The Best Dual Indoor And Outdoor Plants for All Conditions

Worried you have way too much dreary shade cover or far too much-beaming sunlight to successfully grow plants in your yard or home?

No such thing! No matter the condition, there’s most certainly a plant you can count on to breathe life into your space, inside or out. 

Below, breeze through the best plants to put outdoors, bring indoors or enjoy in both your home and garden.

Choosing the best indoor and outdoor plants

The right lighting can really make or break your plants. Sure, some plants are hardy enough to grow no matter the circumstances, but to grow your plants to their fullest potential, pay particular attention to the amount of sun—or shade—they require.

Best indoor plants for a window sill (or high light)

• Parlor palm: A thin-stemmed tree with wide, showy leaves.
• Rubber plant: A tall indoor tree with round and shiny deep green leaves.
• African violet: A popular indoor plant with delicate purple flowers.
• Jade plant: An oval-leafed succulent that’s said to bring good luck.
• Orchid: An elegant, thin-stemmed plant with flowers ranging from fuchsia pink to canary yellow.
• Pothos: A grassy-green plant that’s known to clean indoor air.
• Cactus: A sun-loving container plant that comes in a variety of shapes and sizes
  
  

Houseplants that do well in low light

• Peace lily: A tropical evergreen plant with snowy-white flowers.
• Philodendron vine: A vine with heart-shaped leaves that grows in both bright and low light.
• Snake plant: A Low-maintenance succulent with sturdy, upright leaves. It also goes by another name: mother-in-law's tongue.
• Chinese evergreen: A glossy green-leafed plant that has tropical origins.
• Spider plant: A popular houseplant with mixed green and white leaves.
  
  

Full-sun outdoor plants for your garden

• Pentas (zones 9-11): Red, pink or white-flowered plants that have a super high tolerance for heat.
• Catmint (zones 3-8): Sprawling perennials that are rich purple in color.
• Russian sage (zones 5-10): Drought-tolerant shrubs with tall, upright stems.
• Coneflower (zones 5-8): Daisy-like wild flowers that attract birds and butterflies.
• Petunias (zones 10 and 11): Popular annuals with flowers that grow in a variety of shapes and shades.
  
  

Best half-sun outdoor plants

• Hostas (zones 3-9): Dependable perennials that come in multiple shades of green.
• Diascia (zones 8-10): A flowering plant perfect for gardens or hanging baskets.
• Hydrangeas (zones 3-10): A large family of flowers that bloom in white, baby blue, lavender and more.
• Impatiens (zones 8-10): A popular annual that blooms nonstop from spring to late fall.
• Forget-me-nots (zones 3-8): A plant with distinctly blue flowers and tall, fuzzy stems.
  
  

No-sun outdoor plants to try

• Lady fern (zones 3-9): Like many plants in the fern family, lady ferns can grow well without any sunlight.
• Fuchsia (zones 8-10): A versatile group of plants that grow as small shrubs or drape delicately from hanging baskets.
• Deadnettle (zones 4-10): A fast-growing ground cover plant with an assortment of flower colors.
  
  
  

Best dual indoor and outdoor plants

• Geranium (zones 9-11): An outdoor groundcover or indoor hanging plant.
• Boxwood (zones 4-9): Outside, they’re shrubs that like full shade, but inside they prefer partial sunlight.
• Calla lily (Zones 3-10): In zones 3-7, they’re OK outside up until winter and can become houseplants before the frost. In warmer zones, they’re year-round outdoor plants.
• Begonias (zones 3-11): Outside they crave shade and inside they need filtered light.
• Vegetable plants (multiple zones): Veggies like carrots, tomatoes, scallions and more sprout both inside and outside.
  
  

Want a tree that will tie your home and garden together? Here are the best and worst picks.