This is the one plant Abigail Ahern recommends putting on your balcony or large windowsill right now
The maximalist master has the secret to majestic interiors, and it starts outside
Interior designer Abigail Ahern may have already shaped your interiors – and your modern garden ideas – but now she has shared how to create a natural flow between the two spaces. Yes, the key to a magical home begins beyond your four walls at a balcony or a windowsill that is spacious enough for the plant moment: Miscanthus Sinensis Variegatus.
Speaking in an Instagram video, Abigail explained the importance of injecting greenery on your balcony before sharing her adoration for the eastern Asian species.
The Miscanthus Sinensis Variegatus (or Japanese Silver Grass) will interrupt the barrier between your interior and exterior space and continue to look good long into the colder seasons. This is the urban gardening idea that your home and your balcony will thank you for trying.
'If you come into my bathroom, you will see… these really beautiful grasses. It means that when I'm in the bathroom, it feels like I'm in a forest because there is just such a connection to nature. These grasses grow super tall; they're called Miscanthus Sinensis Variegatus,' Abigail says.
'I love them so much in the winter because all of the tall arching plumes go this beautiful brown color so you don't lose them and you don't need to cut them back. They're just really important.'
What makes these plants so impactful? Abigail explains that the lush greenery creates a new focal point and dissolves the line between your interiors and exteriors – and gives your eyes a verdant new focal point to focus upon.
'The thing about balconies and large window sills is that you're breaking up the barrier to the outside. When you put things in front of things (and it's the same principle of interiors), when the eye doesn't immediately see what's out there and there's something in front, it just gets magical.'
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After filling your balcony or windowsill with Miscanthus Sinensis Variegatus, Abigail offers a final home decor idea that will further blur the lines between your interior and exterior spaces with the help of stylish savannah grass.
'The other thing with grass is that it blurs the vision… Take it one step further in your interior and add some Savannah grass,' she says. 'You are really cleverly, super intellectually carrying on the grass inside with the grass outside. That's what beautiful interiors do – they repeat things back at you. It doesn't have to be the same grass to repeat what's outside.'
In case we needed any more persuasion to pick up new plants this weekend, we've now got Abigail's seal of approval. Happy shopping.
Megan is the Head of Celebrity Style News at Homes & Gardens. She first joined Future Plc as a News Writer across their interiors titles, including Livingetc and Real Homes, before becoming H&G's News Editor in April 2022. She now leads the Celebrity/ News team.
Before joining Future, Megan worked as a News Explainer at The Telegraph, following her MA in International Journalism at the University of Leeds. During her BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, she gained writing experience in the US whilst studying in New York. Megan also focused on travel writing during her time living in Paris, where she produced content for a French travel site.
Megan currently lives in London, where she relocated from her hometown in Yorkshire. In her home, she experiments with interior design trends and draws inspiration from the home decor ideas she observes in her everyday work life. Her favorite pieces include her antique typewriter and her expansive collection of houseplants. When she isn’t writing, she is browsing London’s coffee shops and bookstores to add to her ever-growing library, taking over the open shelving in her apartment.
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