A beautiful potted plant generally provokes the same wary reaction from me as the sight of a baby in a stroller: lovely, but looks like a lot of work to keep happy.
Not so, according to Real Simple (at least not when it comes to house plants). Here are a few ideas, spotted on the magazine's website, to turn the tables; house plants can actually make your life easier:
Photographs via Real Simple.
Above: A phalaenopsis orchid loves humidity, so a moist bathroom is an ideal home; you won't need to water the orchid as often.
Above: If you have an assortment of potted succulents, you can create still-life vignettes—in the living room, down the center of a dining table, or lined up on a window sill.
Above: A low maintenance fern, which doesn't require a lot of sunlight, will thrive in a bedroom.
Above: Put a heavy pot on a wheeled caddie to make it easy to move around.
Above: Create an inexpensive tabletop tableau by mixing three colors of African violets in an urn. (N.B.: For more ideas, see 360 images of Flowery Tablescapes in our Gallery of rooms and spaces.)