The Benefits of Indoor Plants
…and the list of my top 5 easy-to-care-for houseplants!
All of the interior photos of peoples’ homes decorated with lush greenery for the holidays made me think about the importance of bringing plants into your home décor year-round, so I thought I’d share my thoughts in a little blog post about biophilia and biophilic design. At the end of the post, I’ll share my top 5 easy-to-care-for houseplants (from personal experience!)
Photo: Apartment Therapy
People have been bringing plants into their homes for thousands of years, so it’s obviously a thing.
A lot of value can be found in adding plants to your home décor. I don’t want to get too technical or start writing a scholarly paper, but I will just say that studies have shown the physical, psychological, and emotional benefits of having greenery in all the spaces you use. Physically, they help create cleaner, healthier air for us to breathe - both outdoors and indoors - which improves our comfort and well-being. They make our surroundings more pleasant and visually appealing, and they make us feel calmer. Interior plants and views of greenery outdoors have shown to reduce stress, increase pain tolerance, and improve productivity in the workplace. These are all good things, right?
Photo: Dezeen
There was a time in my life when I didn’t have any plants in my home, and the main reason for that was I thought it wasn’t worth it. I just knew they’d all die immediately because I had no idea how to care for them (which was true at the time, but we learn and evolve, right?). However, I always felt like something was missing, and it took me a bit of time to figure it out.
After learning about biophilia, I decided I would take the leap and invest in some houseplants. If you haven’t heard it before, many designers refer to it when discussing the importance of bringing life into your space with plants. Biophilia is defined as an affection for plants and other living things, a love of life and living systems. How this relates to interiors is the strategy of biophilic design which aims to connect people with the natural environment. Techniques such as green walls, ample access to views of the outdoors in offices, and plants in your décor (real, faux, wallpaper prints, or artwork) are ways designers incorporate greenery, and they do this for all of the reasons I noted above.
Photo: HGTV
Photo: Catherine Yuen
The intangible benefits plants have for people are some of the reasons why I invested in plants for my home. I started off with a peace lily, a yucca tree, a money tree, and a little spider plant. And since then, I’ve adopted plants and added more to my collection over the years, including devil’s ivy, a monstera, several succulents, and a Chinese money plant. Not all have survived, but I’m proud to say most have. Now that I have several plants thriving in each corner of my living area, I can see and feel a difference in my home.
Now, for those of you who are afraid to get real plants, there are certain plants out there that you can easily keep healthy and happy. Just check out this list for a selection of easy-to-care-for houseplants (or this one!) The plants that I’ve found to be the easiest to care for - and have made me feel proud for making them grow bigger – are the dragon tree, devil’s ivy, succulents, peace lily, and the Chinese money plant (pilea peperomioides). They can survive in some harsh situations!
TOP 5 EASY-TO-CARE-FOR HOUSEPLANTS
Devil’s Ivy (very easy to propagate!)
If I’ve failed at convincing you to buy and take care of some real, living plants in your home, there are other ways for you to get the benefits without the work. You can add botanical art to your walls (framed prints or even a wallpaper) as even images of art have shown to have a positive effect on our mental health. Or, you can invest in a faux plant, like this fiddle leaf fig, or this olive tree. There are some amazingly realistic faux plants out there, and although they won’t help clean the air, they’ll benefit you in the other ways.
I hope this post was helpful and informative and hopefully inspires you to bring a plant (or two!) into your home. If you do, remember to be patient, follow the care instructions, and I promise you will feel so good about your decision when your plants thrive!
If you have any tips or tricks, please share them below in the comments. :)
Hello! Catherine here.
I’m a Vancouver-based interior designer and love all things creative! I’ll be sharing things that inspire me, posting design tips and DIY projects, chatting about all kinds of topics, and hopefully inspiring some people to make little changes at home to create an environment that is functional, beautiful, and a perfect reflection of you!
