The Power of Plants: did you know they can do this?

The title of this post is a little bit of a challenge: just how many health benefits can you think of that plants provide?

We can probably all name a few obvious ones quite easily. First up is the pleasure we get from seeing a beautiful flower or plant; they have a positive effect on our mood and can really help to cheer us up. Think about how lovely it feels to be given a bunch of flowers and you get the idea. Then there’s the impact plants can have inside our homes, giving colour and texture to a room and helping to keep the air clean. I find taking care of plants – gardening in other words – incredibly relaxing too; there’s something about the gentle cycle of sowing seeds, nurturing seedlings and looking after plants right through to flowering or harvest that is just so calming. If I’m feeling strung out or unable to focus my thoughts, it’s plants and gardening that sort me out, every time!

So that’s a few health benefits that plants can help provide, but there are so many more. I’ve just come across this brilliant infographic from Serenata Flowers which rounds up some impressive – and probably surprising – powers that plants possess. See how many you already knew!

That’s quite an extraordinary list for the humble plant family isn’t it? When you see all those benefits together in one place it’s a very powerful argument for introducing more plants into our homes and gardens; I particularly love the idea of plants making you more productive and helping you sleep better. All in all, it’s a perfect excuse to buy some lovely new specimens – I think a trip to the garden centre is imminent!

What health benefits do plants have for you?