One day last summer photographer Mimi Giboin just happened to be in Paris at the right time to capture our friend Tom de Fleurs‘s tiny courtyard garden, looking its summer best, on Rue Bichat.
Photography by Mimi Giboin for Gardenista.
At the end of the day, as Mimi was packing up her camera, Tom asked her if she wanted to see one of his friend’s unusually enchanting indoor gardens nearby, with potted plants along a staircase and landing outside the entrance of a grand Parisian flat.
Create a living wall using the balusters as a framework.
Riding the Rails
Entanglements
Allow creepers and vines to wind in and out of the balusters on the railing.
Place pots ascending a staircase and take advantage of the roominess of a landing and the natural curves. With a profusion of foliage, it doesn’t matter if you leave the plants in their nursery pots.
Winding Path
A potted Zamioculcas zamiifolia (also known as a ZZ plant) is a popular houseplant for good reasons—it’s hard, low maintenance, and creates a structured backdrop for other plants.
Low-Maintenance Plants
Begonia ‘Angel Wing’ is a cane begonia, a tropical plant that thrives in bright light and moist, well-drained soil.
Lacy Flowers
‘Angel Wing,’ a hybrid created as a cross between Begonia coccinea and Begonia aconitifolia, earned its name because of the shape of its clustered flowers.
Shaggy vines contrast with the formality and geometry of an antique stained glass window.
Casual Formality
Heightened Perspective
Tall potted plants draw the eye upward as one ascends the staircase.
Privacy Screen
A cascade of ferns and vines creates a curtain of mystery and privacy for an entryway. Placed between the two, a sword fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) explodes exuberantly.