4/1/2018
Promoting Their Power
Ellen C. Wells
If houseplants had their own movie, crassulas would be wearing capes, ficus would fly and spider plants would take the leading role as Spider-Man. Houseplants are superheroes, after all. They remove volatile organic compounds from the air, increase humidity and stabilize carbon dioxide levels. Houseplants even help humans in distress by triggering physiological and psychological relaxation responses. Pow! Take that, stress!
Granted, houseplants are viewed more as Clark Kents than as Men of Steel. But the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) wants to expose these undercover crusaders for what they are: living things that can create healthy environments indoors.
The Foliar Four
NICH created a series of infographics called #PlantsDoThat Inside to communicate how indoor plants impact four interior arenas of human activity: where we live, work, heal and learn. The 4-part series was developed from a scientific literature review by Texas A&M professor Dr. Charlie Hall of and his students, and the infographics themselves were designed by Jennifer Gray, AmericanHort and the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI).“We envision this series of infographics as tools to promote the power of indoor plants,” says Debbie Hamrick, NICH Economic Committee chair. “We want to raise awareness of the positive benefits of plants in our everyday lives.”
Here are the four infographics with a few benefits of each:
Where We Live
• Rooms with plants have fewer pollutants
• Plants in homes increase humidity by 10%
• Plants link us to nature
Where We Learn
• Plants help improve test scores
• Plants lessen symptoms of ADD
• Kids take fewer sick days
Where We Heal
• Patients go home sooner
• Patients are less fatigued
• Plants lowered patient blood pressure
Where We Work
• Office workers feel more creative and productive
• Plants put workers in better moods
• Office plants reduce eye strain
Download each of the four infographic images from www.consumerhort.org/plantsdothat and display on your website, social media accounts or as posters within your houseplant department. GP
