Plants are a powerhouse of wellness for your home. They’ll provide you with a host of benefits, and they’ll make your house look great while doing it. I’ll admit, I’ve been kind of obsessed with this idea lately, and I think you’ll find the concept intriguing as well after learning about the myriad benefits they offer.

1. They purify your air.

You probably know that plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen; plants in your home are no exception. Some plants do this with great efficiency like the spider plant.

Did you know NASA uses plants on the International Space Station to help with air quality? Certain species purify the air of toxins like benzene, formaldehyde, and more. In order to do this efficiently, the NASA recommends at least one plant per 100 square feet of home or office space.

2. Bring the summer indoors over winter.

A lot of people don’t live in a climate where it’s possible to plant something like a lemon tree or a lime tree outside, but did you know there are dwarf versions of these that you can grow in a sunny window? They even have dwarf banana trees, pineapple trees, avocado trees, fig trees, and more.

Imagine picking stevia or basil leaves right off the stem, enjoying a fresh avocado for breakfast, or making a drink with limes and mint leaves that were grown right in your kitchen. I had a lemon tree that I used to make a lemon pie.

3. They make your house a home.

This is probably the best catchall for all those intangible qualities that having more plants will bring to your home. Plants are living things, and when you’re surrounded by living things you will feel better; you’re literally bringing more life into your house! That is why I believe people with pets are happier.

Fragrant plants like dwarf Kaffir lime trees will also fill the room with the most wonderful scents. It’s an all-natural alternative to those wall plug-ins filled with artificial fragrance chemicals. Other aromatics like mint, lemon grass, bay leaves, and basil (as well other others) have the added bonus of naturally repelling bugs as well!

With the hit show on PBS called Victoria (Queen Victoria of England), Victorian style is receiving a renewed interest now in our homes and landscaping. The Victorians were the first house plant enthusiasts, but their plants had to be hardy and the range of species grown was small. This was due to the mainly unfavorable conditions found in the typical Victorian home.

Rooms were often dark and decorated in deep colors with heavy furnishings. Fumes from the gas lights, tobacco smoke, draughts, cool winter conditions and extreme changes of temperature in rooms which had only coal or wood fires, all combined to make an unsuitable environment for the plants we are able to grow today.

In these surroundings only the most tolerant plants, such as the Aspidistra, the Cast-Iron Plant, the Parlor Palm and the Kentia Palm, and Ivies, which thrive in low light and dislike too much heat, or a range of ferns under glass could survive the conditions imposed on them.

Nevertheless, the Victorians valued their house plants and they were often displayed in pride of place in a bay window, the center of a table or on a tall plant stand in a prominent position. They took to plant containers with enthusiasm, too, and many ornate brass, china and glazed earthenware pots can still be seen in homes today.

Plants were transported from the Far East and Australia to Britain in large sealed glass cases, lashed to the deck. Known as Wardian cases, they provided the humid conditions ideal for many plants, particularly ferns, and gave protection from drafts, cold and fumes. This contributed greatly to the Victorians’ craze for ferns.

Reproduction

Copies of old Victorian china howls and jugs and planters are easily found. Choose colors to complement your living room or bedroom décor and use Maidenhair Fern or Parlor Palm plants to add an authentic touch.

Jardinieres have become popular again and there are various reproductions available. Choose from ceramic flower and plant shapes, figures that hold the pot aloft or even fish that cradle a bowl in their tail. Less expensive are plain or paint-effect plastic pots on columns which display ferns well.

Original

Antique shops, junk shops and market stalls can still supply a vast range of Victorian items. Old brass jam kettles and pans make ideal plant containers and a collection of old biscuit tins can effectively display smaller ferns and young palms.

Plants: Ferns, Palms, Aspidistras were displayed on stands. Palms were placed in large, decorative pots on the floor and Wardian cases of plants became popular. Gardeners of the rich grew exotic fruit, trees and Orchids often grouped together.