Hipster? You must be into hort-couture
Remember when fashion was fawning over flowers? Ditch the vase – we’re now potty for plants
‘every time you kill a plant, you feel bad. It’s a reminder that maybe you don’t have your shit together.’ Gynelle Lyon is the owner and founder of PRICK, London’s first succulent and cacti specialist shop, in Dalston, East London. We’re discussing why house plants have become such big business, following The Washington Post headline back in September, which read: ‘ Millennials are filling their homes – and the void in their hearts – with house plants.’ The story confirmed what many people in their twenties and mid-thirties already know: nothing says aspirational interiors in 2018 like plants. But why?
Gynelle is proof that the trend is now hitting big in the UK. With over 200 plants in her shop, her year-old business is blooming and she says this reflects societal attitudes. ‘ There is such a strong conversation about well-being and sustainability,’ she says. ‘ We know that looking at plants is good for your mental health. A cactus can outlive us, so nurturing it for years is very sustainable. I worked in a florist and noticed the demand for plants and cacti over cut flowers. For busy people who live in flats, like me, it makes sense because they’re low-maintenance.’
It’s interesting to see how plant obsessions have been rebranded into aspirational modern living, as opposed to the ‘tree hugger’ tag of the ’90s ( in line with veganism and environmentalism). For the uninitiated, it’s a relatively simple idea – for urban dwellers grappling for physical and mental space, a house plant can make for a satisfying connection with nature – even if it’s a constructed reality. For the green evangelists, the relationship with plants builds on these ideas and takes it to the next level, making air-quality scientists of us all and helping us acknowledge our lack of control in the modern world with a quick-fix solution.
And for women with increasingly busy schedules who are having children later than our grandmothers, perhaps our innate desires to nurture are satisfied with a Boston fern or sago palm. The aspirational pursuit of a green space might be, for some, a damning indictment of our increasingly squeezed living but, for others, it’s a proactive solution to poor air quality and decreasing mental health and, crucially, chimes with our notions of home.
Psychologist Dr Katie Sparks specialises in stress and says, ‘Being around nature is almost as if we’re going back to where we should be. People do eco therapy based on this idea, simply because being in nature is very cathartic and calming. Whether it’s sitting next to your pot plant or whatever, it gives us that space.’
The number of Instagram accounts that celebrate the plants-as-fashion aesthetic is booming. There’s Jungalow (885k followers), House Plant Club (281k), The Potted Jungle (52.7k) and Tribe And Us (43.1k). And online shops like House of Plants and Patch give an insight into the most detoxifying plants ( peace lilies will remove ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde… who knew?).
Igor Josifovic and Judith de Graaff, the Paris-based authors of Urban Jungle, began their ‘Urban Jungle Bloggers’ community back in 2013 (with over half a million subscribers), where people can share care tips, pictures and trends. ‘ The monstera deliciosa [Swiss cheese plant] is a favourite,’ they tell me of the plant of the moment. ‘It has big graphic leaves and adds instant jungle vibe. Also, the pilea peperomioides [missionary plant] is a true blogger star.’ Gynelle confirms plants are the status symbol of now. ‘It’s not, “Do you have that Kate Moss wallpaper print?” It’s, “Have you got that variegated monstera?!”’