Purify your home through plants this winter

By Margaret Griffin

With the long evenings, we naturally are spending more time indoors in our homes and office.

The easiest way to improve our health, mood and mental health during the winter months is to have houseplants in most of our rooms and also to get outdoors when possible.

A house plant can make all the difference to the air we breathe indoors. They work hard at cleaning our air of these toxins and releasing humidity back into the atmosphere.

In fact, there are many health benefits to being near plants. To help you choose the right plant, here are our top air-purifying plants that will clean your air.

Anthurium signifies long lasting love and friendship. It brings luck in your relationships. It's one of the best houseplants to have in your home. The anthurium adds a dash of luxury to your house. Combined with the glossy high quality colored pots, it truly creates an amazing environment in your house.

Anthurium’s bright blooms and shiny, deep green leaves bring colour and life to cramped rooms. Exotic and compelling, with bold, typically red or pink flowers and shiny, dark green foliage, anthurium are long-lasting and irresistibly beautiful. Anthuriums are relatively easy to grow, have attractive foliage and under the proper environment, produce long lasting flowers year round. If you decide to grow this houseplant, be sure you give it plenty of indirect light.

The blooms love to soak in the rays, and you’ll be rewarded through their beauty.

The important part about this houseplant is that it prefers high-humidity environments. So make sure you mist it on a regular basis. Keeping a plant such as anthurium where you live and study improves mood and promotes increased goal achievement, according to studies by the American Horticultural Therapy Association.

While this slow-growing shrub can get quite tall, it's relatively compact and will make the most out of whatever floor space you can offer it. For best results, keep one in a room with high ceilings and moderate sunlight, and water occasionally.

Its red-trimmed leaves will deliver a dose of unexpected colour. This plant will take care of gases released by xylene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde, which can be introduced by lacquers, varnishes, and sealers.

Kentia palms are a popular plant and it’s easy to see why. Also known as the howea, is a beautiful fresh green palm with a tropical background. It is not only stylish, it also makes you feel good. The kentia palm is an easy plant, which regularly grows new light green leaves from the heart of the plant. These leaves produce oxygen and clean air in the home. The kentia palm is therefore a plant to embrace.

It's a strong plant and is happiest in a spot without direct sunlight, in part shade. The plant copes well with dry air and watering once a week is plenty. It is important that the water it doesn’t require can drain away, otherwise the roots could start rotting. You can add a bit of plant food to the water in the spring and summer.

For a peaceful coexistence with a bedroom houseplant, choose peace lily. This easy-to-grow gem lends a tropical feel to the room. Its glossy green pointed leaves grow with little care. Groom by removing any browned leaves or leaf tips. Depending on the size of your plant, you can grow it as a floor plant or on a tabletop.

Peace lilies make excellent houseplants for the home or office. These lovely plants not only brighten up a living space, but are also excellent at cleaning the air of the room they are in. Like many popular indoor plants, peace lilies enjoy medium to low light. Since the wide leaves on peace lilies tend to be a dust magnet, you should either wash or wipe down the leaves at least once a year.

It might just be one of the hardest working houseplants going. Not only is the sticky gel found inside the aloe vera plant great for applying to insect bites and sunburn, it naturally cleanses the air as it grows in its pot.

According to experts, a pot of aloe is better than nine air purifiers. Put a pot of aloe in a room under 24 hour light irradiation, the plant can remove 90 per cent of the formaldehyde in the air. Moreover, it can eliminate harmful microorganisms and absorb dust in the air.

The plant was found to be especially good at filtering out formaldehyde over a continuous period of time.

These plants are particularly good choices for your home because they remove carbon dioxide and release oxygen at night.

All computers emit radiation or electromagnetic fields on many different frequencies. A cactus plant helps absorb some of this radiation. For a happier healthier and prettier work space, place a cactus on your desk.

The countdown to Christmas is definitely on as Griffins lights up its Christmas lights on Saturday 23 November. The festivities begin at 4pm with the lights being switched on at 5pm. Join us at Griffins for this free event with our dear friends Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and the Cobh Animation Team.