Houseplants are beautiful and, in recent times, an Instagrammable addition to our homes. Lush green leaves have a calming presence in our living space and they are fantastic for both our physical and mental health. In a fast-paced and technology focused world, bringing nature indoors can do wonders for our minds.

On social media we see many interior design and plant stylist accounts showing us how to best decorate our homes with plants and plenty of information on how not to kill your houseplants. For advice on caring for indoor and outdoor plants and lots of houseplant inspo, Instagram accounts such as Joe Bagley's UK House Plants and A Small Green Shoot are perfect. We also love Cloud Gardener UK, Jason is a multi-award-winning garden designer who has created a full and beautiful garden on his 18th storey balcony in Manchester. His apartment is home to 150 houseplants and there are 100 containers in his cloud garden, it even has its own mini fish pond! A true inspiration, Jason shares his journey on his Instagram to show how we can create more urban biodiversity. 

Houseplants are easy to pick up in supermarkets, florists, garden centres and you can even buy houseplants online from companies like Bloom & Wild. The green-fingered amongst us may even propagate plants by taking cuttings from others.

What are the health benefits of having houseplants in our homes? We've got you covered! Here's a list of some of the best houseplants; they will look after you, if you look after them.

Lavender 

Lavender is a flowering, beautiful smelling, stress relieving wonder plant. Lavender essential oils are often used in relaxing bath and skincare products because of its relaxing properties, which relieve anxiety and depression and even insomnia. To grow lavender indoors, place in a sun drenched spot and water every ten days to two weeks depending on the temperature and how quickly your plant is drying out.

Snake Plant

Snake plants are the ultimate in low-maintenance plants. They're the best houseplants for those who might forget to water them as they only need to be watered fortnightly. Snake plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen at night as you sleep, purifying the air in your home.

Peace Lily

Another hard worker when it comes to air purification is the peace lily. They absorb ammonia, benzene, xylene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene, improving the air quality in your home while looking lovely. They thrive in a bright spot out of direct sunlight, being watered regularly, making sure that the soil is moist but not wet.

Ferns

Ferns increase the humidity in the air in our homes. This moisture boost in the air means that it's less likely our skin will get too dry. Keep ferns out of direct sunlight and make sure that their soil is moist but not wet.

Rosemary 

Rosemary has been used in traditional medicine to assist with boosting concentration and memory. It has a pleasant, herby smell, it thrives in bright sunlight, being watered fortnightly.

Spider Plant

Spider plants are one of the easiest air purifying plants to grow. They remove toxins from the air which is good for reducing anxiety, anger and tension. spider plants don't like to be too dry or too wet, it's easy to check whether they need watering by touching the soil, often little bits of moist soil will stick to your fingers whereas if it was too dry, it would feel dry to the touch. Keep your spider plant in indirect sunlight.

If we convinced you of the important health benefits of houseplants and you're continuing your health and wellbeing journey you might want to check out our list of five vegan omega 3 sources and also take a look at our article on the biodiversity crisis that nobody is talking about.