As you may have noticed, there is a case of indoor plant fever going about, for houses, apartments, cafes, restaurants or even office spaces. This can be explained by the distancing between people and nature, especially in larger urban areas, where they end up living in growingly smaller places. Grandma’s small pot planters are old news, but now green has become the latest trend, and it’s here to stay.

Be as it may, I bet you’ve already been tempted to purchase some plants to decorate your little space and start creating your very own urban jungle. Learn here which are the main challenges and benefits to this trend that is so present today.

You may use plastic plants, some are quite difficult to tell apart from the real thing, but sadly do not have the same benefits, and also collect dust, and besides, plastic may start to peel and that is not a nice look. However, you might also be thinking about how to make less use of plastic in your every day life, for environmental reasons, in order to reduce its impact on the planet.

Let’s suppose you will go with real plants then, they are living beings that require some form of care, but keeping plants at home can be quite simple, and that weekly watering may also serve as your time to relax.
As living beings that they are, plants need sunlight, but there are also plants that are quite used to living in the shade, which means they won’t need any direct sunlight, and these are often the top indoor plant choice.

Start simple, pick a plant you like and that requires little care, and from then, add new plants, learn about the plant you have purchased so you can understand its lighting and watering needs, for instance, many plants end up dying due to excess watering.
The easiest to handle are succulents or cacti, which don’t require much watering and have incredible shapes, they’re a great start, and most of them are easy to spread, which means that from one you can have several at no cost.
You don’t require much more than sunlight and water, but you might need a pot change, but this happens only once a year or every couple of years.

As you see it’s quite simple, choose plants that are most fitting to the attention you can provide them, and you’ll soon see that the benefits are much bigger than the work you will have to do.

Several studies have been conducted, but the main ones relate to the fact that plants purify the air, turning carbon dioxide into oxygen, and releasing water under the form of steam, increasing the space’s humidity, which can be very important to your health, especially your breathing airways’ health.

Other studies point towards the great psychological advantages, namely regarding the increase in focusing skills, productivity and even mental health.
You’ve got plenty of advantages here. Will you join us?

Amália Souto de Miranda
Landscape architect