Houseplants are like my friends. I love having some green indoors. They make a room more homey and inviting, and they even make the air more healthy to breathe. This is interesting:"A classic NASA study found that common house plants could improve air quality. In fact, they reported that houseplants were able to remove up to 87 percent of air toxins in 24 hours. The recommendation? Use 15 to 18 "good-sized" house plants in 6- to 8-inch diameter containers for an 1,800 square-foot house. Plants can remove a variety of toxic air emissions including ammonia, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, benzene, xylene and trichloroethytene." (Source)
That's a lot of plants even for me! But even a few will be worth the effort and care, especially during these gloomy (and inversion-laden) winter months! A plus: my kids thought it was lots of fun to help me plant and water a new addition. Kids love to get their hands dirty, and I think it's good for them to learn about how things grow.
The following image is a handout I made for a little class I taught about basic care of houseplants. You should be able to click to enlarge and print. Don't worry, it's not rocket science! In fact, most of the time I forget to water my plants for weeks... but honestly, that's better than watering them every day. Don't smother them--they need their 'space'!
Stay tuned... I can't wait to show you what we're working on next!!!
Thanks for this Lauren! I was going to ask you about all this tomorrow so you're one step ahead of me! I've made it my goal to be better to my house plants this year (they are in desperate need of being transplanted) and I'm glad to know how now! I'll be sure to not water them too much this time. It's good to now they like to go awhile without water. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of all the plants I used to have in the house I feel guilty that I am down to one small Christmas cactus on the window ledge. At least I had plenty around when I had a house full of little ones needing healthy air.
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