I'm always looking for ways to keep my house healthy for my family. It turns out my Mom had one of the secrets all along -- houseplants. My Mom just loved houseplants when I was growing up. Our house was filled with them: spider plants, ferns, shiffaleras, philodendrons. We had them all. I vaguely remember a cross country road trip with my parents that included a houseplant. My Mom was worried the plant would die while we were gone, so it traveled with us and spent each night in our hotel room. But I digress.
Houseplants (and their macrame hangers) were a big trend in the seventies, and had been out of fashion for several years. Now with the resurgance of interest in all things healthy, eco and green, houseplants are making a huge comeback, because they not only look pretty, they have a purpose. According to a research study conducted by NASA scientist BC Wolverton, plants are the most efficient and cost-effective method of cleaning your indoor air.
Research has shown that these 10 plants give you the most bang for your buck:
Areca palm
Reed palm
Dwarf date palm
Boston fern
Janet Craig dracaena
English ivy
Australian sword fern
Peace Lily
Rubber plant
Weeping fig
You should allow one plant for every ten square yards of floor space, which means you need 2-3 plants in the average sized room for good air quality.
Besides keeping the air clean in your house, houseplants offer one more great opportunity to express your personal style. The containers that hold your houseplants can be anything you love: 
Galvanized Buckets (Bailey's Home and Garden)
Pretty Glass Vases (Bailey's Home and Garden)
Vintage Sugar Molds (CitySearch your local flea market)
Mexican Dough Bowls (Direct from Mexico)
Just get some good advice from your local nursery on the best way to transplant your plant into your favorite container so it can drain properly.
I'm happy to see houseplants make a comeback, as I love the happy color they bring to the house, the fresh air, and my kids love to water them.
Is it too much to hope, though, that the macrame hangers remain a thing of the past?
Sunday, June 1, 2008
My Mom Was Ahead of Her Time
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2 comments:
I remember that trip. Carrying that thing in and out of motel rooms was not fun. But it lived. We also had a huge house plant, I mean huge, that needed to be transported during our many moves. It was a pain to move. It eventually made its way to your home. A home full of plants inside and drought resistent yet pretty plants outside is peaceful.
now that I think about it,the plant you refer and the huge plant I mention are one and the same. Big and heavy. And healthy.
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