Some time in mid 2018, I was introduced to houseplants by an acquaintance who had an extra spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) pup to give away. When she asked me if I wanted one, without thinking much I said sure. A few days later I officially had my first houseplant.
Not much excitement about it at the time, I was more curious on how to make sure it would survive. To my amazement, it almost took care by itself, very low maintenance and the spider plant survived.
By the end of 2019, I started to take more interest in houseplants and wanted to check out other types of indoor plants that are relatively low maintenance. I started to invest in some starter plants combo with a snake plant (sansevieria trifasciata) and a parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans). The snake plant survived but sadly the Parlor Palm got killed within two weeks due to overwatering. 😬 Kinda sad with my failure but the success of growing the spider plant was addicting that soon enough I started to check on more plants that were still under category of low maintenance.
Then the pandemic happened and we started to get into a long lockdown. It was crazy to see houseplants popularity since then just took off like crazy.
It was very common to see an interesting houseplant, but if you took your time to think whether or not you wanted it, then wouldn’t be able to get it because it was already gone by then. Good thing, I started a bit early before the pandemic hit so I had already had enough plants in my collection to keep me busy.
This houseplants hobby is actually very relaxing and apparently it helped more people than I realized. For me, given the fact that it is a relaxing activities plus how it can improve our indoor air quality (no matter how small or insignificant that is) can only be good.
I understand both sides of the arguments of how the circulation in our house will replace the air before the houseplants can do anything to our air quality. That’s why to think of the air quality improvement as a bonus (if any) is more suitable than getting into houseplants just for that purpose. If you’re interested in the two sides of the debate, you can check out the provided links at the bottom of this post.
I think the issue with the differing opinions is that we tend to think of it as an all or nothing. We want to know if houseplants purify the air or none at all. I believe the answer lies somewhere in between and we should not dismiss the fact that they have some effect to our quality although it’s not enough to move the needle. This is especially true if, in theory, every household in a community has houseplants (or even better, outdoor plants), I truly believe that the air quality in that community will be improved collectively.
One thing that cannot be denied with cultivating houseplants though is the fact that in general people feel better and calmer. Even sitting around looking the plants can improve your mood and make you more relax. Another added bonus for me in getting houseplants is that I started to have a new appreciation of God’s intricate design on just a handful plants that I get exposed to that it brings much inspiration and just a sense of gratefulness.
The debate aside, if you enjoy houseplants, you cannot deny the fact that they can improve the look of your interior just by having them there. That’s why even the fake houseplants are also popular. I always treat them as a “cheap furnitures” that I can move around and have a different look of the room almost instantly. I see this as a good new hobby that will only continue to grow hopefully not to the point of an addiction. 😅
But for those who are thinking about getting an indoor plant, spider plant is definitely a good choice for your first. It grows relatively fast and easy to maintain.
References
Growing Fresh Air To Breathe Easy In New Delhi’s Pollution
Kamal Meattle – Plants and Air Purification
Trees in the City
Trees and parks as “the lungs of cities”
Beating bad air quality: the best ways to defend your lungs from air pollution
Plants Make You Feel Better
