You don't need expensive and temperamental houseplants to add greenery to your home. Many of the vegetables you bring home from the supermarket will sprout and brighten a windowsill. And children love to watch them grow.
Cut the top 1-2in/25-50mm off a beetroot, parsnip, swede or turnip, and completely trim off the green parts. Line an earthenware ashtray or other low container with pebbles and fill it with water. Set the flat cut end of the vegetable on the pebbles. Over the next few days, change the water whenever it gets cloudy. The resultant forest of foliage will last for a month or more.
Slice the leaf crown and 1in/25mm of flesh off the top of a pineapple. Set it in moist sand and keep it watered. When roots form, plant it in potting soil that has some peat moss mixed in, and you have a bromeliad that should flourish for years.
To germinate apple, orange, lemon or grapefruit seeds, sow them in small trays of seed compost and keep well watered. When they're a few inches or several centimetres tall, transplant them to larger pots and watch them grow into lush (but probably fruitless) trees. Kiwi fruits, loquats, pomegranates and such tropical fruits as papayas, lychees and mangoes can also be started this way.
You can easily turn a carrot into a hanging display of fern like feathery foliage. Just cut 1-2 in/25-50 mm off the top of an extra-large carrot. Hollow out the centre, leaving the outer wall intact. With a stout needle, run a thread through the wall of this `basket'. Hang it, leaves down, in a sunny window. Fill it with water and keep it filled - if it dries out, it will shrivel. Before long, delicate foliage will emerge and all but hide the carrot.
That old standby, the indoor tree grown from an avocado stone, usually turns into a slender stem weighed down by a little pompom of leaves. This is because it's not pruned back hard enough. Don't be afraid to start again occasionally; cut the plant back to a 3-4in/75-100mm stem. You'll force new root growth and get a bushier, healthier plant.
Plant care on holiday Create a reservoir for plants if you are planning to be away for more than a week. Force a length of tights up through the pot drainage hole and into the soil. Fill a margarine tub with water and cover it. Punch a hole in the lid and thread the other end of the tights through it into the water. Set the plant on top of the tub.
Light for house plants The key to success in indoor gardening is finding the appropriate plants for the available light. Consult a reliable houseplant guide to find out the specific light needs of each of your plants.
Use artificial lighting where natural daylight is insufficient; not only will it improve your plant's growth and condition, but it can also look very dramatic.
Houseplant pests Control spider mites, whiteflies, aphids and thrips with a spray of 2 tablespoons of biodegradable liquid detergent in 1 gallon/4.5 litres of water. Coat the leaves top and bottom. One treatment may not remove all the invaders, so spray a second time in 3 to 7 days. Small plants without flowers can be dipped into the solution for better coverage. The solution does not kill pests but creates a slippery surface on the leaves that they can't hold onto.
Caution Biodegradable liquid detergent can injure leaves in very hot weather; don't use this treatment during a heat wave.
Houseplant polish For a healthy lustre, bathe your plants twice a month in the detergent solution recommended for houseplant pests. Wash both sides of the leaves to remove dust and grime. Dry off any excess fluid, checking branch and stem joints, because it can cause scorching or rotting if left.
Lopsided houseplants All plants grow towards the light. If you have one on a windowsill, keep it grow-ing straight upwards by turning it 90° every 4 or 5 days.
Be one with nature. Learn to grow and nurture house plants
Good things to know about growing from scratch