10 Reasons why YOU need House Plants

It's official! Surrounding yourself with house plants and office plants can enhance your health and your life. And it's not just about aesthetics. Plants looks beautiful and they have calming properties that help to combat stress. They also help people stay healthy. We all know that plants give out oxygen, but actually they do far more than this. The foliage of plants absorbs gases through pores.  Yes, this includes carbon dioxide which fuels photosynthesis but it also includes many other gases including many different volatile organic compounds. ‍

A strategically placed house or office plant can have a dramatic impact on a space.

Add house plants and office plants to your home and workplace:

‍What a colour zing! Codiaeum 'Petra' next to Dracaena 'Lemon & Lime' provide a riot of colour!   House plants absorb gases and impurities that can be harmful to humans. These include benzene which is found in some plastics; pesticides; formaldehyde which can be found in cosmetics, detergent, fabric softeners and cleaners. Air pollutants, including ozone, have been linked to many acute conditions including asthma and chronic diseases including cancer and respiratory illnesses. How do we know that plants can do this remarkable thing (known as phytoremediation)? Studies carried out by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) have shown that houseplants were able to remove up to 87 per cent of air toxins in a 24-hour period. Some plants are better at this than others, but all have the ability to clean the environment around them.  Microorganisms living in the soil of potted plants also play an important role. You need a plant for approximately every 8 square metres of indoor space.  Indoor air has been measured as being around 12 times more polluted than outside air. ‍ Could the air you are breathing be making you ill?  

 

The common cold

House plants can help you fight colds and sore throats! A study by the University of Agriculture in Norway discovered this fact. The research showed a 30 per cent decrease in coughs, colds, sore throats and other cold-related symptoms in people occupying spaces that had adequate houseplants. The reason? Plants help to increase humidity levels and decrease dust  as well as purifying the air. ‍

This Ficus elastica 'Belize' is beautiful as well as healthy!   Research shows that the air within plant-filtered rooms contains up to 60 per cent fewer potentially harmful microbes including mould spores and bacteria.   ‍There are bacteria and mould spores lurking!

A more positive outlook

Studies by the American Horticultural Therapy Association have shown that there are many positive benefits of keeping houseplants including increased self-esteem; improved mood and sense of well-being; reduction in stress, anxiety, depression; increased feelings of calm and optimism; increase sense of stability and control and even a decrease in headaches. There have been many different studies relating to stress levels and this has been measured using blood pressure readings.  Results show that people in a plant-filled room experience a four-point drop in blood pressure readings.   ‍The healthy office!

Fodder for the brain!

House plants can also help you think!  Studies have shown that there are mental benefits connected to having houseplants within your environment and these lead to better concentration; improved memory; a heightened sense of attention and even a boost in creativity.   ‍ Peperomia 'Sienna sunset' has gorgeous crimson leaves with deep undulations

Mental health

House plants help to improve mental health. Looking after a plant is therapeutic and many people who are unable to keep a pet gain a great sense of satisfaction from having the responsibility of tending to a plant. Feeling needed is important to people!   ‍ Caring for a house plant is good for you! And good for the plant too!  

 

Interior design

House plants look beautiful! They add a sense of architectural structure to a room. Some plants move as the air wafts around them and the graceful swaying of a palm frond, for example, is soothing to the eye.   ‍The Kentia palm is an architectural beauty House plants can be used to soften the straight lines and angles of a home. They can also help to visually raise a low ceiling or to lighten up a dark corner. Just choose the right plant for the right place – many are happy in low light levels.   ‍ Houseplants can be used to soften the angles of an interior

 

Balance and harmony

The colour green and all the variations within it is good for you! Green is the colour of balance and harmony. It helps boost the heart and the emotions, finding a natural balance. It is the colour of growth; renewal and re-birth and it represents positivity. It restores energy levels.   ‍Green is beautiful! Variegations are good too!

Energy fizz

House plants can be used in Feng Shui to balance and harmonise the home. It's all about the shape, the size, the pot and vitally, the placement. Not only Lucky Bamboo can be used, any houseplant can enhance the décor and the flow of positive energy. Did you know that the best time to add a new plant to your home is at the beginning of a new month or especially at New Year? It is symbolic of a healthy new beginning for the occupants.   ‍ This is Dracaena 'Tigers Bamboo'. Many plants can aid Feng Shui, including Lucky Bamboo  

Which house plants are best?

The air that we breathe is invisible but you can limit the amount of toxins indoors by simply adding plants. All plants clean and purify the air but some are more efficient than others.  Here's a list of some of the very best: Weeping Fig (Ficus) Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Sansevieria) Rubber plants (Ficus elastica) Dragon Tree (Dracaena) Philodendron (many different varieties) Palms (many different varieties including the popular Kentia and Areca palms) Ferns (different varieties including Asplenium and Nephrolepis) Devil's Ivy (Scindapsus) Aloe Vera Spider plants (Chlorophytum)

The lovely Areca palm is a wonderful pollution-buster ‍ Rubber plant, weeping fig, sago palm: these are all excellent house plants that will filter the pollution from the air.     ‍ Spider plant - they are great little air-filterers!