with a new house in the works and a baby on the way, i’ve been doing everything i can to make sure our new place will be green and healthy. one of my most biggest concerns has been to reduce the level of toxins in the new home, especially since we’re planning on doing a few renovations (a big no-no when you’re pregnant, apparently!). if we could afford it, we would just install the greenest materials known to man. you know, like 100% wool carpet, pure bamboo floors with no adhesives and locally crafted cabinets. since that’s not possible for us though, i’ve looked into some other things we can do to make sure our space remains healthy. we’re planning on installing the most eco-friendly wares we can afford, and then supplement those with organic products, healthy alternatives and air filtering plants.

i’ve known for a long time that plants can filter our air, but it wasn’t until recently that i discovered just how much. according to this study by NASA, the top ten air filtering plants (above) remove 90% of formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene within 24 hours. 24 hours!

another study shows that one 6″ houseplant per 100 square feet of living area will be sufficient at filtering out the pollutants. and, the more vigorous the plant, the more air it can filter. so keep those plants pruned and watered! the plants filter the air by breaking down indoor pollutants and absorbing the chemicals through their leaves. the bacteria associated with the roots help break down contaminants which are then taken up as nutrients. so amazing, right?!

i was so excited when i learned this! usually our homes are the most toxic areas since they are usually kept closed up. with so many VOCs floating around, the air inside our homes is usually much more toxic than the air outside. since it’s the place where we spend the majority of our time, i want to do everything i can to make sure our space is as healthy as possible.

i’ve got some really neat plans on how to incorporate many of these air filtering plants into our new home, so stay tuned! i can’t wait to share them with you. :)

interested in learning more? check out this list of air filtering plants and this book on how to grow fresh air.

wrap up: {10} {air filter} {benzene} {carbon monoxide} {formaldehyde} {home} {nasa} {plants} {research} {study}

one day, i will have a little greenhouse in my garden. it will double as a quite getaway and support all kinds of growth, both naturally and spiritually. below are a few that my dreams find especially inspiring!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8| 9

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unconventional greenhouses and beautiful gardens galore are what you’ll find in jeremy miranda’s shop and on his website and blog. the way he lights these warm-summery-night-greenhouses up from the inside, seem to deeply draw me in to each of his paintings. with warm muted colors and striking emeralds and olive tones, i long to visit such peaceful planthouse.

wrap up: {art} {garden} {greenhouse} {jeremy miranda} {painting} {plants}

happy monday, friends! if you’ve been around here for a while, you know i love terrariums. unfortunately, i’ve learned the hard way about which plants do and don’t survive in this type of climate! (let’s just say mine once started growing mushrooms.. ) in efforts of helping you skip the trial and error phase, i thought you might find this article helpful. better homes and gardens recently published an article about which plants work best for terrariums, and i’ve summed them up in an easy to view table below (you can read the bhg article for more details!).

(click on the image to make it bigger)

as pictured above:

1. peperomia caperata ‘variegata’
2. cryptanthus bivittatus
3. arachnoides simplicior ‘variegata’
4. pilea involucrata ‘moon valley’
5. selaginella kraussiana ‘aurea’
6. tillandsia stricta
7. acorus gramineus ‘minimus aureus’
8. ophiopogon planiscapus ‘nigrescens’
9. asplenium bulbiferum
10. saxifraga stolonifera
11. fittonia verschaffeltii var. argyroneura

happy terrarium-ing!

all images via better homes and garden

wrap up: {air plant} {best} {garden} {grow} {plants} {terrariums}

in sasha prood’s artwork and typography, you’ll find animals, plants and roots of all kinds (my favorite!). i recently discovered her beautiful work on dearest nature (a new blog that i’m quickly becoming addicted to) and seriously fell in love with her delicate illustrations of the natural world around us. sasha creates all of her work using pen, pencil and watercolor and has a portfolio that i’m pretty sure i could look at forever. i hope you’ll be inspired by her lovely work!

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many of you know, i’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to house plants. i wouldn’t say it’s a jungle in here, but i love decorating with unusual plants. it brings a sense of the outdoors inside, freshens up the space and gives a good punch of color to the decor. little did i know, the benefits to keeping a few house plants are immense! after doing a little research, here are a few of my favorite benefits.

- plants can help fight colds: indoor plants have been shown to reduce cold-related illnesses by more than 30% (wow!)- mainly due to their effect of increasing humidity levels and decreasing dust (a whole different favorite benefit!).

- plants help to remove airborne contaminants: as we breathe the same air again and again (potentially inhaling harmful substances that are trapped inside), indoor plants help to remove pollutants including, VOCs, formaldehyde and more!

- plants can just flat-out make you happy: keeping plants inside can reduce stress and contribute to a feeling of well-being, making you calmer and more optimistic. studies have even shown that patients who face a garden view in their hospital rooms often recover more quickly than those facing a wall.

- plants can help to decrease your blood pressure: people with plants in their homes have less stress, which directly contributes to a lower blood pressure.

- plants can offer healing treatments: some indoor plants, like aloe, can be applied to skin and offer pain relief.

- plants can prevent allergies: exposing children to plants early in life can help them build a tolerance and immunity to that allergen. it basically works like a custom allergy shot, naturally.

- plants can make your brain work better: potted plants and flowers can improve your idea generation, mood, and more (i recommend having some right next to your creative work space!).

- plants provide clean air: in addition to filtering chemicals, plants also put out clean air, improving the air quality around them, ahhhh.

- plants help to clear congestion: eucalyptus especially can help clear phlegm and congestion from your system (eucalyptus is often found in congestion remedies, as well).

- plants are natural humidifiers: save some money and instead of buying a humidifier machine, just bring in a plant or two!

to see more of my indoor plants, you can read about how i made my diy terrariums, how i like to plot my planters and yes, how i even went a little plant crazy.

for further juicy reads on the benefits of having indoor plants, here are a few nifty articles: health benefits to house plants, eliminate indoor pollutants, benefits to indoor plants, nasa research of plants, green plant benefits and the best plants for improving indoor air quality.

wrap up: {benefits} {flowers} {garden} {greens} {house} {indoor} {plants} {potted} {wintry greens}

has your breath been taken away yet? when brittany broas of homeground sent me her new greenhouse collection, i was speechless. not only is it one of the most unique and beautiful jewelry collections i’ve seen, but the photography and vision behind the pieces are so stunning, don’t you think? i feel like i’m walking right in the greenhouse with her, with a delicate necklace or bracelet just dripping from around my neck and wrist. inspired by her favorite local greenhouse, i think these pieces are just as lovely and colorful as the plants that surround them.

make sure to visit brittany’s beautiful blog and website to shop around, then head over to her facebook page to see more of her beautiful work!

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{tiarella}

today i will walk to my grandmother’s house for a visit. she’ll be turning 89 this october and she is so exuberantly full of life. her favorite color is blue and she will undoubtedly be wearing several different shades of it today. we will spend the afternoon together with the air cut off, the curtains drawn and the windows open. we will talk about family, the past and also the future. she will show me around all of her house plants (some 97 and counting), some dating back to 50 years old or more. she will share with me some lemons from her lemon tree that she ever so carefully moves inside and out each season, self pollinating it with a paint brush every year. she will show me her ever so fragile tomato seedlings that she’s started on the heat bed that my grandfather built her some ten years ago before he passed away. we will almost certainly play a game of skip-bo and sip on a can of dr. pepper through a salvaged straw she’s saved from eating out. this will be the only soda i drink until we meet again. we will talk about life, love and prayer. though she’s in excellent health, not being around her is one of the hardest things about not living here anymore. i can’t bare to think that i’m missing out on the simple joys of her life like the ones above. but that’s what makes days like this so special.

wrap up: {family} {flowers} {grandmother} {plants}