Having indoor plants always looks beautiful. They are bright and colourful and bring a touch of the outdoors indoors. Looking beyond the beauty, you will find that the benefits of interior landscaping go far beyond the aesthetic. The hidden benefit of having indoor plants is that they are actually secret super-cleaners and are good for buildings and people in a variety of subtle ways. Interior landscaping plays a vital role in providing a pleasant and tranquil environment in which to move, work or relax. Here are some styling tips and hidden health benefits of having indoor plants.
Indoor plants help to reduce stress
There’s plenty of academic research that has shown conclusively that interior landscaping has dramatic effects on the wellbeing of building occupants. People in offices have been shown to be more productive, take fewer sick days, make fewer mistakes, and rate themselves as happier when some indoor plants are used to enhance their environment.
Indoor plants help improve air quality
If you think back to your school biology days, you will remember that plants recycle the carbon dioxide we exhale back into the oxygen via photosynthesis as well as clean the air of toxins. Having indoor plants helps to reduce carbon dioxide levels, increase humidity, reduce levels of pollutants such as benzene and nitrogen dioxide, reduce airborne dust levels and keeps the indoor air temperature down.
Indoor plants help to lower background noise
Having some indoor plants is a great way to absorb sound in acoustically live spaces, like a large kitchen with hard surfaces. Background noise has been shown to impact the way people work and decrease performance, so indoor plants are a great idea for the office too! Having a peaceful and quiet interior to your home is great for keeping your mind calm and being able to enjoy your time at home.
When starting with your indoor plant decor, the best thing to do is check out which indigenous plants are best for your area, and how much sun each plant will need. Here are some common and hardy South African indoor plants that are particularly pretty for you to try out in your indoor garden.
Mother in Law Tongue (Sansevieria)
This evergreen plant grows tall and narrow so it’s perfect for decorating tight spaces. It’s commonly known as the Snake Plant or Viper’s Bowstring Hemp. They are tolerant of low light levels and irregular watering, and they look amazing in a standing pot.
String of Beads (Senecio Rowleyanus)
These are great for hanging baskets and look lovely in a kitchen or bathroom. As with most succulents, the String of Beads requires little care and it can store water for ages.
Zebra Plant (Haworthia)
These are some of my favourites. Funky and stripey, these great little succulents add a dash of pizazz wherever you place them. They look great in unusual containers with interesting soil mixes and make perfect desktop plants.
When it comes to styling your indoor plants it’s often down to your taste and personality but here are some basic tips if you’re not sure where to start.
Make your interior feel bigger
Careful placement of appropriately sized plants give a small room a sense of space. Try styling your countertops with smaller pot plants and using larger plants near windows to lead your eye towards the windows.
Dark coloured spaces vs light coloured spaces
Work with the colour scheme of the room. For darker coloured rooms try use taller standing plants to give the space more depth, whereas lighter coloured rooms will make your plants stand out more so choose something that will pop.
Choose your planters with style in mind
There aren’t very many ways to hide the planters that your plants will grow in so, why not just use them as decor? Choose planters that suit the theme of your room and turn something functional into something fantastic.
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – growing indoor plants is easy and just as fun as having an outdoor garden. They are also super air cleaners that make decorating fun. I would love to see what you do with your indoor garden. Show me your creative indoor plant decor in the comments.
