Bloomin' lovely

Daisy: (Bellis perennis) a symbol of simplicity and innocence

Houseplants. Who doesn’t love the Pinterest-worthy shots of living rooms inundated with greenery, spider plants creeping along kitchen windows, and sprawling leaves tumbling from shelves?

Potted plants have demonstrated abilities to remove airborne volatile organic compounds (VOC) in small, sealed chambers over many hours or even days, which has led to claims that having a bunch of potted plants in your home might make the air cleaner.

Unfortunately, a study published in Nature found that to achieve the same air cleaning effect that normal outdoor-to-indoor air exchange already provides in a typical building, you’d need between 10 and 1000 plants… per square metre.

Even for a crazy plant lady, that’s… well, crazy.

Plants are still good to have around, though. Or, as one study in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology put it: The embellishment of built environments with indoor plants does not have an aesthetic relevance alone.

Studies show caring for plants is a simple way to boost your mental and physical wellness, with gardening medically recognized since the 19th century as therapeutic. A particular bacterium found in soil called M.vaccae offers a mood boost and that’s just as abundant in a potted plant’s soil as it is in a garden. Plus, caring for plants engages the brain in a way that helps us focus. Whether you’re watering, pruning or plucking leaves, focusing on caring for something helps put the brakes on your brain spiraling into a cycle of negative thinking. You can easily keep yourself busy with plenty of house plants.

There’s science to back this up. Research has shown that caring for plants has measurable stress-relieving benefits that support your holistic health and even reduce risk factors of stress-associated diseases. And there’s no need to get overwhelmed; if one day you can spend an hour tending to your plants, but the next you can only spare five minutes, that’s okay. Choose hardy plants that won’t put any unnecessary pressure on you, and reap the benefits of a healthy, beautiful plant baby.

Plants do have a positive effect on air quality, in that they provide plenty of oxygen and give that green, earthy, living nature smell to your rooms. They help reduce your stress levels and in an age of never-ending stress, climate anxiety and the general sense of impending doom permeating everything we do, having something to take care of and watch thrive offers that slither of hope we need.

The placebo effect is a wonderful thing: if you feel better thinking that indoor plants are good for you, then indoor plants are good for you. ■