Starting an Indoor gardening isn’t just fun, but also has numerous life benefits as well. From reduced stress, to self sustainability, starting your own garden can have some very positive effects on your life. Below, we look at 5 key reasons you might want to start an indoor garden, and look at the benefits of having plants in your home.
They Add Color and Beauty To Your Home
For those that have an eye for style plants are a great way to add natural beauty to your home. The great thing about plants is the large variety that is sure to fit with any design aesthetic.
Working plants into your home design is a lot of fun, and can add some extra, low-effort flair. Everything from a small vase of flowers to a large fiddle-leaf fig centerpiece can be used to bring some natural beauty into your home. Personally, I find the natural beauty and colors of plants to be worth the effort and be much more appealing than a manufactured piece from a store.
Plants Can Boost Your Mood and Reduce Stress
A psychology study showed that gardening can actually reduce stress and leading indicators of it like heart rate and blood pressure. In the study, they tasked groups with repotting a houseplant vs working on a computer after which they took readings of biological factors associated with stress.
Their findings showed that those performing the indoor gardening task had a lower stress response. This led to their conclusion that gardening can help reduce both physiological and psychological stress.
If you’re looking for an easy hobby that can help you manage stress and indicators of stress gardening is a great choice.
Plants Can Help Boost Productivity
Plants and productivity have been studied for years, and there’s been shown to be some correlation between the two. Having plants in your working area may very well have a positive impact on your productivity and ability to get work done.
One 1996 study found students worked about 12% faster in a lab with plants versus one that didn’t have any. Since then there have been numerous similar studies, such as this one which showed an office that had foliage tended to be more productive and take less sick days.
They’re Great For Chefs and Self-sustainability
Having fresh plants on herb is also great for cooks and those looking to be more self-sustaining. Numerous plants are easy to grow and edible, and great to have on hand year round.
Small plants like herbs are great for adding some flavor to a dish and take up very little space to grow. They’re also super easy to grow, anyone can successfully grow a herb like chives year round.
For a larger challenge, growing fruits and vegetables indoors is a great way to add some fresh foods to your diet. Fruits like tomatoes are growable indoors and are a delight to cook with. Biting into a fresh tomato that you grew yourself is something every gardener should experience.
They Can Boost Air Quality
Lastly, there is some evidence that plants can boost air quality in your home. The often cited study showing this is one from 1989 put out by NASA. It showed a link between air quality and having plants present.
Since then, there’s been numerous studies that have both confirmed and disputed the findings of the original NASA one. While plants can clean the air, dissenting studies have shown that this effect might be minimal outside of sealed and isolated rooms.
While plants might be a miracle cure to indoor air, they’re certainly not adding to the problem. Having plants in your homes may still be helping it be a healthier and happier place to live.
