The first time I bought my very own houseplant to have in my bedroom was in high school, and I remember holding it in my lap on the car ride home like it was a newborn baby. I kept saying, "I'm holding life in a cup!" To this day, I still have a strong connection to plants, whether they are wild outside or in a cute pot in my apartment.
I love having plants at my desk at work, and I really try to surround myself with them any place I spend a lot of time. In college I had an aloe vera plant named Alvin, who I unfortunately killed when I tried to separate the pups. (I was a rookie at the time!) Now I have Alvin 2.0 who is even so much bigger now than when I took these pictures below! The other plant photographed here is named Peaches because her leaves are fuzzy. She's a panda plant. Both of them are succulents because that's what I have learned to care for the best, but I'd like to work up to some big leafy greens as well. Scroll down for leafy green inspo and everything you need to know about raising them!
Having a Healthy Home: Nature in Your Living Room
Besides being adorable and beautiful and all kinds of aesthetically pleasing, plants offer us tons of health benefits!
“Indoor plants create more air filtration in the house. It’s like bringing all of the benefits of the outdoors inside.” —Brian Whitfill
Read this article for info about different kinds of house plants and the living conditions they do best in.
Green and Leafy Leads to Healthy
Why is it so important to bring the outdoors inside? It turns out we're polluting ourselves with our stellar home insulation. While it's awesome to keep our heating and cooling bills lower by having good insulation, we also trap air pollutants inside of our home.
"Benzene can enter household air through cleaning products, paint thinners and tobacco smoke. While benzene usually dissipates quickly in the air, levels of the toxin are usually higher inside than outside. Formaldehyde commonly enters home air through manufactured wood products. It has been shown to be a cancer causing agent." —Michelle Talsma Everson
Luckily, plants can solve that problem! Read the article above for more about how plants safely absorb these pollutants for us and what kind of plants do it best.
Green Home
Did you know that different kinds of house plants provide different benefits? In the same way that you eat different fruits and vegetables for different vitamins and nutrients, you get a variety of health benefits by having multiple types of plants in your house.
"Keeping a white or pink Jasmine plant in your bedroom can lead to better sleep, less anxiety and better mental performance. It’s also one of the prettiest and best-smelling plants in the world. A Snake Plant or Mother in Law’s Tongue [is] renowned for its easy care routine and health benefits like purifying indoor air by filtering formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and benzene." —Julie E. Furnas
Read the article above for more details about different types of plants and their specific health benefits.
Eco-Living Inspiration
Are you a researcher? Do you like to have all of the information before you dive into something? Maybe you also are in the market for some pretty coffee table books! This article is a lovely roundup of books on raising house plants and how to set yourself up for success.
"From cleaning to decor and design, these books can help you reduce waste and daily chemical exposures while living a more sustainable and intentional lifestyle." —Rhiannon Johnson
Do you have any house plants already? Do you have some tips on plant care that you can share with me? Let me know in my DMs on Instagram. I'd love to see pictures of how you decorate your space with your plant babies!
Follow Hayley Hyer @hayhyer