Indoor Plants

As winter comes, more of us may be staying inside a little more often. A great idea for the indoor months: potted plants!

LiveScience's article The Environmental Impact of Indoor Plants tells us why.

The primary reason is "phytoremediation, or using plants to remove and retain toxins. This is where toxins like carbon monoxide, some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or even cyanide might be absorbed and converted by the plant, while heavy metals are absorbed and retained in the plant. Indoor plants can be great at absorbing VOCs from paint or cleaning supplies so you aren't inhaling them."

Ben and I like to try to have a potted plant or two in every room where we spend a lot of time. We have six broccoli plants going in the bedroom; an ivy and some cat grass in the den; an aloe vera in Ben's office; and mint (and more cat grass...) in the guest bath. Not that hard. Especially if you grow useful plants like the mint, brocolli, and cat grass, or desert plants like the aloe vera (I can't even tell you the last time we watered that thing, but it's growing strong.)

Give it a try. Comment to let us all know which plants are easy and which are hard. And let us know if you have any problems.

[Thanks, Eric, for sharing the original article with me!]