Benefits of Growing Houseplants

• February 2, 2022
• posted by: greenhaven
• comments: 0

Indoor gardens and houseplants don’t just improve the overall look and feel of your home– keeping plants can actually improve the air quality in your home and has been connected to improved mental health, too! If the past two years indoors have taught us anything, it’s that being outside is incredibly important for both our mental and physical health. Houseplants are one of the most tangible ways you can bring the outside in. Let’s dive into some of the other benefits that houseplants can bring to your home. 

Benefits of keeping Indoor Plants  

Cleaning the Air 

We all know that trees are responsible for cleaning up our air and producing the oxygen we need to survive. Photosynthesis is a process all plants undergo, from the tallest trees to the smallest shrubs and succulents. To brush up, this process converts carbon dioxide (what we breathe out) back into usable oxygen. Since there is little airflow indoors, the carbon dioxide we breathe out can get trapped in the air, making indoor spaces stuffy and uncomfortable to be in. Keeping indoor houseplants can bring that same air-cleaning effect that plants have outdoors into your home. 

According to NASA, houseplants, like outdoor plants, can scrub the air in our homes of carbon monoxide, benzene, and other indoor pollutants, making our homes and indoor spaces safer overall.  

Increase Productivity  

As we’ve been cooped up these last two years, many of us have had to create makeshift offices and workspaces at home to accommodate remote work. You may have invested in a desk, a fancy new office chair, fun paper weights… but have you considered getting a plant?  

A 2008 study out of the University of Michigan found that in addition to physically going for walks and interacting with nature, just looking at outdoors scenes while indoors can improve memory and attention spans by 20%. Having a houseplant around your workspace may be just what you need to improve performance and work focus.  

Add Moisture to the Air  

Plants are great for adding moisture into the air. During the winter months when heaters are maxed out and fireplaces roar, the air in our homes can get dry and stale.  

During transpiration, houseplants release water from pores in their leaves, adding moisture to the air around them as well.  

Not only is this added moisture beneficial for reviving the air in your home, it can actually help ease dry skin symptoms, sore throats, and common colds during the drying winter months.  

Healing the Body, Healing the Mind 

Not only can plants help prevent common colds and other small ailments, it’s been documented that indoor plants and flowers can positively affect healing and recovery. Research has shown that patients who received flowers and other plant life during recovery required less pain medication and were discharged sooner than those who didn’t receive greenery. It’s also been noted that plants can help lower blood pressure and improve memory.  

This positive correlation may be a combination of the positive mental health benefits that plants have, in addition to the moisture they can provide. Either way, plants have a marked effect on recovery. 

These positive effects aren’t just limited to physical health.  

Plants have a positive impact on your mental health as well. Many people find horticulture therapy can be effective in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety; and it’s understandable why. Being around plants can improve self-esteem and mood while reducing stress levels. While definitely not the end-all-be-all cure for anxiety and depression, keeping plants may be the thing you need to help lift the gloom and raise your spirits. 

 Bringing the Outdoors In  

The simplest benefit of keeping indoor plants is that they’re beautiful. There is so much diversity in all of the houseplants available, each one uniquely equipped to bring natural beauty into any space.  

Having plants indoors can complement your already unique styles and tastes, soften lines, fill negative space, and bring pops of color that you can’t get from furniture or decoration alone. Plants remind us of vitality and of life. They remind us of the beauty that exists just beyond our homes, and they bring a little bit of that beauty for us to have for ourselves.  

Walrath can help provide the soil for your indoor garden. Come in and explore our options today.  We have locations in Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Lacey and Everett and are ready to help you find what you need to help your indoor garden thrive.