Fresh living
lady palm
Come on everyone! Give real plants a try in your cottage. Fake ones really aren’t fooling anyone with their frayed fabric edges or faded sun-facing colors. I know some people feel like silk is their best option if they have a hard-to-reach spot to fill or a flora-killing black thumb. But it’s not! Real plants aren’t just decorative. They actively improve your home’s air quality. In fact, different plants process different chemicals and can even remove specific toxins from your breathing space.
This great article in the SF Gate notes that palms and ferns are particularly effective at sucking out the nasty toxins and suggests a few that are reasonably easy to grow. The Lady Palm, for example, is an excellent air filter and doesn’t need much light or water. We have 2 and they’ve flourished despite being moved all over the place to suit our decor. If it can survive me, anyone has a chance at success with this plant. Ferns and ivy are also good choices as they filter air well but show clear signs when they need water.
A home with living plants has a lightness about it that can’t be recreated with air fresheners or candles. Not to mention the architectural look of ferns and palms nicely complements modern design.
I am a huge lover of live plants in the house, but I encountered a problem with a several-years-old ficus that finally ended in my pitching it and, sadly, replacing it with a fake. It kept “weeping” on the furniture over which it held court. Nothing I did seemed to help so I finally decided it was weeping for fresh air and sunshine so moved it to the back patio. My fake one? It’s going to a new home. Just can’t handle anything but the real thing!…with all its perks.