Emily’s Houseplant Diary: Winter Colour And A Wander Through Borough Market

1 November 2026

The plants are back indoors and thriving, we have added some beautiful hellebores for winter colour, and a huge new range of pots has arrived in the shop. Somewhere in between, we managed a family trip to Borough Market. There is also a new arrival at home, but I am saving a proper introduction for next week.

November already. Last week I was writing about bringing plants inside and wondering where everything would fit. This week, it is lovely to see them doing so well now they are back in the house.

After admitting in the first diary that a few plants had reached the end, I am pleased to have some better news to report. There is plenty looking happy too.

Settling back into the house

The plants that spent summer outside have brought so much greenery back indoors. Having them around us again is one of the things I enjoy most about this time of year. You get to appreciate all that growth properly, rather than passing it on your way into the garden.

Last week diary was about making room. This week feels more like enjoying the results.

It is tempting, when you have been moving everything around, to keep adjusting things. Another windowsill, a different shelf, perhaps that corner would look better. But once a plant has a suitable position, there is something to be said for leaving it to settle.

For anyone doing the same autumn shuffle, keep checking how quickly the compost is drying. Bringing a plant indoors changes its conditions, and even pots sitting quite close together can need watering at different times.

There is no need to turn November houseplant care into a long list of jobs. A little attention as you go around the house can tell you quite a lot.

A little winter colour

We have also added some beautiful hellebores this week.

I love their slightly old fashioned feel. There is something about those flowers that suits this part of the year so well, especially as we start thinking about Christmas. They would look quite at home in a Victorian Christmas scene, tucked among greenery and simple decorations.

As much as I love foliage, flowers are very welcome now. A little colour feels particularly generous when the days are getting shorter.

Hellebores are garden plants rather than permanent houseplants, so they are best enjoyed somewhere cool outside, in a suitable container or planted in the garden. If you bring one indoors for a brief festive display, keep it cool and away from the radiator before returning it outside.

That is part of their appeal for me. A Christmas rose can be something to enjoy beyond Christmas, with a place in the garden once the decorations have been put away.

Pots to keep

There has been a huge addition to our range of plant pots too, which has given us plenty to get excited about.

Choosing pots is a different sort of temptation from choosing plants, although the result is often the same. You start by looking for something for one particular plant and end up imagining several other combinations.

A different pot can change the whole feel of a plant you have lived with for years. Sometimes that is all a shelf or windowsill needs.

We have Christmas presents in mind, of course, but I want these to be pots you enjoy all year round. Something that looks lovely in December should still feel at home in February, and in the middle of summer.

If you are choosing a decorative pot for a plant you already have, check the measurements of its nursery pot first. It should fit comfortably inside and be easy to lift out for watering. A beautiful pot is much more useful when you do not have to wrestle the plant out of it.

There is plenty of Christmas planning happening here, but we are choosing things with a longer life in mind.

A family day at Borough Market

Away from the plants, we had a family trip into central London and went to Borough Market.

It was beautiful, with plenty of Halloween around and that lovely autumn feeling. There was so much colour on the stalls, from the piles of citrus fruit to the vegetables and baskets of produce. After a week looking at plants and pots, it was a pleasure to wander around looking at everything else.

Although, looking through our photographs, quite a lot of our attention seems to have gone towards food.

There were huge pans of paella, counters full of things to eat and people gathered around the stalls. The light coming through the market roof was lovely too. I have included a few photographs because they give a much better sense of the day than I can fit into a paragraph.

It was good to have some time together away from work. When you run a small business, there is always another thing you could be doing, particularly with Christmas approaching. Getting out for a few hours helps.

London can be so beautiful at this time of year. Borough Market certainly gave us plenty to enjoy.

A full English at Mallow

We also stopped at Mallow in Borough Market for a full English, vegan style. Mushrooms, tomatoes, greens, beans, crisp potatoes, toast, a vegan sausage and a generous helping of scramble. Just the thing after wandering around looking at everyone else’s food.

We have been vegetarian for almost forty years, and it has certainly become easier over time. It is lovely to have so much choice now, and to sit down to a breakfast like this with everything on the plate there for us to enjoy.

Where we can, we try to make choices that feel kind and reflect what matters to us. That carries through into Happy Houseplants too, including our vegan plant food. We do not get everything perfect, but those little decisions matter to us.

The food and service at Mallow were both great. We can certainly recommend the breakfast, which is as far as our research has taken us for now. We may need to go back.

A few things for this week

If you have a little time for your plants this week, these are a few useful things to do:

• Give broad, smooth leaves a gentle wipe. A soft, damp cloth will remove dust and give you a chance to look over the plant.

• Check inside decorative pots after watering. Empty any water that has collected at the bottom.

• Look again at plants brought indoors. Keep an eye underneath leaves and around stems for any pests that may have come in with them.

• Let settled plants settle. If the light and temperature suit them, you do not need to keep moving them around.

• Enjoy what is doing well. It is easy to spend all your time looking at the plant with the brown leaf and overlook the lovely one beside it.

One more little arrival

And finally, we have adopted a kitten.

I mentioned last week that finding room for the plants was becoming a challenge. Apparently, we still had room for one more member of the family.

I will share more next week, with a proper introduction. For now, I thought you ought to know that the new arrivals have not all been plants and pots.

I hope your plants are settling happily into the season too, and that you have managed a little time outside to enjoy it.

Emily x