The Victorians adored filling their homes with greenery. Conditions were tough – with most houses suffering from poor light, ventilation and air quality caused by tobacco and pollution from oil, coal, and later in the period, gas lamps. Room temperatures were difficult to control too before the blessings of central heating as we know it. All of which made for a very inhospitable environment for house plants. Luckily, the Victorians discovered some real toughies of the plant world which could stand up to this gruelling regime – and these became darlings of the era. Perhaps the most iconic and indestructible of these was the Aspidistra – or, to give it its popular moniker, Cast Iron Plant.




