Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Please Don't Eat the Aloe

When Green Husband and I embarked on this journal called kids-dom, we immediately got rid of all our plants. We pictured tipping, and eating, and dirt-flinging. We got rid of my five foot cactus I'd had since college fearing impalement (unintentional).

But now Pip and Sprout are past that stage and so we say "Bring Back the Houseplants!" and it was done.

Why? Well, as Rebecca Kolls from the National Gardening Association reminds us, plants are nature's air filters. She even suggests ten plants for cleaning the air in your home:

Areca palm

Australian sword fern

Boston fern

Dwarf Date Palm (Not too sure about the rationale behind this one...)

English Ivy (Although, correct me if I'm wrong...isn't this an invasive non-native plant? Perhaps house bound in a pot it won't do much damage but I think I'll pass on this one)

Janet Craig dracaena Okay, at first I thought this was some sick reference to my weight loss resolutions but then I realized that that's JENNY Craig. Neeeevermind.

Peace lily

Reed palm

Rubber plant: "This plant does well in a variety of conditions, and is more likely to outgrow its home than die there." What the...?


Weeping fig
Ah. I've always had a fondness for the ficus.

Please note that I have not evaluated these suggestions for kid-friendly/pet-friendly-ness. Consider hanging plants or putting them up high to discourage paws and craws (hey, I like that one).

What's your favorite houseplant? And why. Discuss.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great idea:) and don't forget the aloe plant, some use the"goo" for burns. and i believe it is used by some as a hair conditioner.

Cupcake Mama said...

Looks like I'm not the only one looking to get some houseplants! Aloe is the only one I have right now...

Anonymous said...

It is amazing what these plants are capable of, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Love the idea of all the above mentioned plants - just never figured out how to keep them alive! Lucky I'm more conscientious where my children are concerned ;)