Living Wild: Plant-spiration with Hilton Carter

HILTON: Styling your home with plants, brings life to your home and happiness to your life, but watching your plants wither and wilt can be stressful.

I'll give you the essential care tips and plant-styling inspiration you need to create your own lush, stylish space with flourishing plants you can be proud of.

I'm Hilton Carter, and this is Living Wild.

(audience applauds) Thank you.

Thank you.

You know that feeling you get when you go outside, tilt your head back, place your face in the Sun on that first warm day of spring?

That's the feeling I get every time I enter a space with plants.

(claps) You know what I'm describing, (claps) you've all felt it too.

These spaces are what I typically call wild interiors.

(claps) If you're wondering who I am, well, let me introduce myself.

My name is Hilton Carter.

I'm a plant and interior stylist, artist, and author.

I've written four bestselling books on plant care and styling.

(audience applauds) My job is all about blurring the line of indoor and outdoor and bringing life into my clients' homes through texture, color, shape, and, of course, greenery.

Whether you just started your journey in greenery or already have your hands in the soil, I'm gonna teach you everything you need to know to make your home into a beautiful living oasis.

I'll give you some plant-spiration with a sneak peek into my very own home and the homes of some other amazing plant parents.

I'll give you all the tips and tricks you need to become an amazing plant parent yourself.

I've been learning about plant care for over the past 10 years, and it's been in that timeframe that I've not only learned about how to care for plants, but a lot about how to care for myself and those around me.

In caring for plants, I found an inner peace that was not there before.

The power of plants is real.

Bringing greenery into your home has so many positive benefits beyond the uplifting feeling they give you or the idea that they can clean up the air, remove harmful toxins, and even add oxygen into your home, perhaps the greatest benefit is the sense of pride you get when you see those plants thriving.

I can honestly say I've reaped the real tangible benefits of caring for houseplants.

While plants don't speak verbally, they do talk to you through the variations in their foliage.

If you're able to be aware of these changes, you can fix any problem before they become real issues.

This is where you start to see your plants thrive.

And if you're able to apply that knowledge to any other relationship in your life, you'll see those thrive as well.

I know this because through the lens of plant care, I learned so much about self-care and how to be better for those around me.

I'm able to love those around me because I'm able to love myself.

I see this mainly reflected in my relationship with my wife Fiona, and my daughter, Holland.

AUDIENCE: Aww.

HILTON: The beauty in that vibrates.

So let's begin our journey with some plant-spiration.

Here's a look inside my very own living wild oasis.

My journey began with a passion and love for creating spaces that tell a story about the characters that dwell within them.

Working as a freelance director, I started paying more attention to the art of production design and the importance to making sure every detail in a scene spoke to who the character was that lived in that particular space.

Those details had to tell the audience a lot about who the character was before they were introduced into the scene.

This made me start thinking more about my own personal space and what the items and details there said about me.

So, in 2014, I started creating a self-portrait of who Hilton Carter was with the materials that would live in my home.

The pieces I would bring in would be forever pieces, things that had a story or would become a part of my story and travel with me throughout the rest of my life.

With that, I started to bring in more plants.

I saw how different I felt when being in an environment that had greenery and I knew I had to bottle that energy up and pour it into my home, into my life, and, of course, one beget two, and two beget 100s.

I'm sure some of you can relate.

The power that plant life has in a home is transformative.

I'm often asked what my style is and to be honest, I never think about it when designing a room for myself or others.

If I were to stand back and look at it from a bird's-eye view, I guess I would say my interior design style is modern lush.

Seeing that my home is a mix of modern, Scandinavian and Mexican tones that are all blending together.

Once I add in the plants, that's how the design style of modern lush is birthed.

For me, the same energy and thoughtfulness that goes into selecting the right colors of paint for the walls or the perfect pieces of decor for a room, are put into selecting the right plants, planters, and accessories necessary to make the design of a room finalized.

Plant styling takes an eye for understanding which particular colors and shapes will vibe with each other.

In design, you just can't plan accordingly, you must also plant accordingly.

These are the things necessary when designing a living home.

I hope this inspires you to create living spaces in your home that bring the same joy I feel in mine, and know that you don't need a thousand plants in order to reap the benefits of being a plant parent.

Even one to two plants, carefully chosen, will help you get started on your journey to living wild.

(audience applauds) Oh, if you didn't believe that I love plants, I'm sure you believe it now.

(audience laughing) My home is an oasis for me and my family.

We find real joy there, and as I like to say, "We are living wild."

But I know what some of you are thinking, (claps) "I need to get up right now and go buy more plants."

Please do not do that.

(laughs) It's not that I don't want you to go out and bring more plants into your home, is that I want you to start doing it right.

And that all starts with light.

Let's talk about light.

Light is everything to every plant.

Understanding what type of light you have coming into your home is key.

I can only style the types and the amount of plants in my home because of the amount of light I have.

I cannot emphasize this enough.

Light is the most important thing your plants need.

Well, that and a nice hug here and there.

(audience laughing) I won't judge you if you're hugging your plants 'cause I hug mine, also talk to them, but we'll talk about that later.

(audience laughing) The light you give a plant will change everything about it.

The more light you give that plant, the more vibrant that plant will be, showing off that plant's true color.

You can see this easily in the golden pothos.

Many of us have golden pothos in our lives.

The golden pothos gets its namesake for the goldish tones that appear in its foliage.

The more light this plant gets, the more gold tones you will see.

When placed in lower light, the more green you'll see in that plant.

Light helps flowering plants bloom.

Many of you might not know this, but plenty of house plants can produce blooms if placed in the right light.

If you own a crown of thorns cactus and want to see it bloom, give it more light.

It's light that changes the shape of your plants.

We've all noticed our plants leaning towards the windows in our home.

The more light a plant gets, the larger their foliage will be and the less light a plant gets, of course, the smaller the foliage will be.

It is that simple.

And wouldn't the world be a much better place if we all leaned into the light?

As humans, we have so much to learn from our plant friends.

Take the monstera deliciosa.

The more light you give this plant, of course, the larger the foliage will be and all of those holes, those splits that you love so much, you'll see more of those.

Yes, those holes and those splits are due to light.

The monstera, when exposed to bright indirect light, such a beautiful plant, it will open itself up and allow light to shine through it so all of its little plant friends below it can also bask in that glow.

Don't we all wish we had friends like that?

People who will (audience laughing) also open themselves up to allow light to shine through them and hit you.

There is something so poetic and beautiful about that and about that plant.

It's all about finding the light.

Light is the most important thing to every plant and making sure that you have the right type of light for your plants will ensure that your plants can thrive in your space.

There are different types of light.

There's low, medium, filtered, bright indirect, and direct sun.

Now, when we're talking about light, we're talking about different directions that the light can come into your home.

When it comes to northern-facing windows, plants like ferns, calatheas, anthuriums, alocasias, those would be the best type of plants for that direction.

If you have eastern- facing windows, plants like philodendrons, monsteras, maybe dracaenas, that would be perfect there.

Southern-facing windows, plants like olive trees, your monsteras, again, your philodendrons, a lot of plants can thrive in that light because you're getting a mix of bright, indirect, and little bits of direct sun.

And western-facing windows where you're gonna get a lot of afternoon, very hot and intense direct sun, you want those more desert plants, your succulents, your cacti, an olive tree, maybe a ponytail palm.

Those are the types of plants that can absorb all of that heat and still push out great blooms.

But it's identifying exactly the type of exposure your plant needs that will help you and your plant thrive because if you don't get that right, you can find yourself loving a plant but then seeing it die quickly.

(audience applauds) Light is so important that I hope from this point forward, before you leave your home to purchase a plant that you find the spot in your home where you're looking to style that plant and based on the light that that spot gets, you allow that to be your compass.

Allow the light to guide you and dictate what types of plants you can actually bring into that particular spot.

As plant parents, let's make sure we are only bringing plants in that can thrive, not just survive.

That's very important.

Like all living things, plants are just looking for a place to show off their true potential.

I know in my past, as a plant hoarder, I found myself in a plant shop and I'd grab every single plant.

I'd grab all of the plants and I'd take 'em home, not knowing much about plants other than they need light and they need water.

I'd find a spot, has light, push it into that spot.

I come back a few days later, that plant would be freaking out.

This would then cause me, of course, to freak out.

So, like most of us, I'd move the plant to another spot.

The plant would freak out, I would freak out again, and so on and so forth.

It's a vicious cycle and during this merry-go-round, the plant will suffer until I finally figured it out.

I've learned from this and I hope you can as well.

Let's put an end to that suffering and know exactly where our plant friends can live in our homes based on the light we can provide them.

Speaking of shopping, when we're talking about shopping for plants, now that you know that you need to figure out what type of light you have before you can just bring a plant home, let's talk about how to go shopping.

How you go about shopping for plants can make a huge difference in how those plants live and thrive in your home.

If you're a novice plant enthusiast, knowing exactly how to shop can save you time, money, and over time, a lot of stress.

I'm someone who loves plants and loves shopping for plants, and sometimes, I find myself in a plant shop looking at a plant and loving the way it looks, loving its color, loving its shape, but I know I can't just purchase the plant based on those two characteristics.

I gotta buy the plants based on the type of light that is coming into the spot in my home where I want to place them.

So before you go shopping, make sure you have identified a spot in your home where you want a plant to go, and with that information, you take that to the plant shop, find an associate in that plant shop and tell them what type of light you have.

I would say I have an eastern-facing window and I would love something that is bright and colorful for that spot.

Maybe they would show me this philodendron pink princess.

The first thing I would do, I would check out if it has any pest.

I would do that by looking at the top of the leaves, the bottom of the leaves, around the stems, and, of course, around the top of the soil and the bottom of the pot.

Pests can hide and tuck into many spots on your plant, and you don't want to take home anything that could harm the other plant friends that you have there.

Then, you wanna make sure that the plant is healthy.

A healthy plant is bright and full.

You can see how this plant is upright and bright, not wilting or leaning over.

You also wanna check out the new growth that is developing.

You wanna make sure that it looks healthy as well.

The last thing you need to do before you leave that plant shop is leave with the name of your plant.

Take a photo of the name if it's on the planter or if there's a sign somewhere near them.

That sign might also give you some instructions on care that will be very important so that when you get your plant home, you can already start the process of giving it a good life in its' new home.

(audience applauds) Listen, you don't accumulate over 300 plants indoors without finding some sort of joy in shopping for plants.

Shopping for plants should be something you really get excited about.

Bringing in fresh new greenery always brightens up my day.

Make sure that you're making it fun for yourself.

Coming up next, we'll take a peek inside the homes of other inspiring plant parents.

I'll show you how to listen to your plants, put on those listening caps!

How to repot your plant friends, and even how to propagate your plants so you can grow your collection and share your beloved plants with those that you love.

Your journey in plant parenthood is just beginning on Living Wild.

(audience applauds) (audience applauds) HILTON: Welcome back to Living Wild with me, Hilton Carter.

We've talked about finding the light and how to shop for the best plants for you.

Now we're going to dig our fingers a little deeper in the soil and discuss how to care for your indoor garden and cultivate happiness for both you and your plant friends.

And as any circle of friends, the quality of the relationship with your plants is much more important than the quantity of plants you have in your home.

I'm not one that you'll hear ever say, "The more the merrier," and you'll definitely never hear me say things like, "You can never have too many plants."

(audience laughing) I know, blasphemy, some people are like, "What are you saying?"

(audience laughing) "You can never have too many plants.

(claps) Plants, more plants, more."

What truly makes the difference is the care you put into the plants that you have.

A single plant can make a cold, stale space feel warm and inviting.

So why does it feel like everyone is racing to fill their homes with as many plants as possible?

Okay, so (claps) I do have to admit I feel a bit responsible for this.

I do.

You've seen my house.

(audience laughing) I love plants, I do.

But believe me, it is not a race.

No one is going to come knocking on your door, once you have 500 plants, and present you with a gold thumb award.

I can promise you that I don't have a gold thumb award.

Let's be clear, plants are not props.

They're not a new pair of shoes or a vintage desk lamp.

Regardless of how trendy plants might be at this very moment, they are living, breathing things that you should treat and respect as such.

So understanding how to properly care for them is important.

Your plants will not have the ability to walk themselves over to your sink for a drink.

They can't do it.

They won't have the ability to walk themselves over to a brighter window for more light.

They need you.

So you need to be aware of their needs and provide them with such necessities.

The goodness that you put in them, they'll return to you.

As I like to say, (claps) "Nurture what nurtures you."

Choosing your plants with intention is so important.

So what does that look like?

Let's indulge in a little plant-spiration and take a peek inside the home of a plant parent whose space is both beautiful and achievable.

IRENA: My name is Irena Stein.

I'm a Venezuelan living in Baltimore, and as you see, I'm a lover of plants.

One of the things that impacted me a lot when I was little, was the size of plants around me.

That definitely helped me love and respect plants all my life.

Our house is very personal.

Every object has a story, and every plant has a story and I think that that's really important.

If you're gonna start with one, have one that you really, really like and you're excited about and take care of it.

You can have one big beautiful sculptural plant and it brings a certain beauty to the house.

To have plants in the house that are living things, bring a lot of happiness to our environment.

Even if you bring one plant to the house, you're building your own identity, you're building your own aesthetic, you've curated it to your lifestyle.

Your home should be like a little paradise.

(audience applauds) HILTON: Amazing, right?

And proof that you don't need a jungle in order to create beautiful Living Wild moments throughout your home.

I'm sure most of you have heard the studies that NASA has done regarding bring your plants indoors.

(audience murmuring) Good, I wanna talk about it.

(audience laughing) They talk about how plants can clean the air and add more oxygen to your space.

Those are all wonderful things to think about.

My family and I have surrounded ourselves with over 300 plants, and I can honestly say I have never walked into my home and said, "Oh, wow, all of this wonderful oxygen in the air is so very clean."

(laughs) (claps) (audience laughing) I do feel a sense of calm and serenity while amongst plants, but that has nothing to do, very little to do, with how many plants I have.

What I can feel is the energy that comes through me when I see my plants thriving.

Watching as plants I've spent so much time caring for unfurl beautiful new growth.

That'll make you feel something, something raw, something weighted.

For me, it's empowering because I know I help make that happen.

When you see a plant thriving, you walk around confident with your chest poked out and your head up high, (claps) and you just feel good.

Like any healthy relationship, your connection with your plants is all about good communication.

That, and your relationship with your wife.

Good communication, guys.

(audience laughing) I need to put that out there, just in case my- just in case my wife is watching this.

(claps) (audience laughing) In order to help your plants thrive, you need to learn how to listen to them.

Here's how.

Do you talk to your plants?

I know I do.

And you're probably thinking maybe that's a crazy question, but if you're a plant lover like me, you're like, "Yes, I do talk to my plants."

Sometimes I sing to my plants because sometimes they're singing back to me.

They're definitely talking to me, in nonverbal cues, the way they act, the way their foliage moves, the way their foliage looks, the color of their foliage.

Identifying when your plants need to be watered is gonna be very important.

A plant that is drooping or the leaves are kind of bent in and wilting is a plant that really needs a drink.

Maybe your plant has brown, crispy spots on the edges.

That's another sign that the plant needs a drink.

A plant that has yellowing leaves is telling you it's had a bit too much to drink, but a plant that has maybe brown, dark spots in the center of the foliage, that could be a sign that your plant has had too much to drink for a really long time, and now you have a root rot.

Your roots are pulling in water.

Some plants need moisture all the time, while others don't need it often.

And you need to know what type of plant you have so that you can water them when they need it.

Some folks like to stick their fingers in the soil to check the moisture, but if you wanna get a more accurate read, you would just stick a moisture meter into the soil.

Then you can make the decision from there.

But let's say your plant is dry and it is time for watering.

The first thing you want to do is you want to fill up a watering can with lukewarm water, and then you're gonna pour that water over your soil, nice and easy, slow and steady, and then you wanna be patient.

You wanna let that water trickle out of the drainage hole and into a base tray.

Anything extra in there might get absorbed back into the pot.

But if that water sits in your base tray, let's say over an hour or two, you will want to dump that water that's in that base tray and put your plant back on top of your base tray.

You don't want your roots sitting in water because that could lead to root rot and a dying plant.

It's not just gonna take water as their source of food intake.

They're gonna need nutrients and when you first purchase a plant, they're gonna have nutrients in that soil as fertilizer.

And after six months, the fertilizer, the food that is in that soil, after watering it for that time, will get washed away.

So during growth season, which is between spring and summer, that is gonna be the perfect time to start fertilizing your plants.

At the end of the day, just be aware that your plants are talking to you.

If you see a new leaf or a flower blooming, that is the plant telling you, "Thanks."

Way to go, you.

Now go treat yourself to a new plant.

You deserve it.

(audience cheers and applauds) Oh, yeah, let's hear it for happy plants.

(audience cheers) Thank you.

(audience applauds) Plants do so much to make our homes a better place to live.

But to be a good plant parent, you need to make sure you give your plants a good home too.

They need the right size pot just like us, sometimes plants outgrow their homes and need a bit of an upgrade.

When your family outgrows your home, it's time to move.

When a plant outgrows its home, it's time to repot.

Repotting your plant can be a scary and uncertain situation.

Believe me, you wanna make sure that you're doing it during the right time of year, and that time is called growth season.

That's between spring and summer.

Signs that your plant needs to be repotted will be if you start to see roots making their way out of the drainage hole of your pot.

Or if you start to see your foliage starting to get a little brown maybe on the edges, or if your plant hasn't grown in a really long time, even after fertilizing it.

Those are signs that your plant might need to be placed in a larger pot so that their roots can grow and that it can push out new growth.

It is much easier to remove a plant from its pot if it's on the drier side than it is to move it from a pot If it's on the more wet or damp side.

You look good, you're telling me your loving life, but your roots are saying something different, bud.

Your roots are saying, "Please, put me in a larger pot."

Now, make sure you have a planter that is two inches in diameter larger than your previous pot.

'Cause you don't want your roots to have too much room or too little room, just enough room to wiggle around and stretch your little arms out to grow more.

The first thing you wanna do, is make sure the bottom third of your pot is filled with fresh potting soil.

Place it in, even it out.

Make sure that you're creating a flat base in there for yourself.

Once you level it out, kind of put your hands in there, move it around a bit, then you're going to grab your plant.

You can see my roots, really tight, so you want to be very gentle when you're removing it from its pot.

The best way to do so is to squeeze your nursery pot like so, and that should help loosen that soil and prepare your roots and your plant for being removed from that pot.

You can test it out to see if it's ready to go by grabbing some of your foliage, gently grabbing some of your foliage, (gasps) and there you are.

Easy all of your roots, you can see them all at the bottom of this pot ready to expand into its new home.

I'm gonna place my plant over top of its new home and gently loosen the soil and roots.

You want to be gentle, but don't be afraid to pull a few roots out.

It's a root system.

All of your roots will grow back.

Once your roots are a bit loose, that's when it can be time to place your plant down into its new pot.

At this point, you just want to cover up the soil with extra fresh soil.

As you're adding that soil, you wanna make sure that you leave the top 10% of the pot free of soil.

Once I'm done with that, I'm going to gently press down on the new soil, take a look to make sure it's in position, and there you have it.

Everything you need to know about how to repot your plant.

(audience applauds) Yes, knowing what's right for your plant friends is essential to helping them thrive.

But you also need to make sure you're doing what's right for you because while plants can make us happy, taking on a more challenging plant when you're not ready can be stressful, which is not what we're in it for.

The key is, "Know thy self."

Gotta know yourself.

WOMAN: Yes.

HILTON: Let me ask you all this: Have you ever heard me tell the story about the difference between cat people and dog people?

AUDIENCE: No.

HILTON: No, okay.

Well, gather the kids around the fire because it is story time with Hilton Carter.

(audience cheers and applauds) All right, I know you're all here to hear me talk about plants, but just bear with me.

I'm gonna try to tie this all together and make it make sense.

Who here, by show of hands, is a cat person?

Cat people, okay, who here is a dog person?

Hands up, I love dog people.

I, for one, am a dog person.

I have a dog named Charlie that I adopted eight years ago.

AUDIENCE: Aww.

HILTON: Oh, Charlie.

(audience laughing) My wife, well, she's a cat person.

When we first met, she had two cats, Isabella and Zoe.

Now as a cat person, you have a little more freedom to live your life.

You don't need to let them out in the morning.

So my wife, she loves to sleep.

(audience laughing) She could leave out a little water, a little food, and a clean litter box if she ever wanted to have a nice little getaway for the weekend.

With my dog, Charlie, that could never be the case.

I'm up early almost every single day.

We go out about four or five times a day because that's what it takes to be a dog person.

When you become a dog person or know that you are, you know that these are the things that are going to happen.

Whether it's raining, snowing, insanely hot outside, whether you're not feeling well, you have to do what's right to take that pet out and care for them.

So before you buy a new plant, ask yourself, "Are you a cat person or a dog person?"

(audience laughing) Because some plants are low maintenance, like cats and others are like dogs and need constant attention.

(audience laughing) The idea here is to be self-aware enough to know where you fit in.

Are you someone that is up for tending to plants on a daily basis and being focused on their care?

This sort of person can welcome more dog-like plants like ferns, anthuriums, calatheas, alocasias, and even certain palms.

Are you someone that is a bit forgetful or just likes the idea of having plants but doesn't want to give up their weekends tending to them?

There's plenty of people out there like that.

My wife is one.

(audience laughing) If so, for that person, they should lean towards the more cat-like plants, the low-maintenance ones like ZZ plants, cacti, succulents, snake plants, dieffenbachias, those type of plants that don't require much attention but will be there to make your space feel lush.

These plants are more forgiving and if you're someone that travels often, they won't ask you to get a plant sitter while you're away.

(audience laughing) I know it's difficult not to bring every plant home from the plant shop, but you have to be self-aware enough to hold off.

We consider what we have, the ability to care for, our home environment, our work, and family schedules and make decisions based on that.

Do the same when it comes to bringing plants into your home and you and your new plant friend will be better off.

I've heard some people say, "It's having plants that make me happy."

But that's only if you're putting in the work to make them happy.

Because plants can also make you sad and stressed.

If you're like me when I see a plant not doing so well, I feel awful.

I feel very sad.

Knowing how to provide your plants with the care they need can be easy if you just put in the work.

Hear me out.

There's no such thing as having a brown thumb for a particular type of plant or having a brown thumb at all.

(audience chuckle) I'm not judging you, but those are all excuses.

People who consider themselves having green thumbs are just individuals who have decided to put in the work.

They made an effort to give that plant what it desired to thrive, and they saw their care pay off.

What's happening is that many plant lovers are making decisions on what plants they purchased on the popularity of the plants or how beautiful it is at first, and then they'll think about where they can fit it in, in their space.

They're not thinking about what's best for that plant, but selfishly about their own needs and wants.

The popular fiddle-leaf fig is a good example.

It's a good one.

You see it everywhere on social media and in design magazines, and also on some books.

(audience laughs) But this is a plant for dog people.

So, many plant lovers have brought a fiddle-leaf fig into their home and only to see it die because of the lack of light and, of course, lack of care.

I found myself falling victim to this earlier in my journey.

Then, at some point, (claps) when I realized that, I needed to make a change.

Now, if you've determined, you really are a dog-plant person and you want to adopt a fiddle-leaf fig into your family, here's my best advice for caring for it and the top three most common mistakes people make with this notoriously finicky plant.

Whenever someone asks what my favorite house plant is, I never hesitate to say the ficus lyrata, a.k.a.

the fiddle-leaf fig.

Two reasons: Number one, it was the first plant I ever brought into my home, and number two is because it's just so beautiful.

It's so big.

It can grow so large in a home and feel like a real tree indoors.

But it's also known as one of the most finicky house plants to bring in.

There are three top mistakes that I want to share with you.

Number one, light.

So many people push this plant into the wrong spots in their home.

The fiddle-leaf fig needs bright, indirect light, not direct sun and not low light.

So if you have a spot in your home that isn't getting the proper amount of exposure, that plant will start to die on you quick.

Two, moisture.

You have a fiddle-leaf fig that let's say is five feet tall, you have another one that is two feet tall.

Understanding that the size of the plant matters for when you need to water it.

Sometimes, you might consider the fact that it's in different spots in your home as well.

So some people will make the mistake thinking that they can water all of their fiddle-leaf figs on the same schedule.

It's all gonna be about the moisture level of your soil.

I love this.

And the third mistake that most make when it comes to the fiddle-leaf fig is that they put it in too big of a pot.

A fiddle-leaf fig loves to have its roots kind of confined in its pot, so make sure whenever you do purchase a fiddle-leaf fig and bring it into your home, you're repotting it into a pot that is just two inches in diameter larger than its nursery pot.

And those are common mistakes that I hope you do not make with you're new fiddle-leaf fig friend.

(audience applauds) Coming up next, we're gonna have some fun with styling and design.

(claps) We'll take a peek inside the home of another inspiring plant parent.

I'll show you three major techniques to styling with plants, why color matters, and what makes a statement plant.

Plus, I'll show you how you can grow your plant family through propagation.

Your journey to plant parenthood continues next on Living Wild.

(audience cheers) (audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience applauding) HILTON: Welcome back to Living Wild with me, Hilton Carter.

We've learned how to select and care for our plant friends.

Now let's talk about style.

Having a sense of style is how we all show our individuality to the world.

And that goes for your home too.

You should love where you live and share that love with anyone that steps through the door of your home.

Introducing greenery into your home will help you create that wow factor.

Plants can be so much more than containers on a windowsill.

For me, I see having plants in the home as one of the core staples for designing your interior space just as much as a couch or a coffee table would be.

Let's break it down.

The staples for a home are: One, a bed.

Two, a couch.

Three, a refrigerator.

Four, a plant, and not necessarily in that order.

(audience laughing) I might be a bit biased here, but it's really that simple.

The thing is, how do you go about purchasing the right couch for your home?

When you're couch shopping, you're making decisions based on many variables.

The size of the space it's going to go into, the color of the couch, the texture, the comfortability, et cetera.

Those are all things you should be considering when purchasing and styling plants in your home.

I don't know about that comfortability part and how comfortable the plants can make you feel.

Please don't sit on your plants.

(audience laughing) Especially, not the cacti type.

(audience laughing) There should be a touch of art when it comes to styling your plants.

Ready for some plant-spiration?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

HILTON: Here's another plant parent that has an amazing knack for wild style.

SARA: My name is Sara Toufali, and I'm a big- time plant lover.

Plants bring an organic natural element to a room.

They make a space come to life.

I'd say my plant style is a little bit wild and whimsical.

The way I tackle styling plants in a home is, first and foremost, I wanna make sure that the plant will thrive wherever I'm placing it.

You don't wanna stick a cactus in a dark room that gets absolutely zero light.

You don't wanna put a pothos or a snake plant somewhere where it will get direct light.

I always love playing around with levels and layering with plants.

If you have a lot of windows or maybe you don't have a lot of floor space, hanging plants are perfect.

I like to just sort of fill any empty negative space with a little touch of green.

Plants can really inspire such creativity.

They help us connect with nature, and if I can help others bring that sense of joy into their own home, then that would make me really happy.

(audience applauds) HILTON: Such a beautiful space, right?

(claps) AUDIENCE: Yes.

HILTON: Sara and other plant parents are able to create such magical spaces through plant styling.

It's a bit of an art, but one that can easily be mastered as well.

In the art world, they speak of the rule of thirds in which you use as a guide to compose your art so that you can find the perfect balance.

Using this method ensures that the viewer will move their eyes across the entire frame, fully seeing the whole picture.

In styling your plants, this idea should be used as your rule of thumb, or better yet, your rule of green thumb.

(audience laughing) Creating an indoor jungle in your home isn't just about bringing in a lot of plants and randomly just placing them throughout your space.

There should be a reason behind the decisions you're making regarding the plants you're bringing in and where you place them.

Doing so, will benefit you, your space, and most of all, your plants.

There should be a method to your green madness.

The first thing I consider is?

Come on.

WOMAN: Light.

WOMAN: Light.

HILTON: Hey!

(laughs) Yes, light.

To start, (claps) I always determine the quality of light that the room has, and then the types of plants that can thrive in that light.

Once that decision is made, I use three techniques to help guide the placement of my plants.

My own rule of thirds in a way.

To plant style your home, you need to learn these three techniques.

Layering, grouping, and creating levels.

When it comes to styling plants indoors, there are three techniques that I love to use.

The first technique for styling your plants is layering.

Consider it like taking a group photo.

You wanna position the taller individuals in the back, then your smaller folks in front.

This way, everyone's face can be seen in the photo.

The same thing is gonna be used when it comes to layering your plants.

You wanna place your bigger plants in the back, and then stagger smaller plants in front so that every single plant gets their time in the light.

I love to see different plants like a rattlesnake up against, let's say a single-green-color foliage or seeing variegation like this elbow next to the pink princess and how those two work together.

It's not just about the size of the plant, but how the foliage can dance, sing, and vibrate with its color, its texture, and its shape next to the others.

The second technique for styling your plants would be grouping.

In grouping plants, you are bringing like-minded plants together to help you in the process of care, but also, again, to create certain types of looks.

It's easier to position a grouping of plants that are like-minded so that you're able to remember easier how to then care for them.

And the third and final technique for styling your plants will be creating levels.

This technique is what all of this is about, for me, what I love so much.

Greenery above you, greenery right at eye level, and, of course, greenery below.

When you go outside, you see grass beneath your feet, you see plants near your face, and you see trees and greenery and shrubs above your head.

I like to use pedestals or plant stands to bring smaller plants at eye level.

And when it comes to adding that height of plants above me, whether that's the use of a tall tree or hanging plants on the walls, whether that's mounted plants or plants in hanging planters.

It's all about making sure they have that level look so that you're seamlessly bringing the outdoors in and feeling like you are Living Wild.

(audience applauds) These plant-styling techniques will add so much texture to your space.

And you have another tool to your disposal.

Color.

You can also use color to achieve a nice layered effect.

When styling houseplants, you'll be predominantly working with the color green, but lucky for us, houseplants come in so many different shades of green.

These variations in greens add depth between plants and other pieces that can surround them, so it's key to be selective when pushing plants next to one another, as you would when placing two paint colors side-by-side on a wall or two different pattern throw pillows on a couch.

Have you ever seen a cissus discolor leaf against the leaf of a philodendron rojo congo?

It's absolutely stunning.

Use colors in your plants to influence the paint colors on your walls, your furniture and even your art.

Styling this way will bring a richness into your life and into your home that will be felt immediately.

Now, as you grow in your plant-styling journey, you might consider adding a statement plant.

A statement plant holds gravity in your space.

This could be because of its vibrant color, the intricate pattern, shape, or texture of the foliage, or its grand size.

I mean, many times, the statement plant will be on the larger side.

That's because a large plant can instantly create that wow factor, bringing that touch of the outdoors within an interior space, immediately.

I like to say that it only takes one single plant to change the atmosphere in a room.

Whatever your theme or inspiration is, a statement plant helps to solidify that idea.

As I've mentioned many times when plant styling a space, always let the light lead you.

(claps) Knowing the quality or the type of natural light you have coming into a room will help guide you in understanding the types of plants that can thrive in that space.

Once you have that knowledge, the world is your oyster.

(claps) It goes beyond just bringing plants into a space to blur the line between indoor and outdoors, but to start a conversation of life truly imitating art and vice versa.

It's so wonderful to let your love for plants bloom, and it's even more fulfilling when you get to share that love.

I've become completely enamored with caring for plants for a few reasons, but the one that has had the most lasting impact on me has been learning how to propagate.

This means producing a new plant from a mother plant.

(claps) With propagation, you can grow new plants for your home, and even share them with others as gifts!

It's an amazing process, and it's easier than you think.

Here's how to get started.

When it comes to propagating plants, it's probably one of my favorite things to do.

The reason being, propagation was the thing that got me into plant care.

I fell in love with it.

There are two common and mostly used methods of propagation.

When it comes to stem cut propagation, plants like philodendron, monstera, hoyas are gonna be the types of plants that are fine-like plants that you can take that sort of cutting from.

You're gonna look for the identifier to where to make the cut.

That node will be that small little bump that you will find below every single new leaf.

And once you identify a node where you wanna make that cut, you want to take your shears, which I have here, and you're gonna make a cut at least an inch or two below your node.

And then place your cutting down into that vessel and submerge your node in water.

It is from the node where your roots will grow.

Once your roots are at least four to six inches in length, that's when you can take your cutting out of that vessel and then pot it in soil or leave it in the vessel and watch it grow and develop more roots and a healthy root system.

You guys talk about propagating over there?

Your next method will be tip cut method.

On the tip cut, you wanna make sure when you're making that cut, you are making the cut at a 45-degree angle.

This way, you have more surface area for roots to grow, and just in case the bottom of that cutting hits the base of your vessel, it is still lifting the base of that cutting off the surface of that vessel, making sure that there's air to come into that cutting, but also room again for your roots to develop.

I would take my cutting and place it into lukewarm water and wait over time for it to develop and to grow roots.

Once you have those cuttings in their vessels, you wanna make sure you replace them in the proper light.

And the best light for all propagated plants will be indirect light.

The brighter the better.

But please, stay away from direct sun.

Direct sun can heat up the water, which could then kill your root system, but can also fry the cutting, burn the cutting that you have in that vessel.

Routine maintenance is key to a healthy root system, so make sure at least every few days or once a week, you are taking your cutting out, dumping out that gross water, cleaning out your vessel, putting fresh water back inside, and then placing your cutting back inside of that vessel.

Once your root system grows roots that are at least four to six inches in length, that will be the opportune time to then move it into soil.

And these are the common techniques for how to propagate your plants.

(audience applauds) You hear so much about plant parenthood, but knowing how to propagate and then watch as your little plant takes shape and develops into a fully-grown plant, is the very definition of this.

Given the cost of new plants, it's a great way to save money and become more deeply connected to your plants.

I was once told that if you follow your passion, regardless of what it is, you'll find your happiness.

To me, that has meant creating a home with my wife, Fiona, and my daughter, Holland, that blurs the line of interior and exterior in such a seamless gradient that the look just feels completely natural.

Taking a step back, it's the greenery that binds room-to-room and the feeling of tranquility as a whole.

This feeling of calm and peace has motivated me over the past 10 years to surround myself in greenery.

The road is long and the path is covered in beautiful foliage.

As you have seen, other inspiring plant parents have found unique ways to introduce greenery into their homes, but it took them time, learning, and trial and error to find their way through the brush in order to land in a space that felt just right.

So be intentional, but enjoy the journey.

You'll enjoy the benefits of plants right away.

And over time, you'll pave a path towards a home that is lush and alive.

So what will your plant journey be?

Are you already on the path to a greener thumb, but in search for a creative spark?

Are you a novice to this whole idea in looking to create a fresh new space?

Either way, you now know which plants that work best in your home, your light, and your life.

You know how to really care for them and help them grow.

And you have the plant-spiration you need to get started right now.

Regardless of where you are on your path, I hope you find a way to stay creative, stay unique, and, of course, live wild.

(audience cheers) (audience applauds) Thank you.

(audience applauds) (audience applauds) Thank you.

(audience applauds) Thank you.

(audience applauds) (audience cheers) (audience applauds) : And here are my top five houseplants for the novice plant parent, the rattlesnake calathea, low maintenance and high maintenance?

The philodendron pink princess.

And my next plant... Hey, bud, is the Florida ghost philodendron.

The snake plant, beautiful.

The ZZ plant, shiny and waxy.

I can't believe you're still here.

I feel the love.

I can feel it through the lens.

I know you're there still watching me.

I love plants and you love plants.

I hope you found some plant-spiration on your journey to Living Wild.

(laughs)