Real estate listings reveal our love affair with house plants is still going strong

If real estate listings provide a snapshot of the interior trends  of the moment, then it’s fair to say that indoor plants are continuing to have their moment in the sun.

In fact, real estate listings across the country reveal that for some home-owners and tenants, indoor plants have grown from an interest into somewhat of an obsession, with some homes being turned into full-blown urban jungles.

Take this art deco apartment in St Kilda East in Melbourne, for example, where there are at least 15 indoor plants, from large potted varieties to hanging baskets and smaller crawlers, crammed into one small living room.

SOLD - $887,999

1/96 Hotham Street, St Kilda East VIC 3183

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There are a further 10 indoor plants in the main bedroom, another eight in the kitchen, while the outdoor courtyard is brimming with them.

Jason Chongue, architect, interior designer and owner of The Plant Society, says COVID-related lockdowns across the country, as well as an increase in the number of people working from home, has led to a significant increase in the number of people investing in plants.

While the trend for indoor plants was already running hot well before COVID hit, Mr Chongue says there is no question, that COVID-related lockdowns accelerated the trend even further.

“We definitely saw a significant increase in plant sales during that first lockdown, and again each time there were subsequent lockdowns,” Mr Chongue says.

“People were spending a lot more time at home and as a result wanted to create a nicer space to live in and fill their spaces with some happiness,” he says.

With many more people still working from home and travelling less, Mr Chongue says the trend has continued post-lockdown because people feel they have more time to look after their plants.

“A lot of people are really scared about killing plants but if we can find out how often they want to tend to their plants and understand their space and their natural light, we can pair people with the right plants,” Mr Chongue says.

While Sydney may not have endured the extended lockdown that Melbourne did, real estate listings reveal that plants are still just as popular in the harbour city.

SOLD - $1,365,000

21/16 Military Road, North Bondi NSW 2026

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One listing for a two-bedroom apartment in North Bondi, for example, with views over Bondi Beach,  shows a small open-plan kitchen and living space littered with at least 20 indoor plants to create a small, tropical oasis.

While in Redfern, a sparsely furnished one-bedroom apartment with a small balcony is decorated with more than 30 house plants, ranging from small succulents placed on a coffee table to a cluster of 10 larger plants.

SOLD - Price Withheld

52/153 George Street, Redfern NSW 2016

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Mr Chongue says plant-lovers who live in smaller apartments can avoid making their homes from looking too over-crowded by “keeping aesthetics simple by using all the same colour pots that blend into the existing interiors, so it’s not too busy and choosing plants with solid green foliage”.

“We usually tell people to take it slow and to start with three to five plants and then slowly add to their plant collection over time,” he says.

Chloe Warren, the director of Bespoke Greenery, which offers indoor plants for sale and hire, as well as botanical styling and installations, says in recent months she has also noticed a big shift in real estate and property stylists using real indoor plants, rather than artificial ones, when staging properties for sale.

“Since about December, we have been really busy working with home stagers and hiring out plants for real estate sales campaigns,” she says.

“The fact that more home stagers are using real plants for open homes is a real change and it just adds a sense of calm to a home that you don’t get with artificial plants,” she says.

But it’s not just residents along the east coast who have turned their love affair with indoor plants into a full-blown obsession.

In Fremantle, a breezy,  one-bedroom apartment currently listed for sale reveals a tiny kitchen and living space beautifully styled with about a dozen indoor plants, strategically placed to create a tropical, beach-side oasis, which opens onto a leafy outdoor deck.

Cal Hassall, of Hass & Co Botanics in Perth, says more and more young people, many of whom might live in smaller apartments, are continuing to fall in love with indoor plants.

“Indoor plants are really popular on Instagram and we do find some people who get really obsessive about their plants and often they’re uni students or they might be single and have the time to care for them and that’s great,” he says.

“However,  if it gets to point where you can’t look after them or they’re negatively impacting other things, we recommend going through your plants and going ‘ok, what plants don’t bring me joy anymore’ and bundling them up and giving them away to friends or recycling them,” he says.