When is a houseplant not a houseplant?

Who knew I actually knew what I was doing for once? Last year I took cuttings of pothos, baby's tears and started some spider plants. Many house plants start easily from cuttings and can be used like an annual in a planter outside.
Think tropical - think rain forest - and then find the perfect spot for these plants. Most tropical/houseplants do not tolerate the midday heat. Morning or late afternoon sun, or dappled shade is best for them. I put some in a barrel under my birch tree last summer.
The spider plants, while a common and often disdained house plant, look very much like dracena in a planter. Pothos have such a beautiful leaf to trail out of a planter. I mixed mine with some coleus for a colourful planter at the back of my house which receives very little sunshine and it just thrived. Of course, these tender plants require serious hardening off and can't go out until there is no danger of frost, or even near it.
At our garden club meeting in March, Michael from High Q Greenhouses suggested doing the exact same thing!

I even had some parsley in it to do triple double duty. It adds a lovely green bush effect and being right outside the door, it was handy for cooking.
Come to think of it, chives would add height to a planter too, and provide tasty snippings for baked potatoes all summer long. Think I will divide my chive plant and add some to my back door planter.

Pictured here, top to bottom: Pothos, Baby's Tears, Pearl Plant