GARDENING Creating breathing spaces
A SPECIAL PLACE FOR REFLECTION, RELAXATION AND MEDITATION Anxiety, not obesity, is set to become the world’s number one health issue.
Mental wellness has been flagged as the leading global trend, with the World Health Organisation predicting that anxiety, and not obesity, will become the number one health issue.
The stress of being connected 24 hours a day, of always being available to everyone all the time, is taking its toll. People want to, and need to, switch off, and who is coming to our rescue? Mother Nature, according to the 2018 Garden Trends report by the US Garden Media Group.
By connecting with nature, and disconnecting from media, it is possible to achieve a “cleaner, more relaxed state-of-mind.” says the report.
Because most people live in cities, bringing the outdoors inside in the form of indoor plants, has become an identifiable trend. In fact, in the United State, 52% of people use house plants to clean the air.
It has gone one step further. People are creating “breathing rooms”, filled with plants, as a “special space for meditation, reflection and relaxation”. The plants not only clean the air but help to clear the mind too.
To create your own breathing room, select a room with good light but if you can’t spare the space, set aside a corner close to a window that gets lots of light. This can become the home’s quiet corner and if people see you there, they know not to disturb.
Not all plants are created equal in terms of air purifying qualities. Incorporate, but don’t restrict yourself to those that are known to be most effective, such as Spathiphyllum (peace lily), dracaena, bromeliad, bamboo palm, ferns (bird’s nest especially), Sansevieria, and Calathea.
Research has found that even though green is a restful colour, too much leads to monotony and a lack of attention. Include pops of colour with indoor flowering plants like chrysanthemums, gerbera, kalanchoe, fuchsias, in pots or as mini-standards, lavender and even plants with multi-coloured leaves like Calathea. Did you know: Chrysanthemums remove ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, and xylene from indoor air. Popular and inexpensive, they can be planted outside after they’re finished blooming.
Large leaved plants like delicious monster, philodendron and alocasia (elephant ear type) are feature plants that fill space and immediately create an atmosphere of tropical lushness. These structural plants, together with dracaena and other spikey leaved plants are useful for providing an unfussy, green framework.
Hanging baskets are the next best thing indoors, according to the trend-spotters. Create a green canopy with ferns, orchids, and trailing plants. The best plants are those that softly cascade over the edge of the container, like Philodendron scandens, and Pellaea rotundifolia (Button fern). Before hanging a plant, make sure the ceiling or wall can take the weight.
Caring for the plants in the breathing room is part of the therapy. Each plant needs individual attention; does it need water, are the leaves a healthy colour or does it require fertiliser, is the plant getting enough light or air?
That is what mindfulness is all about; paying full attention to the task at hand, and that is why gardening is such good therapy because we become completely absorbed in the garden work, which gives our minds a break for the anxiety of life.
Make watering a routine, as part of your me-time.
Invest in a plastic spritzer bottle and spritz everything; it cleans the leaves, knocks out pests and improves the humidity, which most indoor plants love as they are tropical by nature.
Hanging baskets need more regular watering because air near the ceiling is warmer and drier. A long-necked watering can is the easiest to use. Another option is to take the plants outside once a week for a soaking, weather permitting. For more information visit www.plantimex.co.za
Change the soil mix after three years and replant the plant into a bigger pot. Adding fertiliser to worn out soil will result in a build-up of salts and damage the plant.
Keep plants out of draughts and away from heaters.