We live in a very dry climate, particularly in the winter. This leads to us needing to have the windows closed for just under half of one full year, due to the cold. So you can imagine how very dry and stale our indoor air becomes! I have managed to remedy this situation by growing what is now an incredibly large family of houseplants. This helps to solve our stale indoor air issue, while providing added beauty to our home by bringing the outdoors, indoors.
One of the best ways to freshen up your home with a minimum of effort and expense is by adding a few house plants. The addition of colour, along with the health benefits in terms of the emission of oxygen, makes a noticeable difference to your home.
Once you’ve decided where you’d like to add some plants, you should then identify the plant types that would suit your proposed locations. If you want to place some in your bedroom, Aloe Vera is a great choice as its versatility makes it ideal for any size of bedroom and it works hard to emit oxygen at night, thus improving air quality substantially.
If you intend adding some plants to your living room, peace lily is a good option. Aside from being visually stunning, it increases humidity levels by 5%, which would help to combat irritations such as blocked noses and itchy eyes. Also, it tends to thrive in a warm setting, a quality that most living rooms would boast.
In the late 1980s, NASA researched indoor plants to see if they would cleanse the air in tightly-sealed space stations. The good news is, you can benefit from their discoveries in your home. It is true that houseplants improve indoor air quality.
They absorb some of the toxic chemicals that out-gas from building materials. Some varieties of houseplants are better at this than others. To derive all the cleansing benefits from your houseplants, you will need at least one plant for every 100 square feet of living space.
Here is a list of some of the houseplants that are the most effective at cleaning indoor air:
1. English Ivy (Hedera helix) is familiar to many as a landscape plant. It also does well indoors. I love English ivy’s so much, that I have recently added another one to my plant family.
Presently it is sitting on top of one of my tall bookshelves, and the leaves are draping down the sides of the shelving unit. It looks especially nice in hanging arrangements.
2. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) also does well in hanging pots. I have a large spider plant that I have dubbed “The Mother Plant”. She has been with me for years, and sprouts so many babies that I have potted a great number of other plants from her, as well as given some away as gifts. Another benefit of the spider plant is that pet canaries love them!
3. Golden Pothos (Epipiremnum aureum) is also a vine. Because it climbs or trails, you can train it over an indoor trellis. It does quite well in low-light conditions.
4. Peace Lilies (Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’) do well in low light as well. That’s why you will often see this plant in waiting rooms, lobbies, and other indoor gathering places.
5. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum) is another plant that grows in little light. In fact, it doesn’t like a whole lot of water, either, making it quite low-maintenance. The chinese evergreen’s cuttings root easily in water.
6. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) is especially good at removing formaldehyde from the air. These lush plants look incredibly pretty in bay windows or hanging baskets.
7. Bamboo or Reed Palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii) likes humidity, so you may consider putting it in a bathroom window. You can also spritz it with water each day to help it thrive.
8. Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) is actually a tree that will grow indoors. You may find it trained as a bonsai in a traditional pot. It’s another favorite plant of shopping malls and other public centers.
9. Janet Craig Dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Janet Craig’) is a specific type of Dracaena. If you can not find the Janet Craig variety, another Dracaena will do as well. These plants are especially lovely when they are arranged and planted in the center of other plant and floral arrangements. They vary quite a bit, so you can just pick the sort that appeals to you most and fits best in your home.
10. Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron scandens ‘oxycardium’) is pest-resistant and prefers low or diffused light (no direct sunlight). Heartleaf Philodendron prefers to be in moist soil.
Want more resources on how plants can help us?
We’re used to thinking of plants as “things” rather than living, sentient beings that are connected in profound ways to the health of our bodies, minds and souls.
But what if plants — with all their health-giving effects and amazing diversity of expression — hold the key not just to our health but to our spiritual evolution?
This idea is not as new as you might think, as it’s been part of ancient systems of natural medicine from Ayurveda to Chinese medicine. Plants affect our life force and connect us physically with the raw energy of the sun.
The fascinating and powerful relationship between plants and spiritual evolution is the passion of Floracopeia founder David Crow, who is brilliant on this subject. I loved his workshop, Medicinal Plants and Spiritual Evolution. If you’ve ever marveled at the peaceful beauty of a garden or been grateful for a herb that brought you healing or wondered how to harness the power of essential oils, you’ll be excited by David’s insights into the plant-human connection.
If you are wanting even more in depth information on the fine art of plant growing and agricultural health, some of the best books I have read (ones, that I might add, are not easy to find), can be found right here.
With such a large collection of houseplants, I have found that the only way to keep on top of the watering of them is by using a multitude of plant globes. They also add to the beauty of your indoor plants, especially if you have them in a place where they catch the light.
One great way to create an indoor garden is to utilize a zen garden creation. This is my favourite spot for all things zen. If you’d like to take a deeper dive into creating a zen garden, please see my post on creating one.
It’s always a good idea when designing your indoor decor to work with all four nature elements. I’m sure we can all agree that plants, particularly leafy ones, thrive when they are near running water. For this purpose, we have a gorgeous indoor rock fountain that we got from this store here. They have some stunning works of rock art that won’t break the bank.
The kids are incredibly soothed by it, as well! And to expand this idea a bit, we even now have one sitting right beside our front door. It is only plugged in and turned on in the summer months of course, but we leave it out in the winter as well. It adds such a nice touch for visitors coming to our home.
Christine Luken says
Wow, I didn’t realize having houseplants could be so great for indoor air quality! I think I’ll have to get a few.
Debbie Denny says
I have heard of the weeping fig doing that. Interesting and helpful post!
Amy Desrosiers says
I have a few of these plants in my home and love them! If I could load my home with plants I would! They are such a green and eco-friendly source of decor.
Jessica Lieb (@bkeepsushonest) says
I really need to get some house plants, I’m just afraid I would kill them.
Trisha says
Thanks for this list! I’ve been considering invest in an air purifier but after seeing this, I might just invest in a few plants!
Danielle @ We Have It All says
Very cool info, this is good to know. I’d love to get some of these!
Sandra McCollum says
I was so excited to see this, totally going to check some of these out. Thanks!
Dawn says
We need more houseplants in our home. I am so bad at taking care of them though, so the hubs gets that honor.
Dannie says
There are a few plants that I’ve had for nearly a decade, and only just in the past six months, a couple of them have died. I am most sad about my bamboo pine and my english ivy 🙁
Malia says
My parents always had indoor plants, I’m not sure why I never did the same. I think I should get a couple.
Nicole Brady says
Thanks for the great list. I had a spider plant when I lived in an apartment after college and loved it. Had to get rid of it when I moved out of state. Hadn’t thought about getting another because I totally forgot until I read your post!
Lia Moore - Full Circle Eventi Design says
I’ve been looking for plants for my office. So glad I cam across this post. Now I just have to find pictures of all of them to figure out which one ascetically will suit my office! But this definitely narrowed down the search, andI’m not GREAT with plants so every little bit helps
Dannie says
Thank you for the reminder, Lia… I had been meaning to go back and add some photos here!
Ave says
I really like ferns and bamboo, but had no idea they help with air cleaning. Thanks for a great post!
Dannie says
Ave, ferns and bamboo are also my two favorites 🙂 Though I have spider plants everywhere, too!
Mindy Grant says
Thanks for this great list! I really want to get some indoor plants for my new home.