You can spend a long time reading articles about why houseplants are good for us…and guess what? It’s all true…!
Although I am total plant lover, and with my years of submersion in the floral industry I should be, I am still finding people who have never owned a plant in their life. Why, I ask…I mean what better pet can you get!
When I was first involved in the flower shop world - sometime in the ‘70s if truth be known - houseplants had a slightly different feel to them than these days but they were incredibly popular. Cheeseplants, Yucca, Spider Plants, Cactus were all keen favourites of the time, and what I love now is that they are back in vogue with social media injection of coolness and must-have value!
We live in a world where a picture of an egg can take over Instagram and, although on a much smaller scale, so have plants (or at least pictures of plants).
For something as “ordinary” as the Epipremnum or Devil’s Ivy or even Pothos Plant (all the same thing) can be deemed the go to plant for Millennials. Why? I haven’t got a clue… possibly because they are practically indestructible, but possibly because the content savvy Millennial loves the fact that plants like this will “clean the air” and generally make you feel awesome. And, this is important, there is some really cool stuff on Instagram that features the Pothos Plant.
mmmm….interesting excuse to photograph plants!
Okay, it’s not about how cool plants can be (although they are).
So here a 5 key points from an interesting feature from Treehugger - one of the many sources of information out there.
They give an assist in breathing. Humans and plants can work in perfect harmony when it comes to inhaling and exhaling. Plants help to increase oxygen levels, and our bodies appreciate that.
They help deter illness. Obviously not all illness but enough for studies at the Agricultural University of Norway to show that the transpiration process decreases the incidence of dry skin, colds, sore throats and dry coughs.
They clean the air. Here’s the one a lot of people know about. Extensive research by NASA has proven that plants have the ability to rid the air of nasties like carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Go plants go…!
They boost healing. Not in creepy sci-fi way where we can regenerate after injury but almost certainly as a “noninvasive, inexpensive, and effective complementary medicine for surgical patients.” Our physiologic responses are heightened by having plants in the recovery room…plants as medicine…? You betcha!
They help you work better. A little trick every boss should know. For a minimal investment your team will be outperforming their non-plant loving colleagues. Being “under the influence of plants” can increase memory retention up to 20 percent, according to a University of Michigan study.
So, you see, it’s there in black and white! If you’d like to read more then take a peek at the Treehugger page.
So far we’ve established that plants are cool and definitely good for us.
I’ve noticed that we have been selling way more plants than ever before in the shop. This is great news. Plants are not only much easier to stock than cut flowers, they are also cheaper - ahem, I mean inexpensive - the selection is more vast than you can possibly imagine and they are also incredibly easy to care for. For me, I love a plant that lives on a little bit of neglect. I don’t like high maintenance friends and the same goes for my botanical buddies!
For that reason, we generally stock these sort of plants above all else. That’s not to say occasionally we’ll have something a little more unique and exquisite, but if I can tell a customer the best way to care for your new plant is to leave alone as much as possible, then I’m a happy man!
It’s no coincidence that I’ve just added a small selection of plants to the website for purchase either as a gift or self purchase for collection. Of course, you may just fancy a trip to the shop to take a peek yourself.
