THE WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL

by **Paul** Wed 10 Jan 2024, 7:48 am

National Houseplant Appreciation Day
Houseplant Appreciation Day on January 10 is the perfect chance for you to brighten up your house with a lovely plant that you can enjoy all year long

By mid-January, most of our various holiday decorations and Christmas trees have made their way out of our homes. Houseplant Appreciation Day is on January 10 every year, and it reminds us that we don’t have to lose the freshness and vibrancy that plants bring to our homes just because the holidays have drawn to a close. If you have the post-holiday blues, this is the perfect chance for you to brighten up your house with a lovely plant that you can enjoy all year long. But houseplants do more than just bring a splash of green into our homes, and National Houseplant Appreciation Day is all about raising awareness of the numerous benefits of tending an indoor plant. Houseplants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen for us to breathe, improving the air quality in your home. Plants also release moisture into the air, conditioning it with refreshing humidity that can actually make your house feel cooler! What’s more, many houseplants are easy to care for and have an array of household uses that help you save money. Whether your green thumb has driven you to amass an impressive indoor garden or you’re just kicking around the idea of a low-maintenance cactus for your desk, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and join us in bringing the outdoors inside on National Houseplant Appreciation Day.

HOUSEPLANT APPRECIATION DAY ACTIVITIES

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Get a houseplant —and appreciate it

After the wreaths and holly of the holidays, our wintertime houses can seem a little dreary. National Houseplant Appreciation Day is the perfect opportunity to pick up some greenery that will brighten up your home year-round. If you already have a houseplant, try moving it to a new place in your home. The change will refresh your attention so you can appreciate your plant more. Just make sure the plant's new position gets the same amount of light!

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Decorate your houseplant

The holiday season is over, butyou can still enjoy a decorated plant in your home. Put your houseplant in an eye-catching place and spruce it up (no pun intended). If your plant is sturdy enough, you can hang beads, ornaments, or even jewelry from it. For more flexible plants, try crepe paper or ribbon, and on non-edible plants, tinsel or glitter make fun alternatives. Worried about damaging your houseplant? Decorate the dirt at the base of your plant with plastic cake decorations, or give the outside of the soil pot a makeover.

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Visit a plant nursery

There are plenty of baby plants in grocery stores that are looking for a good home, but the folks at a nursery will be able to help you pick a houseplant that is right for you. All plants need sunlight, water, and nutrients; however, the amount of each differs between plants. A sunny window ledge with daily water is perfect for certain plants, while others prefer more dappled sunlight and water once a week. With an idea of where you'd like to put your plant and how often you'd like to care for it, the experts at your local nursery will be able to match you up with the perfect houseplant.

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WHY WE LOVE HOUSEPLANT APPRECIATION DAY

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Theyproduce oxygen

They may seem small, but houseplants can contribute a surprising amount of fresh oxygen into the air. Even better, they produce that oxygen with the carbon dioxide we exhale. They refresh our air like little...well, recycling plants. Interestingly, all plants and animals have a metabolism that burns oxygen for energy, but during the day plants can use their green pigment to convert sunlight into a kind of energy they can store for later. The byproduct is oxygen, which they release into the air for us to breathe.

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We can use them

Many edible plants can be grown indoors, from small herbs in window boxes to proud citrus trees in mighty pots. Aside from the obvious benefits of growing your own food, it just feels good to be able to utilize the plants you've been tending in your home. There are some non-edible houseplants with uses too, such as the aloe vera plant, whose thick pointy leaves can be snapped open and squeezed onto minor burns, scrapes, and even sunburned skin. It also can be usedas a natural eye makeup remover, shaving cream, and even as a cure for bad breath.

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They cool the air

That refreshing plant smell isn't just oxygen. Believe it or not, a houseplant will actually reduce the air temperature in your home. Plants produce humidity as well as oxygen, and this added moisture cools the air. Some plants produce more humidity than others, so you can pick a plant that conditions the air just the way you like it. As a general rule, desert plants produce less humidity than tropicalplants. Temperate plants vary in the amount of moisture they release into your home, while flowers and other scented plants release odor particles as well.

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