In the light, airy room that affords a constant temperature throughout the year there is an endless range of plants to choose from which will soften and improve the surroundings.

All these sources of knowledge can, no doubt, solve many problems but, to my mind, the best way to learn about the everyday problems of plant growing is to be responsible for a plant display at any major flower show. There you will hear astonishing tales about success and failure, and some of the incredible things that can happen to a humble rubber plant or sansevieria.

My job takes me to many such flower shows, and requires me to answer a vast number of letters on the subject of indoor plants. Some letters are amusing, others quite sad; some concern premature loss of leaves while others are from perplexed householders who have room ceilings too low for rampant monstera plants.

The entrance hall is often the most suitable place for an effective grouping of plants, or for the more mature individual plant. It is the first place that the visitor steps into and there is much to be said for the warm welcome that a cheerful entrance hall can provide. Conditions are often cooler here, though, so one must choose plants carefully to ensure that they are not too delicate and will tolerate the lower temperatures that are likely to prevail.

The ivies, of which there are many different varieties, often prove to be ideal for the entrance hall; in particular the larger leaved ones such as Iledera canariensis, II. Cioldleaf and H. maculata. These will all look better if the growth can be trained to a fan-shaped support of some kind. Trellis work is ideal and can he attached to the wall, or a fan-shaped framework can be simply made by inserting two stout canes in the plant pot and joining them at intervals with shorter pieces of cane some i8 in. long.

Even the simplest flower arrangement is the better for having a focal point to attract the eye, which is usually in the form of an unusual or particularly fine flower. The rest of the arrangement is complementary to the centre piece. The same may be said of the plant arrangement with a fine cryptanthus or similarly unusual plant as a centre piece. We have focal points in our rooms; it may be a television set, a fine piece of furniture, or a striking flower arrangement. In the same way an interesting group of plants may be used as a central feature.