A gardening passion of mine is making indoor plants easy - why wouldn’t I when it's the biggest gardening craze since, well, the 70's really! It's not the millennial generation any more, it’s the insta indoor gardener generation.
Really though, who can blame people for jumping on board with this amazing, not so new, craze? Who doesn’t want to be surrounded by lush green foliage inside and out?
We have decreased our yard size and increased our house space. We are on average spending more time indoors than we did ten years ago, so it's no wonder people are trying to beautify their indoor space with greenery.
When done right, indoor plants completely change a way an indoor space looks and feels.
How many of us have instantly fallen in love with a room in a magazine? We think it’s the furnishings and the light, but I bet that space also has greenery.
For over 50 years scientists have been researching why indoor plants make us feel good. One reason is that plants make the indoor air cleaner. Volatile Organic chemicals are found in most household products – paint, furniture, cleaning products and fake air fresheners. Being volatile means they can easily become vapours or gasses, which in turn, can contaminate our air and be detrimental to our health.
Concentrations of many VOCs can be up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors and can be even more concentrated in enclosed, air-conditioned offices.
It is believed a 3x4m room, just one healthy 200mm plant can reduce VOCs. To reduce VOCs by up to 80% you need at least ten large house plants.
However, indoor plants do more than purify the air.
Research has showed that there is also a link to our mental health and plants. When we are surrounded by plants, our mood and concentration improves, we are more productive and we interact more positively with others.
Research has also shown that although one plant doesn't really cut it in improving our mental health, when we start creating that "look" with more plants, wellbeing increases significantly. In fact, the greater the mix of plants and sizes, the better the benefits.
So indoor plants really do make us feel better. The science is there. It's not a crazy phase of the 70's that’s back in fashion. It’s a life necessity. However, the trick with indoor plants is to never give up. I thought I had my indoor plant game sorted, then I moved and my new house is providing both challenges and some really interesting wins.
Sometimes the most fashionable plant may not work for you and that's ok. It's about finding indoor plants that suit you and your lifestyle.
I can't wait to bring you inside to my indoor plant garden, and be sure to follow my indoor plant blogs for more information