What plant for my dining room?

An orchid would look good, and they are easy to care for and look very elegant too.?

After reading this article you might want to have an indoor lavender or a fern.

Aspidistra springs to mind kitty. They seem to cope with most locations and temperatures. DH had one in his lab at work which survived many years of benign neglect. Spider plants are another suggestion - they have the benefit of providing "babies" on a regular basis.

Get a lovely vase and treat your self to some flowers with your weekly shop( Aldi and Lidl have flowers from £2.) Fresh flowers always cheer me up. If you want a plant , I would go for a peace lily in a lovel pot, white flowers and glossy leaves and last for ages. IKEA would be my port of call for these, a big one in an elegant pot for under £10.

Cyclamens are pretty especially if you group a few together which would work well in the middle of the table and you can get all kinds of colours so could have a mixed display. They are easy to look after and cheap to buy most garden centres have loads of them at this time of year

A Triffid - it could eat the guests you don't like.

A variety of flowering cactus. My Christmas cactus is in bloom at the moment and looks beautiful.

Peace lillies are fabulous. Just an occasional watering. If you leave watering for too long they will still perk up. I have one that is about 8 years old. I always buy them for gifts, B & Q often have good ones in different sizes.

M&S have fab half price orchids at the moment.I bought two!

Not the best person to give advice on house plants, usually I am the kiss of death to them, but, I have managed to keep an orchid alive, and am just waiting for it to grow a new flower spike. Here's hoping that you find something you will enjoy.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I've tried a cyclamen but it didn't like it there, nor did the orchid (I can grow both of them in other places). I have had a streptocarpus (spelling? phone wants to say streptococcus!) which was lovely but can't find any for sale at the moment.

I think I'll try a peace lily!

The only plant anyone would trust me with would be a plastic cactus, but i have to agree with those who favour the peace lily. I bought one for my daughter last year and it still looks lovely - cool and elegant. They don't seem to like a lot of light, but are easy to look after.

"Trust me I'm a Doctor" recommend a spider plant or English ivy or a dragon tree for cutting down the formaldehyde build up in your home from using scented products eg scented candles and room sprays. I like houseplants and am going to buy one or two more. I have a huge Christmas cactus which is in full bloom at present.

As it is a big room with a high ceiling, kittylester, how about "the biggest aspidistra in the world"

Peace lilies seem to thrive on the windowsill on our north-east facing landing, as did an orchid we had there for a year or so.
I always manage to kill off cyclamen (and poinsettia).

The peace lilies I had would probably have survived had I not put them out in the garden when we went on holiday - the slugs love them!

But how would I get it off the table Alea?

I was interested to see the Trust me programme too. I already have a couple of the suggested plants, but may add more. I do not use a lot of cleaning products as I rarely do housework

My mother kept a -graceful- maidenhair fern on her dining table of
which she was justifiably proud. It looked prospered in diffused light.

She wouldn't risk her table in direct sunlight. Her fern was the only splash of green in the room

What about a little cluster of little plants – or just stick to vase(s) of flowers?

I have a variety of different coloured orchids ( cheapy ones from Asda) which are the only plants I don't seem to kill and they seem happy anywhere. (They have gone on their holidays for 6 weeks while I am away )

I always have fresh flowers on a chest of drawers in the hall which I buy from the florist in the village and I'm not sure I could justify the cost of two bunches!

The dining table is a bit of a problem to me anyway. It's quite big (seats 8) so needs something biggish or a few things but, because it's 'on the way' to the kitchen, hall, up/down stairs etc, it can accumulate lots of 'stuff' and often looks messy!

Cut flowers are great - used to buy them every Friday at a stall at the local station or mall. Cyclamen and Hyacinths always good. Swiss Cheese plants also grow big and seem to be resilient.

I love pot plants and have lots of various Begonia rex type. Otherwise, i treat houseplants as I would cut flowers - generally they have been so dwarfed, hormoned, light-treated etc., that it is impossible to keep them as you bought them. So I dispose of them after two or three months, when they stop giving me pleasure.
be warned though, some plants love their site and turn into triffids! Throw them away, give them to a fete/neighbour...
good luck and just go for what you like.

I have 3 peace lilies but have difficulty in getting them to flower. 2 of them are in a north facing window and the 3rd on the floor in the bathroom. How do those of you who have success with them get them to flower ?

As for the OP - what about bulbs in pots ? They can be put in the garden when finished.