What to Consider Before Adding Greens to Your Home
Homeowners are going crazy over the concept of indoor planting, especially those whose homes don't have an extravagant backyard. With the many benefits of indoor plantings, such as growing herbs and refreshing your home’s air quality, many people opt for small indoor plants to place inside their homes. There are several things you need to take into consideration before you decide to be a plant parent. Here are some of them:
Do You Have the Available Space?
Like people, plants need some private space that is solely for them and shouldn't be invaded. Before buying an indoor plant, make sure you ask the nursery worker how much space is required. Vines or climbing plants require a wall for the trailing stems from ascending, while small succulents can even fit in a disposable glass. If you feel like you're running out of space, you can try hanging a small pot from the ceiling of your balcony with the help of a nail. Shelves can be a great place to put large plants because shelves do not consume much space, although you'll have to do something about a light source.
Are They Safe For Children and Pets?
Pets have a habit of sniffing or having a nibble of anything new that they come across. Some plants are toxic for the health and well-being of dogs, cats, and various other animals, and in the worst-case scenario, can even cause death. To prevent this from happening, you can go through the database of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). You can search up any plant and check whether it is harmful to any pet before bringing it home. Similarly, if you have small children at home, setting them on the floor can tempt the kids to dig through the soil, so a proper place for putting the plants has to be considered before bringing them home. Try the varieties that can be easily set on shelves and countertops. Trailing ivy, for instance, goes great with kitchen cabinets.
Have You Stocked Up on the Tools?
Just as you need a cleaning kit to tackle the dirt settled around your home, you can't make your home into an indoor garden without the right tools. Some of the important tools that you need to have before bringing home a plant are:
Can You Maintain Proper Humidity?
Maintaining proper humidity might be a challenge for some indoor gardeners. This issue is more pronounced in the winters as they are drier, especially with the central heating system turned on. If you observe that your indoor plants are losing their leaves or are becoming puckered, you can increase the humidity around them in several ways. There are special humidifiers for this purpose, but if you're not a fan of those, you can keep a tray of water near your plants. Keeping the plants closer to each other can create an effect that enhances the moisture level.
