As many plant parents know, the most important elements of keeping a plant alive are water, light and fertiliser. But what exactly is indirect light? How do you know where to put your plant for ideal light coverage? Why can't you just put all plants next to the window and be done with it? How come plants that grow naturally outside have different light requirements when they're inside? We're here to answer all your questions. 

Remember a few years ago when we first started using smart phones and suddenly there was an app for everything? Believe it or not, there's an app for measuring the amount of light a given area receives. You'll need to do some research into the light requirements of your particular plants but once you do you can use the app to figure where the best place to put them in your house. 

When reading about lighting conditions for plants, you'll see the term 'indirect light' used a lot. It can be confusing - what does it mean? Essentially, it means that your plant needs to be covered in light throughout the day but never have sunshine falling right on its leaves. In practice, this means that you should put plants that need indirect light near the window, but not right on the windowsill. Dracaena, snake plants and maidenhair ferns are examples of some plants that do well in indirect light. 

On the other hand, bright light is where you have sunlight falling directly on the plant. This means putting plants in front of a souther or western-facing window where it will get light the majority of the day. Low light is good for plants like ferns and philodendrons. 

If you need some more assistance you can also get special growing lights from your local nursery. These help facilitate growth because they're easier to control. You can turn them on and off as you need to make sure the plant gets what it needs. However, this does mean that you need to allow for the lamp as part of your decor. Our products have been designed to highlight the beauty of your houseplants, not with a unsightly lamp in the way! If you're a casual indoor gardener, we recommend sticking to the natural stuff - sunshine is the best light for all plants.