The Plants We Live With

Plants are rather like good friends or pets: ever present, doing good things for us often without our noticing, making life healthier, bringing beauty into the places where we live. And, we can hurt them if we mistreat them — a reason to be kind to them, as well as our human friends. We asked Sarah Pardi, who has made many friends in the plant world, to tell us about some of her favorites. —The Editor

Monstera

Monstera deliciosa

This monster of a plant is a popular choice by many house plant enthusiasts! The monstera plant with its large, gorgeous leaves makes any room feel like you’ve stepped into a tropical rainforest. This plant prefers bright, indirect light and likes its leaves to be misted. Because the leaves are so large, be sure to wipe them down to prevent dust accumulation. Once a monstera gets to be large enough, it may topple over. So, you can either use a support structure to keep it upright, or propagate and repot.

Snake plant 

Dracaena trifasciata

The snake plant comes first on my list of favorite houseplants. Not only is it aesthetically striking with its vertical leaves, it also provides health benefits. This houseplant removes airborne pollutants and can improve the air quality of your home. These plants prefer indirect light, and are low maintenance as they don’t need much watering. That being said, be careful not to overwater!

Orchids

Orchidaceae

Orchids are a beautiful and elegant way to decorate any room. However, they are not the easiest to maintain. Orchids prefer warm, mildly humid environments and require little water. Do not keep them near cold drafts (I’ve made that mistake). Placing a few ice cubes on the soil is a great way to give it just the right amount of water. Orchids are not grown in typical soil, but rather in a chunky mix with bark pieces to allow for proper aeration. If you have a green thumb for orchids, you could even enter an orchid show! 

English Ivy

Hedera helix

The English ivy is a classic, with its iconic leaf shape and flowing vines. This is another one of my favorite plants because it has the capacity to carpet an entire outer wall of your house, or simply drape from a hanging basket inside your home. This plant prefers cooler temperatures and a humid environment. Due to its elegant aesthetic, its nickname as the King’s Choice ivy comes as no surprise.

ZZ plant

Zamioculcas zamiifolia

The ZZ plant gives a fun, tropical look to any room! Thankfully it is easy to take care of, requiring little care, and can even be forgotten about for weeks at a time. This plant can do well under any light condition. Water sparingly only when its soil is completely dry. But beware, as this exotic plant contains a compound that is toxic to pets and humans, so do not ingest!

Croton

Codiaeum variegatum

The croton plant is one of my personal favorites for its bright, fall-colored leaves. It adds a nice pop of color to any room. This plant prefers lots of light and moist soil, so water regularly. These plants thrive in moderate temperatures, so be sure to keep it away from cold drafts, such as those near windows.

Pothos

Epipremnum pinnatum

The pothos plant, with its glossy heart-shaped leaves, is a wonderful green filler. With its trailing stems, it can be displayed just about anywhere. This plant prefers bright, indirect light and weekly watering, and it enjoys humidity. Pothos is toxic to pets, so beware. There are multiple varieties of pothos with different leaf patterns — take your pick! Pothos is easy to maintain and acts as an indoor air purifier.

Polka Dot Begonia

Begonia maculata

The polka dot begonia is a striking plant that is sure to draw attention. With its leaves dotted with silvery-white spots and colorful underside, it can enhance any room’s aesthetic. This tropical houseplant prefers indirect sunlight, humidity (around 45%), and its soil to be kept moist, so water regularly. However, use caution around pets as these plants are toxic when ingested.

Prayer plant

Maranta leuconeura

The prayer plant has a beautifully striking leaf pattern and colored veins. Another awesome thing about this plant is you can watch its circadian rhythm cycle in real time! Its light-dependent leaf movements, opening and closing like praying hands, can be observed throughout the day and night. To see this plant in action, all you have to do is set up a timelapse camera over 24 hours or simply look up a YouTube video and enjoy.

Succulents

There are so many fun varieties of succulent plants, it’s hard to choose just one! The good news is they are small enough to be bundled together as an arrangement. My very first plant in my room at LMU was a succulent, which I accidentally killed. Lesson learned: Do not overwater your succulents! They are adapted to desert-like environments, so keep them in direct sunlight and water infrequently.

Sarah Pardi ’18 is a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA, where she studies fundamental mechanisms of plant development. Pardi earned her bachelor’s degree from the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering. After graduation, she earned a Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis, where she was the 2024 William H. Danforth Fellow at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. She was recently named a recipient of the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award at UCLA, starting in fall 2025.