Ugh, it’s winter and I am locked up in my house! I so need a nature fix!
So you find yourself at the precipice of the end of the current year, and the beginning of a new one! In most places, the weather is bleak at best and most of us are feeling the effects of being locked in our domestic prisons or from Covid PTSD.
Also at this point in the year, we tend to look at our lives, lifestyles, and habits with a certain degree of scrutiny. And with this scrutiny, we look for ways to better enrich our lives, as well as our family’s lives and even the planet. And some of us, are looking for a way to better our environment in a rewarding and sustainable way. With a centered mind and countless years of thorough searching, I cannot think of a better way to achieve a rewarding, thoughtful, and caring hobby than to adopt the hobby of caring for indoor plants.
Wait indoor plants will add purpose and enrichment to my life!?
Yes! So if you find yourself at this point and you’re looking for a rewarding and relaxing hobby, adopting indoor plants may be the perfect hobby for you. And who knows, your new hobby may even expand and become part of your family’s passion!
There are numerous benefits to keeping indoor plants in your home, including improved indoor air quality, reduced stress levels, and a chic, natural-looking, and peaceful feeling environment. Not only will your family appreciate and embrace this new year’s resolution, but so will the planet.
In this blog post, we will explore the many benefits of adopting and caring for indoor plants as well as provide helpful tips on how to get started and to keep them thriving for years to come.
In a nutshell: Why are indoor plants so important?
Ok, so you may have caught wind that houseplants have come back into fashion in modern households in a big way – and with good reason! Not only do they make your home look and feel better, but they also offer numerous health benefits. Studies have shown that keeping houseplants in your home helps reduce the occupant’s stress levels, as well as promotes a night of more restful sleep.
They can also help reduce household toxins and air pollution like benzene, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide. Indoor plants provide their host with a natural boost in creativity and for some even an increase one’s productivity levels.
Plus, just the simple act of caring for these sometimes delicate plants can give you a strong sense of accomplishment and even purpose, which is great for mental health!
Don’t worry, houseplants are an affordable hobby to boot. They only need good soil, lighting, and water. And if you are into it, consider choosing the right kind of pots for each plant and picking up basic fertilizer. And lastly don’t forget – many houseplants respond well to your love, attention, and conversation. It won’t go in vain to treat your newly adopted plants like true family members!
The Hobby of House Plant Cultivation: Rewarding Benefits Beyond Aesthetics
Cultivating houseplants is a great hobby option for those looking to add greenery to their home. Not only are plants aesthetically pleasing, but they can also provide a variety of mental, emotional, physical, and environmental benefits.
Whether you’re a novice or an experienced plant cultivator, investing your time and energy into growing plants is a rewarding hobby – and one that comes with various advantages.
Physical Advantages
Physically, most indoor plants release oxygen and help make indoor air healthier. Most people spend around 90% of their time indoors, making the quality of that indoor air paramount for health reasons.
Studies have shown that the presence of most houseplants can improve indoor air quality by reducing harmful toxins in the air from building materials and items like paint and furniture. This is due to their ability to break down pollutants like formaldehyde through photosynthesis. This can help reduce symptoms associated with poor air quality such as headaches, itchy eyes, and other respiratory issues.
Mental Advantages
Mentally, house plant cultivation offers many rewards as well. The process of caring for plants can be an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety while improving concentration levels through mindfulness practices such as observing plants growing over time.
This process invokes patience in a world that lacks it in every way! There is no way to force a plant’s growth or health, you can only provide them with their needed requirements and your attention. The rest is up to them and they will provide you with the reward of watching them grow.
The act of potting, repotting, or pruning them can also give an immense sense of satisfaction when tasks are completed successfully. To some, this task may seem small and to others, it may be terribly intimidating. No worries, theplantblogger.com is here to help, even if those tasks are relatively small in your scope!
Productivity Advantages
In addition to improving personal well-being, house plant cultivation has been found to improve productivity in the workplace when people have easy access to greenery at their desks or windowsills.
Adding house plants to your workspace whether at home or the office, could be the overlooked key to improving your productivity. Research has suggested that sprucing up an office space with lush greenery may not only boost employee morale but also productivity. This improvement will improve air quality and make it easier for co-workers to concentrate.
Studies have shown that being in a room with plants can reduce stress hormones, thus leading to improved concentration, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, house plants are known as natural air purifiers since they take in carbon dioxide from the environment and convert it into oxygen – making your desk area full of fresh air! With all this being said, adding house plants to your office or workspace could make all the difference in your creativity and when it comes to getting work done more efficiently!
Emotional Advantages
At an emotional level, studies have suggested that caring for living things can be beneficial for mental health. As this process encourages us to become much more connected with our environment on a deeper level than other hobbies do. Many people report feeling joy when tending and nurturing their houseplants since it gives them something companionable yet independent which requires little effort or investment – other than love! Furthermore, having consistently healthy-looking greenery inside the home creates an overall calming atmosphere which can be especially therapeutic after difficult days or times of transition in life such as moving homes or starting new jobs.
Environmental Advantages
On top of all these benefits comes the environmental effects of keeping indoor or houseplants. Indoor plants are incredibly efficient at providing natural cooling during hot periods. This is by producing water vapor from respiration which helps cool down surrounding areas without requiring additional energy from fans or air conditioning units.
With this natural cooling effect, some species also provide sound insulation by absorbing sound waves rather than reflecting them off surfaces – so privacy can be improved too! Additionally, some species require very little water for maintenance purposes which means less wasted resources all around; thus helping contribute towards reducing overall carbon emissions as we strive towards Earth’s sustainability goals worldwide.
Ok, Your sold! Where to start?
Starting a house plant collection is an exciting adventure with plenty of fun and educational experiences! Learning how to properly care for house plants can be overwhelming at first, especially if you’re a budding green thumb. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done! With some patience and good preparation, you’ll soon have thriving plants around your home.
The key to success is doing your research ahead of time; understanding the lighting, water, and soil balance that each particular species need is essential for growth. Make sure all supplies are readily available before buying any houseplants from your local plant shop. This includes potting mix, pots/holders, watering cans, and basic maintenance tools like pruners and scissors.
Once you find the perfect plants for you and your home environment, the fun part begins – looking for decorations to really bring out their beauty in their best environments. From traditional pots to unique wall installations or hanging baskets, get creative and be sure to show off your beautiful botanicals! If you make sure they receive just enough love and attention by following directions carefully, you’re sure to have happy plants in no time!
Start with the basic
When it comes to houseplants, there’s no shortage of choices – it’s literally hard to go wrong! But, if you’re a beginner indoor gardener that needs some guidance, I rounded up the top 5 easiest houseplants for any beginner.
Peace Lily
First on the list is the iconic Peace Lily. This tropical beauty kills two birds with one stone; it looks amazing and also helps clean your air by reducing airborne toxins.
Aloe Vera
Secondly, you can never go wrong with a Cactus or succulent plants – these hardy little fellows require very little water so even if you forget about them once in a while, they’ll stay healthy! On that note, Aloe Vera is a great plant for beginners – not only are they easy to care for but their sap has super healing benefits too!
Pothos
Next is ever so popular pothos vine! This indoor vine can be found climbing up trellises, and trailing down a ledge or bookcase while adding texture and color to any space. Pothos thrives in both low and bright-light areas and will be forgiving if under-watered.
Spider plants
With its little white flowers and resilient nature, Spider Plants is another top beginner candidate. Spider plants are extremely forgiving and require little care and water. Spider plants have thick bulbous roots that retain water in times of drought. Spider plants are also super easy to propagate, so you can make your own backups and share them with friends.
Snake Plants
Lastly, is the snake plant with its dramatic upright growth habit. Snake Plants feature unique leaves that look like swords growing out of the ground. They can grow in an array of lighting conditions which gives them the ability to really brighten any room. Snake plants require little care, and low water, and can survive without much attention.
Try any of these five plants today for an easy and beautiful way to bring indoor greenery into your home. Pick one or all of these fabulous beginner houseplants to begin creating your own indoor garden – you’ll be glad that you did!
For more information on easy plants for beginners, please see my post: SUPER EASY HOUSE PLANTS FOR BEGINNERS: THE TOP 10
In summary, there are many rewarding benefits associated with taking up house plant cultivation as a hobby – far beyond what meets the eye!
- Physically, there is the benefit of improving indoor air quality.
- Mentally there is relief from stress and anxiety while providing increased productivity.
- Emotionally it encourages a connection between ourselves and our environment.
- Environmentally there are natural cooling effects on your space. Plus reduced water waste in comparison with gardening outside.
Thank you for reading my new year’s resolution post!
I hope this post has caught your attention and lured you into the wonderfully rewarding world of interior plants and indoor gardening.