Indoor Plants

There’s nothing worse than drab, dreary office spaces – they sap your drive and leave you feeling miserable, particularly when the sun’s blazing down outside, and you know that you could be out in the fresh air, enjoying our short-lived Michigan summer.

Luckily there’s a foolproof antidote: You just have to bring the greenery indoors. Numerous studies have shown that building yourself a little ‘office garden’ on your desk can  help to boost your mood and enhance your productivity (which is a great argument if your boss asks about your new project!)

Thanks to research carried out by NASA, we also know that a few carefully-chosen plants can boost the air quality in your office space too – scrubbing out damaging pollutants from nearby roads and mopping up the unwanted contaminants that build up in poorly-vented indoor spaces so that you can breathe fresher healthier air.

And if you’re worried that you won’t have time to look after an indoor garden, you’ll be pleased to know that most indoor plants are much hardier than their outdoor cousins. It’s rare for them to need watering more than once or twice a week and you don’t really have to worry about things like soil quality or pest control.

There are plenty of different ways to display them too – you could pick a set of matching ceramic planters, some chic aluminum pots, or a geometric glass terrarium with a black or gold frame if you’re looking for a real showstopper.  

To help you get started on the ultimate office garden, we’ve pulled together a list of our four favorite indoor plants, plus some top tips on planting and maintenance to ensure that your new friends can really thrive.

1. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

Unlike its much-abhorred namesake, the spider plant is a surprisingly pretty little houseplant with long, dangling fronds and delicate little flowers that bloom intermittently. The spider plant thrives in indirect sunlight, which makes it a perfect choice for your desk, and it’s known to filter formaldehyde from the atmosphere which makes it a great antidote to the harsh chemicals used to clean most office spaces

If you do decide to keep a spider plant, remember that they really don’t need much maintenance at all. Just make sure that the soil is kept moist (but not wet) and feed them once or twice a year.

2. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)

Boston ferns are beautiful; their long, spindly fronds have a habit of cascading in the most picturesque ways, and their deep, vibrant coloring always livens up a room. They are easy to keep too; they don’t need direct sunlight, and they don’t mind too much if you forget to water them.

They do quite like humidity though, so if you’re planning on opting for a Boston fern, do try and spritz its leaves with water once or twice a week!

3. Snake Plant (Sansevieria)

Snake plant a succulent, which means that it’s really, really hard to kill. Its leaves have a thick, waxy coating that helps to lock in moisture, and it’s more than capable of surviving in low light conditions, which makes it a perfect match for small cubicles or desks that aren’t directly in view of a window.

The only thing to watch for here is over-watering – believe it or not, snake plants only need to be watered once every two to three weeks, and even then you should only really be wetting the top of the soil. Anything more and you run the risk of drowning your plant, and that won’t do much to boost office morale!

4. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum)

One of NASA’s top picks, Chinese evergreen is known to act as a filter for benzene and other, unpleasant airborne chemicals, which makes it a great way to make sure that you’re breathing clean air while you are at work. Chinese Evergreen is also blessed with some of the most vivid and enticing colorings that we’ve ever seen; green leaves shot through with red or silver veins that are sure to turn heads.

Fortunately, Chinese evergreen is nice and easy to look after too – Like the Boston fern, it needs to be spritzed with water once or twice a week and watered properly at least once a week, but it doesn’t need anything else to flourish.

Hopefully, this list has helped to get your creative juices flowing, but if you do have any questions about starting an office garden, or want to know more about keeping healthy indoor plants, we’re always happy to chat!

We can be reached via the contact form right here on our site, or you can drop by in person so that we can talk face to face. We’re always really keen to spread knowledge and awareness about the benefits of bringing nature inside and we can’t wait to hear from you!