Decorate your home with fresh potted plants

Ms. Le Phuong Lan (40 years old, living in Nam Tu Liem area, Hanoi) lives in a high-rise apartment building, near many main roads. Besides the convenience of transportation, she has to face the noisy space of vehicles. Ms. Lan confided: “The older I get, the more I like a quiet, gentle life after stressful working hours. Every day I feel very headache and tired when I have to look at the four bare walls around the house. Therefore, in the past three years, I have continuously researched books on planting trees, to design a “green” balcony for my family”.

Ms. Lan continuously experiments with growing ornamental plants, from climbing roses, nasturtiums, to small fruit trees such as strawberries, tomatoes, etc. Finally, she has a small garden of about 15 square meters in her house. Every early morning, she goes out to the balcony to drink tea, read books and water the plants. She confided: "I feel like I am re-energized every morning. Looking at the small pots of plants that I have grown myself, I love my house even more." Ms. Lan said that every six months she plants new plants, such as buying a pretty basket of maple trees, or adding a few clumps of green onions or fragrant perilla.

Like Ms. Lan, Tran Anh Tuan (33 years old, living in Hanoi) is adding green to the space in his house. Mr. Tuan rents a house in a small boarding house in Hanoi, the space is relatively limited, the room is more than 25 square meters. He shared: “I work in IT, often in the office for more than 8 hours. The job is stressful, when I come home I only see rough, lifeless walls. My spirit affects my health, about a year ago, I often had insomnia and became irritable”. After seeing a psychologist, he was advised to plant more trees on the balcony and raise some small, cute “pets” to soothe his spirit.

Currently, outside Anh Tuan's small hallway, there are many types of plants, from green hanging baskets to peace lilies and Japanese palm trees, neatly arranged. The cramped, old space is now "rejuvenated". Anh Tuan confided: "Green plants help the living space become more lively, fresh and aesthetic. A pot of green plants placed in the right position brings positive energy to the homeowner".

Planting ornamental plants in living spaces helps people relax and feel happy. (Illustration - Source: PV)

Not only ornamental plants, Anh Tuan also loves flowers. Once a week, he buys a small bouquet of flowers to put in his room. Each season has its own flowers, in spring he puts vases and pear flowers, in summer he puts daisies and dried baby's breath, in winter he puts roses and sunflowers, etc. He said: "My room is quite small, not suitable for placing potted plants in the house. Therefore, I choose to put flowers, to be closer to nature. The bright and beautiful colors of fresh flowers help me relax and feel happy."

In fact, according to a study recently published in the medical journal BMJ Open, green spaces in cities are not only beautiful but can also help protect human health, playing an important role in reducing illness and death caused by climate change. According to the study of this medical journal, areas with more green space have lower rates of people suffering from heat-related health problems and deaths than areas with less greenery. At the same time, the presence of trees in urban areas helps improve people's mental health, offsetting the impact of environmental pollution on health.

Another study published in Environment International in 2015 found that green space is linked to overall health and mental health. There was no difference between rural and urban green space. Urban dwellers who had more exposure to green vegetation generally had better mental health and lower rates of depression than those who lived in densely populated areas. Therefore, if space and conditions allow, everyone should consider adding more green space to their home.

Growing plants safely in small spaces

Building a healthy living space, connected with nature is a trend in the world and in Vietnam. However, currently in the city, many people live in apartments, collective houses, with limited land area, so planting trees needs to be carefully calculated.

In addition, there are some plants that contain toxic substances in their leaves, sap, or seeds that when we come into contact with them can cause skin irritation, itching, or even difficulty breathing and cause serious consequences.

Moreover, many people want to bring green plants into the resting space and the bedroom is the same. But putting too many green plants in the bedroom will endanger life. At night, flowers or green plants stop photosynthesis but still carry out the respiration process, green plants will absorb oxygen in the air to decompose organic matter, producing energy needed for the life activities of the plant. This is one of the dangers to our lives every night, if there is not enough oxygen to breathe, it will make people feel short of breath, even worse, they will suffocate. Therefore, choosing a safe place and type of plant is very necessary to ensure the health of each family member.

According to a study funded by Ambius Plant Production Company (USA) that sponsored a group of university researchers, the arrangement of plants in the old house helps reduce cancer from the air. The experiment was conducted for many hours with some popular plants such as ivy, green grass, white pothos, ... the result was that plants clean the air best, when the rooms have ventilation systems, airy windows. By arranging like that can help remove stale air from closed, stuffy buildings.

Based on the slight reduction in “stale” air in the plant chamber, the researchers believe that the plants removed about 43 percent of all VOCs over the eight-hour test period, and nearly all three particularly harmful chemicals: alkanes (98 percent removed), benzene derivatives (86 percent), and cyclopentane (88 percent). The removal of these airborne contaminants, which can cause significant health effects, could have a significant impact on maintaining a healthy indoor environment, the team writes in their report.

Green trees are adding vitality to houses in the city. (Illustration photo - Source: PV)

In addition to arranging indoor plants, people need to pay attention to choosing safe plant varieties that are suitable for the family. Bill Wolverton, a NASA plant research scientist, shared that there are some types of indoor plants (balconies) that bring very good health benefits, such as pothos, ivy, aloe vera and orchids. Or citrus plants are ideal plants to grow indoors. When they bloom, the scent is extremely pleasant. For example, a small kumquat pot, a small lemon tree...

Coincidentally, these plants are suitable for the life of urban people in Vietnam. Because they have the ability to absorb moisture, the leaves contain a large amount of medicinal and antibacterial substances for the environment around the plant. In particular, these plants grow well in tropical climates, prefer water and shade, cannot withstand strong sunlight, and can still grow well when grown hydroponically.

In addition, these plants also have the effect of being used as perfect table decorations to attract the eyes and bring freshness to the space and absorb toxic gases such as cigarette smoke, engine exhaust, radiation from electronic devices, benzene gases...

However, although these plants have many uses, when planting, they should be kept out of reach of children and dogs and cats should be kept away. Because the sap still contains some mild toxins that can cause allergies, making animals and children dizzy and vomit.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/ngoi-nha-moi-ngay-mot-mau-xanh-post542395.html