Although we aren’t sure exactly why, many of us feel that having some plants around us is fundamentally a good thing. As it turns out, we’re on the right track. We are also in the company of some very smart people, because when I started delving into the world of houseplants, my research led me to a rather surprising place: NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
Indoor plants have been given space-age levels of consideration since the 1980s, when a team of NASA scientists, led by Dr Bill Wolverton, undertook a Clean Air Study to look at ways of tackling the newly observed phenomenon of ‘sick building syndrome’ (SBS). This can occur when a building is sealed too well and pollutants, released by carpets, furniture and even cleaning products, build up and get trapped inside. Think of it as being inside a space rocket without the breathing apparatus.
Get some leafy Zen