THE NEW YORK TIMES – I was on the phone with a friend the other day, and because I can’t sit still, I started to dust the leaves on my sprawling bird of paradise plant.
This is nice, I thought, gently swabbing the plant while I chatted away in my living room. As the sun bathed each shining leaf, I grew more peaceful. I felt like climbing into the pot and roosting for a while.
Immersing yourself in nature is good for you. Being outdoors has been shown to improve your mood, concentration and mental health, among other things. But indoor green spaces, even small ones, have benefits for our physical and mental well-being, too.
Viewing nature indoors, one review of the scientific literature suggested, can lower your heart rate and blood pressure. The presence of plants in a hospital room has been shown to reduce pain and anxiety in patients.
Since we spend around 90 percent of our time indoors, I asked experts for ways to bring nature into our homes and work spaces.
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New to indoor gardening? Start with these three plants.
If you’re a beginner, some of the best houseplants are pothos, a ZZ plant and a snake plant, said Christopher Griffin, known on social media as Plant Kween and the author of “You Grow, Gurl.”
They’re easy to find, they have distinct personalities, and “generally, they are on the easier side of care,” said Griffin, who uses they/them pronouns. “That doesn’t mean that you won’t send them to that little botanical garden in the sky.”
It’s trial and error, they added, admitting to a “complicated relationship” with ferns. “You’ve got to give yourself grace when it comes to plants.”
You can also start small by growing some fragrant herbs inside, like rosemary, lavender and mint …