Green-eyed monstera coming through, people.
Nature lovers or anyone that’s ever been to a tropical resort can assert the oasis transporting capabilities of surrounding oneself with humble pot plants. Better still, houseplants aren’t just a pretty face. They’ve been scientifically proven to purify the air—improving air quality—and thus increasing energy levels, improving your mental state of mind, and hey, probably making you live longer.
Much like a ‘scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ type scenario, in order to reap the health and wellbeing benefits of houseplants, we should be enabling them to truly flourish by keeping them in a humid environment: the bathroom.
“The daily habit of showering will help your bathroom plants thrive,” Shane Pliska, president of Planterra Interior Landscaping in Detroit explains. “Plus, it’s a great way to conserve water.”
Thought it was just a ‘growing’ trend on Pinterest? Turns out this aesthetically trending decor is backed by mounting research.
According to allergy and immunology professor Dr Clifford Bassett, houseplants are the next big thing – so much so, that they’re already being prescribed to treat allergies.
In an interview with The Today Show, Bassett explains how “NASA researchers have reported a group of common houseplants [that] can remove or scrub [the] indoor air of various pollutants.”
“As an allergist, I may prescribe certain plants to help improve indoor air quality. This is, in addition to traditional and evidence-based therapies for their allergic and respiratory conditions,” says Bassett.
Recommended indoor plants to keep in your bathroom:
- Mother-in-Law’s Tongue
- English Ivy
- Peace Lilys
- Staghorn Ferns
- Chinese Evergreen
- Aloe Vera
- Potted Bamboo
- Spider Plant
- Dracena
How to care for your indoor plants in your bathroom:
Shower plants need plenty of natural light and a healthy dose of daily humidity. And if there’s limited natural light “some people will rotate their plant to a sunny place in the home and then switch it back out in seven days,” says Pliska.
Oh, and make sure you put them somewhere where they won’t get covered in soap. However, Well Made Clothes suggests taking it one step further: “If you want to get really freaky with it, you can even hang a fresh bunch of eucalyptus branches on your shower rod and let the hot water draw the healing oils out of the leaves.”
How lush does that sound?
