn’t see enough to know for sure - and my knowledge of how pineapples grow is pretty limited too. But the fact that there were pineapples on the dressing table, indicates they very well could be.

And for once, the dressing table looks quite naked in comparison. Maybe the plants will actually grow and embrace it in their own way, although the mirror placement is clever and gave the opportunity for a last glimpse of the colour before moving on. But more on that next week.

Chess in the living room

The inhabitants of this house, if you hadn’t already guessed from my Enter through through the hallway post, is plants. It’s a fascinating display, and there’s more variety than you’d perhaps expect. The plants in the ‘living room’ are generally comfortable in low light. They’ve made themselves right at home as you’ll see from the photos in this post, and it’s probably the lushest living room I’ve ever seen.

Everywhere you looked, the houseplants were taking over. Which given the exhibition name, shouldn’t have been a surprise.

If you’ve seen any images in the media about this exhibition then they’ve probably included one of the chess table, and it’s easy to see why. It’s gorgeous, and even though I’m a confirmed succulent lover I think this will have a wider appeal. And wouldn’t it be fun to create yourself, in slightly larger pots for an outside game?

The other thing about this living room, is that it made great use of old ‘brown’ furniture. With the storage unit - writing desk - display cabinet that many of us no doubt have memories of. The plants definitely gave them a new lease of life, but it’s the detail too.

Did you spot the books in the display cabinets, they’re on houseplants, no doubt on caring for them and tips to avoid them taking over. But for me alongside the chess table, the highlight of this room was the variegated leaves draped over the edge of the writing bureau above.

They definitely had texture, and added drama. But even so, we’ve not got to my favourite room yet.

Enter through the hallway

I’m having a bit of a one-woman-Wisley-fest here at the moment, and that’s not stopping today. I was wondering where to start with sharing my photos from The Giant Houseplant Takeover at RHS Wisley, and then it became obvious. Start at the beginning, or as with many houses, the hallway. This one certainly set the scene for the rest of the exhibition, and also brought back memories of the telephone being in the hall at home and sitting in the hall to use the phone. We didn’t have the houseplants takeover, but there was, at one point, some green patterned geometric-ish wallpaper.

Our phone was slightly more modern than this one too, but the space was full of memories. At one point in my teen bedroom I decided I needed an ‘old-fashioned’ coat stand, and so I had one just like this. Without the flat cap, and plants, mind.

The amount of plants used throughout the display was phenomenal, and for those of us who have memories of The Day of the Triffids, a little bit to be wary of.

The sampler ‘explainer’ was also a nice touch, definitely taken out of the National Trust’s information approach. That works, so don’t knock it.

What was clever, was as you walked through the space there were glimpses of what was to come - just like all the garden designs book tell us.

And as a sucker for succulents I was completely drawn in. The air plants hanging sphere also had me hooked. So with the hallway under our belt, now all I need to work out, is where next, and when.