I am marrying a man who knows how to work a houseplant. It is, as the Victorians might have termed, an extremely advantageous match. Why? Because I once kept a ficus tree in the same pot for 13 years and possess plant nurturing skills that work like a bottle of Raid on an ant farm. But now I’ve “landed” (now it’s the early 1960s, stay with me) a man with a green thumb. So I can literally breathe easier.

Why? Because as NASA points out, there are plants you can place about your abode that will literally help you breathe – cleaner air, that is. According to a NASA study, “certain common indoor plants may provide a natural way of removing toxic agents such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the air, helping neutralize the effects of sick building syndrome.” Sick building syndrome is when a combination of causes lead to unhealthy air in the workplace.

Some plants are better than others at cleaning the air. As we have already reported, houseplants can contribute to a reduction in eye irritation by 52 percent, respiratory problems by 34 percent and headaches by 24 percent. (Also check out our look at the ten easiest houseplants to grow.) But want to know the best plants to clean the air?

Boston Fern

The Boston Fern is apparently the best plant for removing toxins from the room. It is one of the most efficient air-filtering plants. Plus its prehistoric look will contribute to Fred Flintstone daydreams while you are working.

Gerbera Daisy

Gerbera daisies are not only stylish and pretty – they are one of the most effective plants in removing trichloroethylene concentrations from the air. Trichloroethylene is a “commercial product that has a wide variety of industrial uses. It is used in some printing inks, paints, lacquers, varnishes and adhesives.”

Areca Palm

This plant is also known as the “most efficient air humidifier.” Why? It gives off large amounts of water into the air while removing chemical toxins. A six-foot palm releases up to one liter of water a day. You can leave your humidifier in the closet all winter with a few of these plants.

Green Spider Plant

This is one of the top plants to remove concentrations of formaldehyde in the air, making it a superhero of plants. And formaldehyde is all over your house. It is in “foam insulation, particle board or pressed-wood products. Consumer paper products, including grocery bags, waxed paper, facial tissue and paper towels, are treated with urea formaldehyde resins. Many household cleaning agents contain formaldehyde.”

Peace Lily

Want to remove benzene concentrations from the air? Then peace out with the peace lily. Benzene is a “commonly used solvent in such items as gasoline, inks, oils, paint, plastic and rubber. Furthermore, it is used in the manufacture of detergents, explosives, pharmaceuticals and dyes.”

Dracaena

The Dracaena, also known as the Janet Craig, is sometimes called a clean air machine. It is quick to start working, so it is a good choice if you want clean air fast.

English Ivy

English Ivy is a great choice for someone with allergies. After 12 hours in a room, it can remove up to 78 percent of airborne mold and 94 percent of airborne feces. But it is toxic if ingested, to make sure it is out of reach of pets and kids.

Images:

Yandle, Boston Fern, Gerbera Daisy, Acera Palm , Green Spider Plant , Peace Lily, Dracaena, English Ivy

The post Breathe Cleaner Air With These 7 Houseplants appeared first on EcoSalon.

Who says you need a sprawling patch of open lawn to get your green thumb groove on? Dump all your old LPs and college text books out of those milk crates, grab some soil and seeds and get planting. You don’t need a ton of space to grow some tomatoes and tasty pesto herbs, just a warm bright area to stash your crate o’dirt.

Eco blog Re-Nest sings the virtues of milk crate urban container gardening. They point to clever post over at Instructables which details how the 14×14 plastic cubes we know and love make great – if not particularly attractive – makeshift gardens. Line them with weed block, dump in some soil, add seeds, and let Mother Nature do her thing.

You don’t have to be short on space to try your hand at container gardening. It’s also a great way to jump start seedlings in the house while you wait for a cold snap to pass, or want to grow crawling plants without risking that they’ll take over your entire garden.

For a unique twist on stacked milk crate gardens, take a look at this homeowner who built a vertical garden that doubles as a privacy fence. Visually appealing organic gardening with upcycled resources – now that’s what we’re talking about!

Image: theihno

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First our gardens stretched horizontally (quite popular, that technique) – and then we had the vertical variety. What’s between the two?

If Chicago decor designers Unison have their way, diagonal gardening is the next big thing, and very clever it is, too. Riffing wildly on the millenia-old designs of terraces and ladders, the Kiikku Planter is a tiered walnut frame you prop against one wall and fill with pots of your favourite foliage. It uses your room’s vertical space, but keeps each plant separate from its neighbors, allowing easy tending and encouraging riotous growth.

Next up: How about larger-scale versions for the outside of our houses, maybe with ladders built into them? Perfect – except that popular culture seems keen to throw a spanner into the works. (Unlucky, Unison).

Image: Unison via Re-Nest

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Organic, textural and highly ornamental, cabbage is an ideal crop to plant in your garden during those fall and winter months when falling leaves can be the only color abundant in the garden.

Planting rows of the cabbage was a great solution for my own raised veggie bed (below), which is very challenging to maintain this time of year. I long for pumpkins but we never seem to get them going in time.

A garden designer friend suggested the purple, low-water use option of the Cruciferea family (from the same family as cauliflower, broccoli, kale, collards and Brussels Sprouts) as a way to fill in the blank bed.

I love how they look, rather modern and clean as a design feature, plus, they actually like living in my San Francisco yard (not one has complained about the morning fog).

As a cool season crop with color that can be enhanced by cold weather, they can tolerate chillier temperatures of nearly 32 degrees, according to Vegetable Garden Suite 101. You can keep them as a lovely design feature, or cook them in a variety of dishes, from savory soups to simple steamed side dishes and  wonderful, healthy slaws.

Still, many prefer ornamental cabbage and kale as low water use plants rather than food, finding other members of the family of plants are much more tasty as food crops.

Apparently, the cabbage originated as a wild crop along the Mediterranean and Western Europe where it was used medicinally, and was one of the first Cruciferea crops to be domesticated some 2,000 years ago. Part of the popularity is the fact ornamental varieties need virtually no maintenance.

There are many sites for buying the flowering cabbage seeds, including Park Seed and  Neseed, or you can find them at a local nursery that deals in organic plants.

Park Seed recommends starting the seeds indoors and covering them very lightly before transplanting when the leaves begin to shoot.  The color evolves around 3 1/2 months from sowing to form a rosette of colorful leaves with cream rose, pink and purple shades, 10 inches high and 12 inches wide. To dig up hints and growing rich and ruffly cabbage as borders or in containers, visit Garden Blaze.

Tell them Peter Rabbit sent you!

Main Image: Raelene G

Image One: Luanne Bradley

Image Two: Garden Blaze

The post Autumn Cabbage: Pretty and Edible Outdoor Decor appeared first on EcoSalon.

Need some plants for your wall? These Green Pockets by Maruja Fuentes are mounted tiles made from recycled materials that elevate the houseplant to new heights.

Fuentes says the tiles fuse nature with the interior space, improving both air quality and health. The goal is to create the the illusion that the plants are actually growing from the wall installations.  The unique shape allows the sculpted half-domes to interlock, resulting in a variety of  patterns depending on the vegetation planted.

Image: Mocoloco

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