Category: houseplants

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Increase Your Health and Happiness With Biophilic Design

Do you ever wonder why people buy fresh cut flowers for their home? Have you noticed how cultivating potted plants has boomed in popularity since the start of the pandemic?

Interacting with nature makes us happier and healthier. But many of us spend the majority of our lives indoors, so it only makes sense that we would bring nature in along with us.

There’s a word for design dedicated to this practice. No, we’re not talking feng shui, we’re talking biophilic design.

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The concept of biophilic design was introduced by E.O. Wilson, a renowned biologist and professor at Harvard, in his 1984 book Biophilia.

Biophilia means “love of life.”

Living Future describes biophilic design as “the practice of connecting people and nature within our built environments and communities.”

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Constructing our homes and workspaces in a way that incorporates access to sunlight, plants, and views of the natural world isn’t just aesthetically pleasing. It’s better for our overall physical, emotional and mental well-being.

Studies show that interacting with nature is beneficial for human health, whether you’re taking a walk in the woods or feeding birds.

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According to Terrapin Bright Green, by bringing nature into your home or work space, biophilic design can reduce stress, improve cognitive function, and enhance mood and creativity.

Healthier employees are happier employees, and happier employees are productive employees.

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Biophilic design can also be incorporated at home.

One crucial element is sunlight. If you have windows in the home, open the blinds and pull back the curtains to let the sunshine in!

Remember to keep them clean and clear of obstructions.

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Next, add some greenery: potted plants, hanging plants, herb gardens, the more the better. Fresh cut flowers work as well, and come with the added bonus of a pleasant aroma.

You can also incorporate Earth tones and patterns into your interior design, or hanging pictures of natural landscapes on the wall if you don’t have access to natural views.

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You’d be surprised how the simple action of incorporating the elements of nature into your home or workplace can increase your quality of life.

Do you practice biophilic design? Let us know how in the comments!

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Bad News. Your Houseplants Probably Aren’t Going to Purify the Air in Your Home.

There’s a lot of talk lately about the idea that certain plants you welcome into your home could help purify the indoor air. Unfortunately, while the science behind the notion is completely sound, in practice it’s pretty unlikely to work.

At least, the plants in your house are unlikely to clean all your air on their own.

And that, my friends, is because (among other reasons) you’d need to own and tend around 1,000 of said plants in order to rely on them to completely purify the oxygen you breathe.

The science comes from a 1989 NASA study that found that ficus, daisies, mums, and other plants could pull all of the cancer-causing volatile organic compounds, like benzene and formaldehyde, from airtight environments like the ones in the space stations.

Their potential effect, though, never really lived up to the hype, says Dr. Michael Waring of Drexler University.

“The main issue with the NASA study – and other chamber studies of potted plants and VOCs – isn’t that the data are incorrect. Rather, the interpretation of the data and its application to indoor air cleaning are flawed.”

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Terms for Plant Care Part II Turgor Pressure – Plants are often stiff and hardy, but when they are watered incorrectly, the plant becomes limp because of a decrease in pressure at the cellular level. Propagation – plants can be cut up in certain ways and then placed in water or soil to regenerate from a cutting. Mother – a plant that regularly shoots out “babies” at the base. They don’t have to be your largest plant to be a mother. Separating Shoots – various plants will grow with multiple shoots and their roots become interlaced. You can separate them by carefully patting the soil and dirt from between the roots and then pulling apart. Even an expert will lose 30% of the roots. Hybrid – many plants, especially when they sell for a good price and have special characteristics, are hybrid. They grow differently than natural breeds. Drainage/Hydroponics – plants want a constant water source. That’s how hydroponics work. But with pots you need drainage, or a layer of sand, rock, and/or charcoal at the bottom. ~ Let me know if I’m missing anything important about plant care! ~ #verastruct #plantsforall #freeplants #houseplants #majestypalm #monsteramonday #goldenpothos #croton #snakeplant #bostonfern #fiddleleaffig #monstera #rubberplant #nerveplant #indoorjungle #urbanjungle #indoorplants #plantshelfie #houseplantsofinstagram #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsofinstagram

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Also, it’s important to mention that chamber studies like the ones conducted by NASA are not simulating real-world environments, so the data doesn’t exactly translate. The buildings we work and live in are well-ventilated, have continuous indoor-outdoor air exchange, and are generally full of decent quality breathing air to begin with, reminds Warring.

“Chamber studies have shown weak removal of VOCs by potted plants, just not at high enough rates to clean indoor air effectively compared to air exchange.”

Chemicals, too, are more regulated and specific in an environment like a space station.

“…in a home or office, there are mixtures of many different chemicals at different concentrations, which change all the time depending on exchange with outdoor and objects in the home or office that emit these chemicals.”

Other studies have been done that examine the effects of potted plants on real-world environments, and they have been found to have positive effects. That said, Warring says they remain flawed.

“The field studies typically did not measure the air exchange rate – the frequency with which indoor air is replaced by outdoor air, because that parameter wasn’t measured, changes in VOC concentrations can’t be ascribed to any particular removal mechanism.”

Basically, we’ve never proven that it’s actually the plants that are responsible for improving the air.

As far as the numbers? Warring says that, in a 10×10 foot bedroom or an office with an 8-foot ceiling, you’d need around 1,000 plants to match the air-cleaning capacity of a standard ventilation system.

Here’s the thing: if you enjoy having houseplants, you definitely should keep some around. They are shown to have other benefits to both mood and productivity, and they’re certainly not going to harm the air quality.

If the air quality is your main concern, open a window or two, and let in as much sunlight as possible.

A little fresh air and sunlight never hurt anyone.

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