How to Discover Your Green Personality
It’s no secret spending time with nature can lower stress and lead to a happier life. But sometimes people don’t know where to start. They feel overwhelmed by all the choices and unsure what to do. What’s more, a lot of folks have hardly spent time with nature. Maybe this is you. If so, there’s good news. You can discover your green personality regardless. All it takes is a little self-exploration. Exploring Your History With Nature Let’s start with my Green Personality exercise from Leaf Your Troubles Behind. The first…
Green Scene of the Day: Relaxing Summer Blooms
For today’s green scene of the day, I’ve chosen an image from my garden. My Crispa spiraea (Spiraea x bumalda ‘Crispa’) is an unusual spiraea because it grows these crinkly, toothy leaves, which is very unlike a spiraea. But what it shares with other spiraeas are those gorgeous summer blooms. Butterflies love their flat umbels. I also find this shrub sooo alluring. Plants Popping Through Each Other The spiraea all by itself is pretty darn cool but my peach Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria) are pretty heavenly too. They often poke through…
The Four Surprising Physical Benefits of House Plants
It’s January and we’re spending lots of time indoors. That means artificial heat, little daylight, and more inhalation of polluted air that contains volatile organic compounds. The first two conditions lead to drier skin and lowered immunity against diseases like colds and the flu. The third, inhalation of VOCs, can lead to respiratory issues, headaches, dizziness, hormone disruption, and even organ damage and cancer. VOCs are nasty. They’re the toxic fumes and dust emitted via gases from furniture, carpets, paint, and plastics. We can’t see or smell them. They’re barely…
Why Do Plants Make Us Happier? Five Fascinating Reasons
When I was a professional gardener, I made a lot of people happy by helping them with their gardens. Usually, I either created and installed a new garden or maintained the one they already had. Regardless, after my work was finished, my clients often told me their garden was their happy place. It relieved them from stress. Reset their energy. I understood this since my own garden made me happy too, even when there was a lot of work to do. So I started to wonder: why exactly did plants…
My First Nonfiction Book Explores How to be Happy Through Plants!
Hi everyone, You may have noticed that last year I got interested in the mental health benefits of plants. I spent a bunch of time reading up on the latest science to see if a theory I’ve had for a while held any water. Mainly, that plants can help us be happier even if you don’t have a garden. What I found impressed me. The short answer is yes but how you go about engaging with plants makes all the difference. It’s not like you can say “good morning” to…
