Marble Queen for ‘softening’ indoors
Published on: Sunday, December 15, 2019
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This is when the do-gooders start to appear in a last-gasp effort to try to right the wrongs done on nature where in the name of development, vast stretches were violated, raped, robbed and ripped apart.
To reduce the impact and soften the harshness, greens ultimately have to be resorted to so as to recreate an image of sanity in an otherwise jagged picture of concrete and steel. Despite the easy availability of cheap artificial greens, nothing beats the real thing, be it a tree, shrub, creeper, or even a coconut palm.
This reminds me of real artificial coconut palms that were used to decorate a round-about in Kota Kinabalu City many years ago. There were a number of red faces after much outcry and public criticism following which the artificial palms were not given the opportunity to sit there for long.
With greens come flowering plants and trees, ground covers, herbaceous plants, foliage plants, climbers and twiners, palms of all shapes and sizes, etc. This is where gardening enthusiasts can enjoy the best by replicating what nature has been doing for umpteen years, that is, by going for the hands-on approach.
This allows for the modification or softening up or greening of artificially created environments that some would call “built-up”.
By utilising the interior naturescaping approach, it is possible to recreate life in such a way that nature can be made to merge seamlessly with a ripped-up, raped or built-up environment.
That plants are able to do that is absolutely undeniable. Take for example, the space within the four walls of your house or office. Depending on the amount and quality of furnishings provided, it would either look posh or simple, or somewhere in between, but it would never have that kind of ‘soft’ look. Plant lovers swear that they can even feel the ‘softness’ that appropriate members of the flora world can provide.
So, there you are.
That is really something grand to caw about, which may also constitute the perfect fodder for a lot of “bla-bla-bla” sessions. This is particularly so in view of the fact that there are many varieties of plants that are suitable for use as a softening agent.
The larger and taller plants, especially the woody shrubs and trees, palms and twiners, are more suitable for the outdoors due to size factor, but this is not an issue at all because once the skills of interior naturescaping are applied, you can even recreate a jungle indoors. No problem at all.
This therefore blurs the line between the segregation of plants for the indoors and outdoors, or between sun-loving or sun-fearing plants.
Therein lies the advantage of indoor environment for beautification with plants. Whereas such an environment can accept both indoor and outdoor plants, albeit for varying periods of time, an outdoor environment would be difficult to accept indoor plants, as the latter, on sudden exposure to bright sunshine, would turn into a roasted hulk in no time, unless transitioned within an acceptable period of time.
Growing wonderful indoor cuties
It cannot be denied that the number of types of cute little plants that are often seen being used in the indoors is virtually endless. The reasons are just as unending, and while some would say it is just the in-thing to do these days, nevertheless, the more-often stated reasons for keeping the cute little plants indoors are many, such as:
1. they can be placed anywhere
2. they are used to soften up the indoors
3. they can induce a feeling of being cool
4. they are for beautification
5. they add class and style
6. they display impeccable taste.
Most people would quote one or more of the above reasons for keeping indoor cuties, but others may be more about ego, or even feng shui. Imagine having plunked a million bucks or more into a posh dwelling or office unit without indoor decorative plants would reveal poor taste and lack of style. Nevertheless, the habit of bringing plants inside the house or office is becoming very widespread these days, which shows and increasing awareness of the need to appreciate plants.
Recommended – a plant called ‘Marble Queen’
A most wonderful and popular indoor cutie of a plant is the Marble Queen. This is the common name of a widely-cultivated plant that is botanically known as Scindapsus aureus ‘Marble Queen’. Sometimes, Devil’s Ivy, which is another common name, is also thrown in. Fortunately, the plant is never devilish at all, as it is in fact one of the prettiest of all indoor leafy ornamental decorative plants.
Marble queens are easy to grow. It is much easier to set up either in water, some sand or pebbles so there is no need to lug around heavy pots of soil which may result in callosity or roughening of the skin, as well as messing up with the interior.
That is the breezy way to start toying with and be the proud owner of the beautiful plant.
As an indoor plant, there is no doubt that the plant is one of the best for enlivening the environment. It can be grown in small containers and placed on table tops, or it can be set in large jars, tubs, cylinders or planters and placed in strategic spots within or around the house or office.
Although the marble queen is perfectly at home indoors, it is just as comfortable being set outdoors, either shaded or exposed.
If left unattended as an outdoor plant, it can grow to quite a huge and messy thicket with some support such as branches or small shrubs. This is because the ornamental has a tendency to climb over and up any structure, and it can also trail as a sprawling plant on the ground to smother your ground cover plants. But if properly pruned, trained and staked, it can be outrageously gorgeous to appreciate.
Cultivation of marble queen in water
The marble queen can easily be set to grow in water with some stones or pebbles as a supporting medium. First of all, take one or two tip cuttings of about 20 cm in length each. If there are roots at the nodes, it is all the better. Otherwise, those without roots would do just as well. Next, get a cute little glass container, jar or pot, into which is filled half full of clean pebbles, marble chips or coarse river sand.
With these in hand, proceed to plant the cuttings in the little container making sure that the cut ends are sufficiently weighted down under the pebbles or what-have-you’s. If the cuttings are still wobbly, use your index finger to poke it down a little bit deeper.
When the poking and insertion is completed, fill up the container with clean water to a level that is about a couple of centimetres below the level of the pebbles.
If the water level is too high, it may be tempting for female mosquitoes to swoop in to quickly drop a few eggs. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended that such cultivations in water may have to be treated with suitable chemicals such as Abate to prevent your house from being converted into a mosquito breeding den, which could invite trouble upon being inspected by the health authorities.
Another way to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water of your planting containers is to replace the water on a regular basis to get rid of the eggs, larvae included if they have already hatched.
This is a good gardening practice as the water can be kept clean at all times without the dirt, dust or murkiness, and at the same time, a simple manicuring may be carried out to remove the odd one or two leaves that have numerous fingernail pinch marks. Even those leaves that have yellowed may be removed at the same time.
Once all the above are done, your cutie may now be placed in a suitable location within the house. Think about it, there are so many places and corners that deserve to be greened up and enlivened. For instance, the bedroom, toilet, study room, living room, dining room, window ledges, balconies, etc.
It does not cost a huge bundle but the positive effects arising from such simple actions can be very impactful. A lot of people would agree too that the enrichment of green indoor aesthetics would enhance the pleasing and comfortable ambience and accentuates the feel-good factor that creates a positive impact on human life values.
l The writer can be reached at: [email protected]
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