GMG's Friday Find: Celebrate National Indoor Plant Week With These Super Heroes

Plants are more than just pretty faces.  Did you know that indoor plants can remove toxins from your indoor space and help you concentrate better? There are lots of benefits of indoor plants, and here's how a few super heroes can change your life.


O2 for You Anthurium from Costa Farms

Reduce Stress - Stay calm, carry on, buy a plant.  People who keep flowering houseplants in their home feel happier, more relaxed and less stressed. According to an article in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, flowering plants add positive energy which reduces stress-related depression.

Improve Indoor Air - The EPA found that the air in your home may be more polluted than outdoor air. Strategic placement of plants in your living and working space improves your indoor air quality, scrubbing out toxins. Having at least one plant for every 100 square feet provides maximum air-cleaning benefits, from allergy symptom relief to enhanced mood and concentration.

Heal Faster - A flowering plant is often the gift of choice for someone ill or in the hospital, and there's science behind the reason why.  Just the presence of a flowering plant in a hospital recovery room speeds the healing process.  If you want to help in someone's recovery, bag the cut flowers that don't last long and choose a Peace Lily for long-lasting benefits.

Become More Empathetic - An article from the University of Texas indicates that people who buy and care for plants are more likely to care for their fellow human beings.  A ZZ plant is easy to fall in love with and pass the love along.

Neon Pathos-Costa Farms

Enhance Learning - Looking for a way to help your kids get better grades?  There are cognitive benefits from being around plants, helping focus and concentration which in turn improves learning capabilities.  Easy care pothos is a plant that gets an "A" and enlisting plant care with your children helps them learn how fun and easy it can be. For the workplace, a red aglaonema on your own desk will help increase concentration up to 20% for the tasks at hand.

Orchid-Costa Farms

Create a Spa-like Experience -  It's no accident that spas use plants to create a restful and calming experience. Add plants to your shower or bath to amp up the restful ambiance, along with a few candles and low lighting, and you've created an environment that helps you relax, unwind, and smile. Orchids are a perfect fit as they love humidity and will provide you with that 'ahhhhh' factor of beauty and restfulness.

Dracaena-Costa Farms

Group Therapy - If you think just one plant is good for you, imagine the benefits of several plants that will help clean your air and provide a sense of well-being, whether at home or your workplace.  A combination of dracaena, peace lily and snake plant can transform your inner space into a beneficial, toxin free environment for optimal healthy living.

Costa Farms®, the largest grower of indoor houseplants in North America, suggests we create healthier, cleaner and happier indoor spaces by surrounding ourselves with these green heroes.  It's an inexpensive way to improve our health and well being, and National Indoor Plant Week, September 15th - 21st, is the perfect time to get started.  Watch this video to learn more about O24U and the benefits of indoor houseplants.

~Peggy
Garden Media Group

GMG's Friday Find: Plant, Share and Care This Earth Day!

Back in the late 60's most people were not very concerned about our impact on planet Earth; those were the days of the hippie and flower-child power with protest the order of the day.  Americans were slurping leaded gas, air pollution was the smell of success and "environment" was a word you may get in a spelling bee.

Then along came Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller, "Silent Spring," representing a watershed moment for the environmental movement, raising public awareness and concern for all living organisms and public health. Earth Day 1970 capitalized on a new emerging consciousness putting environmental concerns front and center, and that movement has continued uninterrupted with April 22nd marking the 43rd year of Earth Day.

There are many ways to celebrate Earth Day.  Almost every city in the country organizes events and activities to mark the occasion, you won't have to look far to see what's happening in your neck of the woods. In Columbus, Ohio they are holding Earth Day 2013: Stand Together, the largest volunteer service effort across the country to make Columbus communities greener.  People volunteer their labor and companies, like PRO-MIX, donate growing mixes. In the past 7 years efforts have resulted in over 40,000 hours of labor and 19,000 trees planted throughout the regions.  

Here are a few more suggestions you may consider for you and your family:


Costa Farms

Plant a Tree/Have a Plant Party  - Recent studies have shown how trees and our health and happiness are co-dependent, and studies have proven that houseplants provide much needed fresh air for the massive amount of time we spend indoors. If you aren't in the market for a tree, you can certainly run to your nearest market or home improvement center for a variety of houseplants that can clean your indoor air for better health. Another fun activity for kids is an Earth Day Plant Party where they decorate a kid-friendly container with stickers and then pop in little green heroes like ferns and snake plants. Remember to look for the O2 for You label!

Build/Design a Birdhouse/Make Homemade Seed - A fun project you can enjoy with kids is making a birdhouse or designing a birdfeeder and then crafting homemade birdseed that you can put in pine cones and other 'natural' finds. Teaching our children the value of caring for wildlife is a lesson they are sure to pass on to future generations.

Perky-Pet

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle all day long - There are so many ways to accomplish these goals, even for just one day.  Use less water in your morning shower, walk or bike to work and save gas, turn off your lights until it's dark, avoid using disposable plates and cutlery, bring your own bags to the grocery store and avoid the plastic bags, find a way to reuse an old household or garage item, and recycle everything you can. If it's not already, this mindset for just one day can be the beginning of a lifelong habit.

Hold a garage sale/Donate -  Spring is the perfect time to thin out closets and garages of unused or unwanted clutter.  A garage sale, whether community or neighborhood, can benefit many who don't have certain necessities or you can donate items to charities to resell for cash.  Involve your children and see if there aren't some toys, games and sporting equipment they can include, helping them understand that giving is a rewarding endeavor. 

James Farmer

Cook an Earth Day Meal - Plan a menu that uses locally produced food and decorate your table with found and/or recycled objects.  Have your guests participate in a wreath-making activity using material from your garden and produce from the grocery store or farmer's market. It's not only fun, everyone gets to go home with a fabulous wreath for the summer season.

Whatever we do on Earth Day is certainly something we can do everyday.  We are all stewards of the Earth and as John Muir said, "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." Happy Earth Day...everyday!

~Peggy
Garden Media Group

This Earth Day, Use Houseplants To Sweep the Air Clean with O2 For You

Thank a plant on Earth Day. Silently and always “working”, these green heroes toil tirelessly to purify the environment, naturally cleansing the air and providing truly amazing health benefits! They filter indoor air 24/7 to sweep it clean from dangerous chemicals and toxins while continuously releasing fresh oxygen in homes and offices.

When selecting indoor plants, consider the plants “job”. Does it work the day shift or night shift? Is it for the home or office? Does it work in bright light or low light? This Plant Guide from O2 For You allows users to find houseplants that suit their conditions and fit their lifestyle.

According to a landmark NASA study, it is recommended that at least one or more medium sized houseplant for every 100 square feet in the home or office will help maximize the health benefits and freshen the air.

Why Are House Plants Green Heroes? People's lives depend on technology, but ordinary household products such as paints, tobacco smoke, printer ink and carpets hold hidden dangers that plants can help reduce.

Former NASA research scientist Dr. Bill Wolverton found plants improve air quality through their natural “filtering” ability. He discovered houseplants can absorb up to 87% of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), like formaldehyde and benzene, found in many homes and offices.

Houseplants work round the clock to “clean” the air! How? They absorb these VOCs into the root zone where they’re broken down by microbes. Some of the hardest working plants are the peace lilies, ferns and palms.

Bring a Houseplant to Work Put a plant on your desk to feel happier, enjoy better health and be more productive. The NASA study recommends office workers should have at least one medium size plant in their “personal breathing space” at work to effectively remove indoor pollutants.

Research conducted in the Netherlands supports this, finding office workers who had plants in their workspace out performed co-workers without plants. Workers reported they felt better and their concentration improved with plants on their desks, especially working at computers!

Another test conducted in Norway reports that 25% fewer health problems occur, in particular respiratory ailments, headache, and fatigue, when plants were introduced to their workspace.

Snake plants, broad sword ferns and rubber plants are among the top ten air purifiers recommended by experts. They’re easy to grow, are natural humidifiers and remove airborne chemicals. Other green heroes are philodendrons, dieffenbachias and ZZ plants.

Take a Heavy Night Breather to Bed Some plants actually work at night while we sleep! These green heroes “breathe out” oxygen (O2) and absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) at night, rather than in the daytime, when the majority of plants do their “breathing.”

Kate Santos, director of research for Costa Farms, the largest indoor houseplant producer in North America, recommends snake plants and orchids, particularly in the bedroom. These natural botanical air purifiers make perfect bedroom buddies to refresh and beautify these spaces for a healthy, restful night’s sleep!

“Which plant you choose, and where you place your plants is important to reap optimum benefits,” says Santos.

Santos says to consider the light, humidity, and temperature to determine the best spot for a plant. “Put a Majesty Palm in your living room, fern in the family room and a Peace lily in the kitchen. Add golden pothos or heart leaf philodendron for beauty and maximum air cleansing benefits.”

Look for the ‘O2 for You’ displays at Lowe’s Home Depot, and Walmart nationwide this April.

-Stacey
Garden Media Group