Blog Post

Green up your home

Colin Shivley • Mar 11, 2020

Indoor Greenery

In a forest of concrete, steel and brick; it can be hard to find nature in a city. While Chicagoans have a plethora of open parks to enjoy during the warmer months we are often left with grey skies and dark apartments during the long winter months. Don’t fret though; even if your apartment doesn’t get pristine sun-exposure; there are several indoor house plants to help bring color and variety to the overly grey-winter (and they are safe for the cats as well). Not only will these help wash away the winter blues but will help refresh the air and bring some color inside.

Potentially one of the most well-known house plants is the Boston Fern. This classic plant is perfect for apartments with northern or southern exposures. This fern flourish with indirect light and moderate humidity and is widely considered to be an exceptional air purifier. As it is an evergreen plant, it will remove toxins from the air and naturally replenish the surrounding moisture.

Keeping on par with easy to maintain and pet-friendly greenery; the Chlorophytum (better known as the Spider Plant) is a power house when it comes to apartment living. It’s draping foliage is ideal for hanging and can remove up to 90% of formaldehyde in the air per a NASA testing. One or two of these hanging beauties will add a nice touch to less than sunny day. They are easy to maintain and cultivate with the numerous shoots it grows.

To add some color variety to greyness of winter; look no further than the African Violet. This sturdy and well-adapted houseplant thrives in similar indoor environments that humans enjoy such as indirect light, average humidity and normal temperatures. They bloom in a variety of colors such as red, white, lavender, blue, etc with both the flower and plant being non-toxic to the pets. This plant is a year-round bloomer so grab a few to always have a splash of color amongst the green.

It is true these are all cat-friendly in case they get too curious and do a taste test; but the best way to give them the feel of the outdoors is growing cat grass. This multi-seed grass is usually comprised of rye, barley, or wheat grass that are all non-toxic and alluring to the felines. Easy and fast to grow, this grass is the perfect healthy addition for your home and is a reminder that you can be walking barefoot through grass in the coming months.
Indoor gardening is a growing trend as more and more adults become renters and one doesn’t need a green thumb to get involved. By starting with these low-maintenance and well-adjusted plants, anyone can bring an indoor paradise to life for human and pets.

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