Indoor Plants and Why They Matter
In this post I outline the benefits of indoor plant care – and the one thing that can completely negate these benefits and what to do to make sure that does not happen!
If you are anything like me, you probably got into indoor plants because they look amazing.
And they really do look amazing. They are THE BEST home decor item out there.
But do you, like me, suspect there are other benefits at play here?
Perhaps you have already read about the health benefits. They seem to be backed by science.
Here are some benefits summarised for you (this content relies on information from Healthline website linked here if you want to check out the source):
- Plants may reduce physiological and psychological stress (measured through heart rate, blood pressure and other factors)
- Plants may sharpen your attention
- Working with plants can increase feelings of well-being among people with depression, anxiety, dementia and other conditions
- Looking after plants may speed up your recovery from illness, injury or surgery
- Plants may boost productivity
- Plants may increase job satisfaction
- Plants may improve the quality of indoor air (although it seems you may need quite a few plants to get this benefit!)
Some of these are interrelated and can be boiled down to this – taking care of plants and having them around is likely to improve your mental and physical health.
With over 70 plants in my little 3 bedroom home, am I now living a stress-free life, free of physical discomfort?
Hell no.
But has it made a difference in my life?
Yes.
For reasons you may not have considered.
Taking care of plants has been one of my gateways back to a topic I have always loved – sustainability.
How do we live in tune with our environment, taking from it only what we need and doing no harm in return?
It’s such a difficult thing to do and live by – if you’re studying or working full-time, a busy parent, living in the suburbs or a city and your prime responsibility is taking care of your family – taking care of the planet is the last thing on your mind. Taking care of the planet??? Pfft! Insane to even think of it.
But taking care of plants shifts that mindset.
Seeing plants through the first year of their life and then over time to see them grow – the peak of a new leaf, light green, fragile, delicate. And with some regular care, it grows dark and strong like all the leaves surrounding it. And it repeats the next year. Old leaves fall off over time, but new ones grow in return.
It’s a glimpse into something we are essentially cut off from in or daily lives.
It’s not a one-off glimpse that we get when we are on holiday’s and we witness a beautiful sunset – it’s a regular reminder that’s integrated into our lives.
And that does something to how you view nature.
At least that has been my experience.
In case anyone else is thinking it, I do think it’s a sign of privilege, having indoor plants. They didn’t come out of thin air. There would have been a fair amount of resources used to create something that is essentially a feel-good home decor item. And there are better ways to connect with nature regularly, that doesn’t involve plastic pot and potting soil created from goodness knows what means.
But for someone like me, this was my way to reconnect with nature and remind myself that nature is beautiful. It’s giving. And it’ s worth protecting.
So I alluded to the one thing that can just wipe out any of the benefits that I just mentioned.
That’s repeatedly killing plants!
Is that you? I was there too at one stage.
So since someone on Instagram was asking me about this, I have put together a guide that covers the routine I follow to take care of my plants. It’s minimal and low fuss because I don’t have time to do all the other stuff plant gurus out there recommend.
This has worked for me for the last 4 years and I hope it gives you some direction as well.
If you haven’t signed up for it already, you can get it by clicking on the link below and entering your email address so I can email it to you. I promise not to use your email address to spam you – I’m not organised enough for that!
But if you have come from Instagram it would be nice to have another way of connecting with you if I need to – you know, if Instagram disappears or wipes my account or something (it’s been known to happen!).
xxx Tahsin
