Hug Your Houseplant, It’s National Indoor Plant Week!

Every year, the third week of September, is held the National Indoor Plant Week. In 2018, that’s from September 17 to 23. The event was established in 2007 to promote and increase public awareness of the importance of live plants in interior spaces. And I’m all for it. As an enthusiastic houseplant aficionado since my childhood (I wrote my first article about houseplants when I was 14!), houseplants are such a integral part of my life that I can’t imagine living without them.

Here’s an explanation from the people at nationalindoorplantweek.com.

What is National Indoor Plant Week? It’s a Celebration!!!

National Indoor Plant Week was established to increase public awareness of the importance of indoor plants and their many attributes. Only some of which include cleaning the air we breathe … we like to say, “The oxygen doesn’t arrive until the plants arrive.” Statistics have proven that indoor plants increase morale in the workplace and homes. The plant is such a miraculous living thing.

Real life office studies have been conducted to measure the direct relationship between clinical health, complaints and plant installations. Recorded health improvements in offices where interior plants were added were significant. Results show a large reduction among employees in the areas of fatigue, headache, coughs and their overall well-being rose dramatically.

Further, numerous studies have shown that plants have a positive psychological impact on people. According to a recent study, employees exposed to interior plant settings demonstrated better attitudes, positive emotions such as happiness, friendliness and assertiveness.

It’s a Celebration … So What Can You Do?

Industry professionals (interiorscapers, greenhouses, florists, etc.) can host a plant giveaway: they do that annually in various US cities (7,000 houseplants will be given away in Chicago alone this year!). Can you imagine the enthusiasm about houseplants that creates?

Individual gardeners can buy a new houseplant … or give one to a friend or neighbor.

Or give their current houseplants a bit of TLC. How about a nice shower to wash off dust and grime? Or repotting that plant you know needs it? And certainly, bring any that are outdoors for the summer back inside if you live in the Northern Hemisphere (yes, it’s that time of the year).

I don’t care how many houseplants you already have, growing plants is so good for us in so many ways that you really need more.

How about this for a logo, nationalindoorplantweek.com people? “You deserve a plant today!”