Does good luck exist or is it all about attitude? Here's some house plants to help!

Lucky or not?

Is there such thing as being lucky? Does bad luck come in threes? If you break a mirror, do you expect seven years of negative happenings? What about that black cat that crossed your path yesterday? Do you walk around ladders rather than under them, avoid the number 13, take care to hang a horseshoe so that the luck doesn’t run out of the opening and expect a portion of doom if you knock over the salt pot?

Make your own

In reality, people tend to make their own luck, or lack of it. One can generally fit the story to the prediction. Some people might feel lucky because they’ve experienced a car accident but not suffered any physical damage to their health. Others might consider it lucky that when their purse was stolen during a mugging, their bank cards weren’t present in the bag on that particular day.

The BIGL (Belief In Good Luck) scale was invented by some Canadian psychologists. Studies show that people who believe in their own personal luck are more likely to notice and react to events that could be termed ‘lucky’, thus feeling positive about their success. Basically, some people are more likely to acknowledge the positive things that happen than others who might dwell on the negative aspects of similar events.

Lucky plants

OK, so some people might need a bit of help. How does all this relate to plants? There are many different plants that are considered to be lucky. One of the most popular is the money plant.

The succulent money plant above is Crassula 'Gollum' but many other plants are nick-named 'money plants' too.

Many different types

But this is confusing in itself as several species are known by the same common name. The succulent Crassula,or money tree, for example, is said to be lucky if you stroke the leaves and give it a little love. It will (apparently) bring wealth. Pilea peperomioides (pictured below) is known as the Chinese money plant, largely because the leaves are unusually round and, perhaps, a little ‘coin-like’.

Guiana chestnut tree

Pachira aquatica, the Guiana chestnut tree is also called a money tree, due to a story about its origin whereby an elderly, poor man found this strange looking plant that he took home. As you can imagine, his ‘luck’ changed afterwards. You might consider yourself lucky to have one, as they are rather beautiful.

Lucky Bamboo

Then there’s ‘lucky bamboo’ (pictured below) which is highly popular in its many different arrangements. This indoor plant needs very little care. Just some water – it doesn’t even require soil. So that’s lucky to start with. As you might expect, the number of stems is highly relevant to some. Lucky bamboo is actually a type of Dracaena (Dracaena sanderiana). The stems are bare and the tops grow green leaves. By twisting, arranging and tying the stems together, many different styles of display can be achieved.

Palm trees

Indoor palms are also said to bring luck into a home. This is linked to the pleasing, gently waving fronds which are said to generate beneficial flows of good energy.

Feng Shui

It appears that within the principles of Feng Shui, plants can create and distribute positive energy within a home, provided they are positioned appropriately. There are positive and negative flows when it comes to energy or karma and these can be aided or blocked by the introduction of mirrors or position of doorways and more potential hazards. Sounds as if a bit of research is required before daring to place your lucky bamboo on a shelf.

What can’t be denied is the positive effects of biophilia – the life-enhancing properties and cleaner air that indoor plants provide. So if you have already made provision for house plants in your own home, that not just lucky but good planning.