Plants in our life

For my first actual post, I thought I'd talk about general subjects, such as what it means to have plants indoors all year round, or what types of plants you can grow and tend to in your own apartment. None of it is secret knowledge but I hope some of these tips will prove useful to beginners like yours truly.

Plants as part of interior 

Of all the things you can think of when it comes to interior design, indoor plants are in my opinion the most flexible of them all. Regardless of the style you choose for your home (or if there's no particular style to it at all, like in my case), plants will always be a great addition. The amount of options is amazing - from tropical palms that can outgrow their owner, to tiniest succulents and baby cacti for when you only have enough room for a small planter box. You simply cannot go wrong with greenery, so the only thing to consider here is the specific conditions for different plants.

As you might already know, there are plants out there that can be way more forgiving than others when it comes to taking care of them. In fact, plenty of indoor plants are even recommended for beginners as they are easy to tend to and difficult to kill. My next post will be about this particular subject, but in short - if you are unsure about which plants to pick for your home, and especially if you're not very experienced with greenery, try starting with something easy to grow. Some plants are more (or less) demanding in terms of light, watering, humidity and even moving. For example, if you live in a place where the weather changes dramatically throughout the year, your house is probably heated during winter. Usually, this means that the air inside becomes dry and needs to be humidified one way or another. And while it's true that lots of plants actually do make the air more humid, you'd need a whole jungle in your room to create a big difference. Normally, you'd need to help your plants by spraying their leaves with water, which is especially important during winter months in a heated environment. Moving plants around is another issue - some of them are very sensitive to changing location (even when it's something as simple as turning the pot around!), so carrying them around the house when it gets too dark/too cold/too hot for them to stay on their spot can be damaging instead of being helpful.

Of course, these only apply to some plants, and it shouldn't discourage you from experimenting, but it's still very important to read about the plant before adopting it and think of all the pros and cons to make sure it's rewarding both to you and your green friend.

Plants as natural air cleaners

Besides the obvious perk of being great decor elements, some plants more than others offer air cleaning services. Spider plant, Dracaena, Peace Lily, Snake Plant - these are just a few examples of houseplants that are both easy to care for and incredibly helpful in terms of purifying the air around you. This is especially important for those of us who live in urban environments. Setting up your own indoor jungle may be a time and money investment, but there is no doubt your green pets will reward you with cleaner air. If you've ever lived in a place where the air becomes dry, stuffy and difficult to breathe every time your window stays shut for too long in winter, you'll know how different it feels once you move in a nice little family of houseplants. 

Due to this wonderful skill, some plants are highly recommended for kitchens, as it's normally the first place to look for mold, bacteria and indoor air pollutants. Not only they reduce the level of harmful fumes and odors that are naturally found in the kitchen, but also help decorate the place and make it feel even more welcoming. There is a variety of plants that in addition to that will easily survive the changing conditions such as sudden increase of humidity, or temporary heat from the stove. 

Plants as food 

Speaking of kitchens, have you considered growing edible plants? Because it is as rewarding as growing decorative greenery, but with a significant bonus: you can also eat them! Having a small indoor herb garden is easier than it seems. You can successfully grow quite a few edible herbs right on your kitchen window, and even try growing some vegetables too! Of course, not all veggies can be grown indoors, so your choices are a bit limited if you decide to start your own little garden, but there still are plenty of options, and most of them are also very easy even for beginners. 

First off, make sure your kitchen has a window (or a spot in front of it) with plenty of light, that can be kept warm during winter months in case it's cold outside wherever you live. Start with easy to grow herbs (for example, I found that parsley, garlic and basil are the most forgiving ones for my conditions), or better yet - try cuttings or scraps! It might not sound very appealing, but the stuff we normally throw away after cooking, like lettuce or celery butts, can be re-used to grow even more edibles. Depending on how committed you are to the idea of having a kitchen garden, you can wait until the cuttings and scraps give roots and then plant them in pots, or just keep them in water for as long as they survive. Just remember that herbs normally aren't your typical houseplants so you shouldn't expect them to live a long and happy life, especially if you like to pinch a leaf or two every now and then for cooking. Naturally, most herbs will only grow better and thicker when you do that, however most of them have rather short life spans and need to be re-planted if you wish to have an endless supply. 

As for vegetables, some of them can be easily grown indoors (for example, bell peppers are easy to maintain and grow in a pot just like any other houseplant), others are way too demanding and messy, or won't bear fruit in indoor conditions, so if you feel ready to try something other than herbs, just look up if the plant you wish to grow is fit for indoor gardening. 

Plants as gifts

Last but not least, I'd like to talk about using plants as gifts. While it seems like a great idea for an original and heartwarming gift, it's not always the case. 

I used to have two plants that were given to me as birthday gifts. Both were, of course, a result of genuinely good intentions, and both were, unfortunately, not meant to survive. One of them was a lithops (also known as "living stone plant" due to its resemblance to pebbles), the other one was an azalea. Ironically, I'd love to have both those plants in my home jungle - now that I actually know how to maintain them, of course. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about specific plants back then, my apartment and my lifestyle at the moment weren't fit for anything that required regular care - it simply wasn't the time (or place) for me to even think of getting my own houseplants. My friends probably thought that it might be a great way to raise my interest for plants, or that since I don't like cut flowers giving me something that is still in a pot would help - either way, I appreciate the thought, but all it did was make me feel bad for not caring well enough. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you decided to gift someone a plant, please make sure the person does want it as a gift. Everyone knows it's not a good idea to give someone a pet unless the person you give it to is a 100% ready for this kind of commitment. Plants aren't puppies or kittens, but they're living things that require care, time, and money investment. It's not something you can put on a shelf to admire once in a while without having to maintain it on a regular basis. Even the most forgiving and low maintenance plants still require attention. 

Of course, if you have a friend that is clearly crazy about plants and wouldn't mind an addition to their collection, a new plant is a great way of making the person happy (although it's still best to ask if they have any preferences first - they might not have enough room for a big plant, or conditions fit for certain species). But if you're unsure, or know for a fact that the person isn't exactly the plant-crazy type, or - especially - if they have small kids or pets that may or may not start chewing on leaves (some plants can be extremely toxic when eaten!), then perhaps saving that plant for someone more fit is the way to go. After all, it's so great to know that your gift is happy and growing in its new home!