Urban Jungle Bloggers | A ‘plant colour pop’

When the latest Urban Jungle Bloggers challenge – to place a plant in front of a vibrant background and really make it sing – arrived in my inbox a few weeks ago, I have to confess I was a little stumped. As you might have guessed from previous posts, colourful interiors really aren’t my thing, and my entire house is a rather muted affair in various shades of grey. What’s more, a busy month of travelling means I’ve had very little time to style anything new.

Not to be defeated, I had a look through photos from recent trips to see if I could find any inspiration from my travels (I hope this doesn’t count as cheating!), and I came across these images of a lovely garden just outside Siracusa in Sicily.

I remember stopping the car to take some snaps of this place as soon as I saw it. It may be located in the Med, but there’s something very Mexican about the clean lines and the arrangement of cacti and palms. I love the way the spikey textures and vibrant greens of the plants contrast with the stormy hues of the rendered walls behind, and the gravel and decking work well, too. The overall effect may not be bursting with bright shades, but it’s certainly eye-catching – my idea of the perfect ‘plant colour pop’!

Urban Jungle Bloggers is taking a break over summer, but I’ll be posting more plant-related bits and bobs when it restarts in September. If you want some more inspiration in the meantime, I’ve added some photos of other subtle yet striking plant and colour combinations to my ‘Colours & Textures’ Pinterest board.

Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series run by Igor of Happy Interior Blog and Judith of JOELIX.com, with the aim of encouraging people to use greenery in their homes. To find out more, head over to the website or search #urbanjunglebloggers.

All photography by Abi Dare