ICE, SNOW + ONLINE PLANT SHOPPING:

Why the room you’re in right now should have a plant

I’m sitting in my office with a view of gray sky and light rain. Temps are supposed to drop more than 30 degrees in the next 12 hours or so and everyone but school-aged kids (who might get a 2hr delay or cancellation) are bracing for some inevitable winter dread.

It’s no secret winter isn’t our favorite season. And yet, we’re embracing ways to make it work for us. We’re cleaning and organizing (we are not immune to a little Marie Kondo), doing some really exciting design changes you will notice (and love) immediately this spring, gathering some amazing indoor plants and investing in ways for you to shop them online and anytime.

Especially when it’s -11.

Designer green. Plants make a room.

We’re seeing more and more interior designers, architects and builders featuring plants in their designs. Check your Instagram feed and you’ll find local and national designers including green in almost every room.

They love the texture, the addition of natural elements (especially against clean, modern lines) and the pop of fresh green.

They clean the air.

You probably already know this, but plants clean the air we breathe and add moisture. The Money Plant, for example, removes chemicals and pollutants like benzene and formaldehyde from the air. And the Snake Plant, Orchids and Bromeliads are known for their nighttime oxygen production, along with the removal of toxic chemicals.

I personally love knowing this when our house is sealed like a Ziploc bag for months on end.

They make us happier.

This is not warm-and-fuzzy wishful thinking. Studies show that having potted plants and/or visible signs of nature at work, school and in hospitals is shown to improve well-being, reduce anxiety, even lower blood pressure.

Ok, and this is new to me, but plants have a microbe in their soil called M. vaccae (nicknamed ‘outdoorphins,’ get it?!) that works like a natural antidepressant to stimulate serotonin production. Green Prozac?!

You can buy them online and someone will bring them to your car.

We just started this a year or two ago because we wanted to make it even more convenient to pick up your plants. Especially when you’re on your way home from work or you have sleeping kids in the car.

Order online in the middle of the night, in your PJs, then give us a ring later when you’re pulling in to the parking lot, and we’ll run your plants to your car.

Of course you can always come in and we’d love you to, because there’s an entire conservatory filled to the brim with amazing plants of all sizes, in gorgeous containers and rustic vessels and we can talk you through watering, light exposure and more. Plus, you’ll just leave feeling inspired. I do everyday.

And in spring, you can order online and have your plants delivered and planted in your yard. So there’s that!

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Check out the plants we’re featuring online now and please stop in anytime. Here’s our winter store hours in case you do.