Botanics – Trending in Green

Indoor plants have been ‘trending’ in a big way over the past couple of seasons and there is no sign of this slowing down in the near future…

BOTANICS is the term being used by interior guru’s when referring to the inclusion of indoor plants into living spaces. The concept behind the BOTANIC trend is that of getting closer to nature. It’s about embracing the earth, letting the outdoors in and aims to blur the lines between exteriors and interiors.

Current BOTANIC trends vary across the globe. In New Zealand the vibe is moody with dark green colours and natural, rugged containers and settings. Australia sees lush, green plants in the spotlight – moving away from colour and flowering plants, to stylish striking green plants with interesting textures and shapes.

Globally, succulents, cacti and terrariums remain in high demand, offering an affordable, easy, low maintenance way of adding interest to a room or quiet corner. If space allows, the more adventurous soul may opt for one, larger focal plant and palms with shapely fronds are at the forefront here. Groups of small similar pots with different plants offer a more subtle touch and as always, the recommendation is to go for three at a time.

BOTANICS also extends into the office environment. In fact, this trend is even more beneficial in artificial office environments when you consider the air-purifying abilities of indoor plants.

In 1984 NASA first published studies demonstrating that indoor plants have the ability to remove unwanted volatile organic compounds (VOC’s*) from the air. This opened the door for future research into the study of plants as air purifyers. Today indoor plants are recognised as natural air filters and are classified according to their air-filtering abilities**.
On a lighter note, one should always remember that when placing a plant in an indoor environment you are seperating it from all the things it really needs to thrive and grow best. All plants, are found naturally occuring where there is fresh air, sunlight and rain. Indoor plants are most commonly plants from subtropical climates where they have adapted to growing in low light conditions in the canopy undergrowth.

References:
*VOC’s include amongst others benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylen
**NASA Clean Air Study http://maison-orion.com/media/1837156-NASA-Indoor-Plants.pdf