Bringing living greenery into the house at this bleak time of year is a fun activity and houseplants are varied and often exotic.

Succulent, or fat plants, have thick, fleshy stems and leaves and are ideal for growing indoors where the dry conditions of our centrally heated homes replicate the environment of the plants’ origins. Overwatering is the main killer of houseplants, so a little neglect and these plants will thrive.

Here are my top six houseplants with some advice on propagating from leaf or softwood cuttings:

1. Houseleek or Sempervivum

I love this exotic group of succulent plants for their clumps of round rosettes, which often feature a beautiful spiral akin to a Fibonacci spiral in Mathematics.

I will be giving a workshop at the W6 Garden Centre, Ravenscourt Park on Saturday 21st February on planting containers with succulent plants. This decorative wall of houseleeks was featured at the Bridal Show in Battersea last year.

2. Aloe

Aloe is a succulent plant, which comes in hundreds of varieties, and its claim to fame is the healing properties of the gel found in the fleshy leaves, especially on skin.

3. Orchid

These lovely flowering plants really like the steamy atmosphere of a bathroom as they come originally from tropical climes of Asia, Africa and America. A dunk in water for 20 minutes every week or two is all they need. Mine is flowering now and looks lovely. W6 Garden Centre or M&S sell some lovely varieties.

4. Streptocarpus or Cape Primrose

This pretty flowering indoor plant comes from South Africa and in several lovely colours from light pink to deep mauve. Mine came from leaf cuttings made as part of my course at Capel Manor College. You take one large leaf and cut it into six chevrons or across the mid-rib into 4 cm strips. These are then gently pushed into a tray of houseplant or multi-purpose compost. Water gently and cover with a polythene bag. Plantlets should appear in 4-6 weeks. This could make a lovely Mothering Sunday gift, a long lasting alternative to the traditional English primrose posie.

5. Scented Pelargoniums

I have two varieties of these attractive evergreen perennial plants with scented leaves and pink and deep red flowers. Touching the leaves releases pungent strong aromas from cedar to pine, rose, lemon or peppermint. They can survive outdoors in the summer but are tender so I keep mine indoors all year. They are very easy to propagate. Take a cutting of a leaf with a stem of 6-10 cm and either put in a jar of water or a pot of compost and they magically grow roots quite quickly and establish new plants. They like air and light so prune occasionally and feed in their flowering season, which is usually summer, with tomato fertiliser. My step-mother boasts a cutting from the Queen Mother’s pelargonium collection via various nefarious routes. When it’s so easy to take a cutting, why not? Woottens of Wenhaston is a specialist grower with many beautiful varieties available mail order.

6. Avocado

Avocado pears are not really for dieters as they are deliciously fattening and highly nutritious. Strictly speaking, they are a fruit and it is fun to grow an avocado plant from the stone or pit. Clean the stone or pit and insert pins or toothpicks around the side. Then suspend the avocado on a jar of water so the bottom (flat end) sits in about a centre meter of water. Watch and wait. When it looks like a plant, plant it in a pot.

To book the workshop on succulent containers at W6 Garden Centre, please call 020 8563 7112.