Forget the Flowers—How to Fill Your Restaurant with Plants That Thrive

In Chattanooga’s Easy Bistro, plants such as hanging ivy and tropical birds-of-paradise add a touch of lushness to the otherwise airy space. “They just create atmosphere,” says Amanda Niel, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Chef Erik Niel. “They also are, as far as maintenance, much easier and more economical than flowers.”

She would know. Prior to the pandemic, Niel filled Easy, which opened its original location in 2005, with showy floral...