See a pot in a real room before you design one

An empty corner beside the sofa needs one big mass of leaves for the eye to rest on. A large monstera does that job with a single plant.

Put it on a shelf at eye level. Moth orchids want bright indirect light, so a living room with a sheer-curtained window is where they last longest.

It tells you when it is thirsty — the leaves droop visibly. Good for beginners because it never dies quietly.

The easiest of the flowering group, and the drier it gets the more it blooms. A harsh west-facing balcony is exactly what it wants.

A long trough gives it the width to spill over both sides. Growing petunias in a straight cylinder wastes the one thing they do best.

A shallow bowl keeps succulent roots airy and quick-drying. Waterlogged roots are the most common way to kill them.

No soil means no soil spilling on your desk. One dunk in water a week is all it asks.

A single flower holds for six to eight weeks. On a desk that is the only bloom worth the effort.

Tolerates a dim corner of the desk and the weeks you forget it entirely. Upright, so it does not eat into your working space.

The blooms hold six to eight weeks on one spike — a front desk is the rare place where almost no upkeep still gets seen by everyone.

The braided trunk and its name — money tree — are why it stands at almost every reception desk in Vietnam. A tall column lifts the canopy to the eye level of someone waiting.

Takes fluorescent light, air conditioning and long holidays with nobody watering. The leaves look freshly polished without anyone polishing them.

The urn's narrow waist and flared shoulder hold a tall rose cane without staking. By the entrance it is the first thing anyone sees.

Nearly head-height, it fills a blank wall without taking a seat. Needs a bright spot near the glass.

Trails down from a high shelf and softens its edge. The easiest plant to propagate — a cutting in water roots on its own.