While most of us are drawn to houseplants for their decorative appeal they are actually useful for much more than filling in that empty space in the corner of your living room. Many houseplants work hard to purify the air and keep your indoor living space free of air pollutants and carbon dioxide. Adding these plants to each room of your house requires little effort and is a great step towards improving the health of your home and your family.
Bedroom: Lavender
Chances are, you have at least one product in your home that is lavender scented. Whether it’s a natural pillow mist made with essential oils or soothing hand cream, the scent is sure to bring relaxation and help lull you off to sleep. What better place to put a lavender plant than in your bedroom? The ultimate oasis of restful, calm sleep.
Brushing up against French lavender will release an incredible aroma that can soothe restlessness and reduce nervousness, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Plus, it is fairly easy to grow if you provide lots of sunlight and well-draining soil. Wait to water until the soil is almost totally dry as this plant doesn’t like moist roots.
Home office: Snake plant
Add a visually striking snake plant to your home office to help increase concentration and focus. Numerous studies have shown that adding living greenery to a workspace can boost productivity, increase mood, and reduce stress. If you want to cultivate the perfect, at-home office, add an easy-going snake plant to your quiet space. It won’t take up much space, is incredibly easy to care for, and works as a great focal point for a sparse room. Plus, it is an excellent air filter for a number of pollutants including trichloroethylene, formaldehyde, toluene, benzene, and xylene.
Kitchen: Spider Plant
The virtually indestructible snake plant can help absorb carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and a host of other nasty air pollutants generated in the kitchen. Variegated varieties are visually striking and do well in low light, which means you can set them on a plant stand in the corner and let them work their magic. If you love propagating and sharing plants, the spider plant is a great option since the mature plant produces babies that can be easily rooted.
Living room: Peace lily
For a lovely, low key plant to enhance your living room decor and purify the air in your most traveled space, look to the stunning, deep green peace lily. Its light, floral scent and delicate white flowers will make your guests feel at home and bring a whole new level of coziness to your living room.
Like many other plants, the peace lily is a master of air purification, working hard to absorb toxins such as ammonia, benzene, xylene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene. This plant is fairly easy to care for, once established but requires more frequent watering than other, more hardy plants. Keep the soil slightly moist and place in an area that doesn’t receive bright sunlight.
Bathroom: Ferns or Bamboo
If you live in a dry climate, you most likely won’t be able to grow ferns in the rest of your house. They thrive in high humidity, low light environments which makes the bathroom a perfect place for their interesting foliage. They won’t need much extra care, but will still need regular watering so be sure not to forget about them on watering day. They will also help keep the air clear and regulate humidity levels and can even absorb things like formaldehyde, plastics, or cigarette smoke from the air.
Ferns are beautiful but they can also take up a lot of space with their sprawling fronds. If you live in an apartment or a house with a minuscule bathroom, you may want to look into another well-suited water closet plant such as bamboo. Lucky bamboo only needs a bit of light to flourish and grows up rather than out, which means that you can keep it on a small countertop or windowsill. In Chinese culture, bamboo is thought to deliver good luck and good fortune and is often used to bring Feng Shui to a home.
Sunroom: Aloe Vera
Though virtually any plant would love a spot in your sunroom, (if you are lucky enough to have one, that is) succulent plants such as aloe vera love the bright light and dry conditions of an enclosed porch or sunroom. Keep in mind, however, if the room gets too cold in the winter, it is important to bring your succulents indoors since they cannot survive freezing temperatures.
Aloe vera is an incredibly useful plant to have around since its clear gell can be used to treat burns and moisturize damaged skin. In fact, it has been used for thousands of years as a healing ointment and is added to many commercial burn treatments and lotions. These plants love lots of sun but if you notice the leaves turning brown, it may actually be getting a sunburn, so keep it in bright, indirect light, whenever possible. Water your aloe vera deeply every 3 weeks and allow the soil to dry out completely between watering.
Houseplants may seem small and inconsequential but they are actually incredibly powerful tools of natural purification. Add a few to your home today!