plants

The countdown is on and the last day for online-shipping by December 24th is here. And, as always, many of us still have a few people left on our holiday gift list.

The holidays shouldn't be about stress and they definitely shouldn't be about giving friends and family things they don't need. Hopefully, the last thing any of us want to do is add clutter to our friends' lives. In that spirit, we've gathered a few gift ideas to help you out. These gifts are easy to find, green, and, for the most part, consumable -- because, remember, we're avoiding clutter.

Japanese Peace Lily -- Anyone who's seen the movie Hot Fuzz, will remember Sgt. Angel's attachment to the plant. Any potted plant is a thoughtful and green gift -- with a little care (or even composting), most won't ever end up in a landfill.

Green & Black's Organic Chocolate -- This chocolate is absolutely fantastic, organic, available at most Targets, and not overpriced. Friends with a sweet-tooth will thank you for this!

Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc -- We like this Napa Valley winemaker because their wines are not only organic, they're also responsibly farmed. And, Frog's Leap Winery is 100% solar powered. If you can't find Frog's Leap, just ask for an organic recommendation from your local wine merchant.

Method Home For The Holidays Kit -- This collection of household products from Method smells like the holidays -- hollyberry, peppermint vanilla, cinnamon bark -- and includes aroma beads, a candle, countertop spray, aroma sticks, and hand wash. Again, most Method products are available at Target.

What green gifts are you giving this season?

Image via lusi; sxc.hu

Live plants in our homes and offices are a great way to convey a green image and with modern methods of planting and maintenance they can also truly be "Green".
On the contrary poorly planted and outdated maintenance practices can yield unhealthy and poor looking plants that convey anything but green. Fortunately there are new techniques and products that help you keep your plants and your surroundings green even if your thumb isn't.
Lets start at the roots with the soil. Most soil is sphagnum based. Sphagnum peat is harvested from ancient bogs and is a fast depleting resource. Most of the bogs in Europe are disappearing faster than the rain forest and sphagnum is mostly used for horticultural purposes
like potting soil.
A recognized alternative is COCO PEAT. A by-product of the coconut industry coco peat is basically a recycled product that has better physical properties (holds more moisture, is pH neutral, has natural disease resistance) than sphagnum and best of all plants love it. We've been using a coco peat blend for years with all our our plants with great success.
I'll have to come back and do a whole article on green alternative planting media.
Next is planting and care methods.
Plants haven't changed much since the ancient hanging gardens of Babylon but the ways of watering and caring for container plants has entered the modern world.
In the past when we watered a plant, we poured an undetermined amount of water over the top of the pot and watched the water run out the bottom resulting in a mess (sometimes even creating a hazard), wasted water, and wasted time. Often the outcome, unhealthy or dead plants, hardly a "GREEN" practice. Today we use contained watering systems and measured amounts of water to eliminate run off and extend watering intervals. Saving water, time and money. These systems sometimes called sub irrigation have been mainly used by professional interior plantscapers for years but are now becoming more available to the general public. This practice also keeps the top soil dry eliminating mold and fungus that can sometimes grow on the surface of traditionally watered plants.
Some professional companies can now also tap into reclaimed water sources for use on the interior container plants.
Whether your thinking of adding plants to your "Green Building" or just want an easier way to grow a lush container garden know that there are greener alternatives to what we are presently accustomed to.

I was perusing the WorldChanging site today and came across an item about a cool startup company in Bangalore called Daily Dump that has designed a line of innovative clay pots that double as composters and decorative planters. The ambitious company is selling the pots, and also offering a maintenance service for those who don't want to mess with the resulting compost themselves. The company appears to have franchising in mind--kind of like diaper service, but for household waste.

It's a great solution in a place like India, where the systems for dealing with trash disposal are primitive, but seems like it would be a hot idea right here in the US. Daily Dump's brand-new website doesn't seem to be quite open for business yet, but I'm wondering if they will ship the urns overseas, or if a local distributor is in the works.

Plants in our homes, offices, hospitals, shopping malls and other interior settings go beyond just their aesthetic appeal and are actually physically and mentally beneficial to people. The belief that plants and natural settings can positively stimulate the psychological well-being in humans has been around for thousands of years. During the middle ages elaborate plantings were created as a way to produce soothing environments for the ill. For centuries sensorial gardens for meditation have been an integral part of eastern culture. It is obvious that the immediate environment in which we live and work is linked to our state of mind, mood and stability. In recent years considerable academic research as to the positive effects of plants on people has been carried out. Studies suggest office workers in a green environment are sick less often, have higher spirits and are less fatigued than workers in a plant-free or sterile environment. In addition, heath care facilities report patients exposed to plants and natural settings are less stressed and feel less anxious, contributing to a faster recovery and a more pleasant care experience. Experts theorize the reason plants have so many positive effects on people is because for the past two million years we have evolved with and have settled around clusters of vegetation. Therefore, plants may still signify on a subconscious level food, water, shelter and protection; thus increasing survival. Interior foliage has also been proven to purify polluted air, which can be up to three times worse than outside air. Research by NASA concludes that common houseplants can effectively reduce the amount of contaminants found in the indoor air supply. Furthermore, plants have the ability to influence humidity thus hampering dust particles and lessening minor respiratory discomforts normally associated with overly dry conditions. It is clear that plants add value far exceeding their visual appeal. In a world where most of our time is spent indoors and faced with overcrowded conditions, plants give us a much-needed break from our artificial surroundings and remind us of the kind of environment we evolved from. Coast Live Tropicals is an interior plant design, sales and service company dedicated to bringing green plants to buildings.

Cross-posted from www.sustainabuild.net. Though I represent the construction industry, we actively promote sustainable practices in our business, in our personal lives, and in the lives of our friends, family, and associates.

Enjoy!

There's so much talk about Indoor Environmental Air Quality, and reducing our carbon footprint... Former NASA scientist, BC Wolverton, PhD. reminds us that we have a very simple tool available to us:

Plants.

*insert 'duh' here*

Of course... Plants.

"Plants are the lungs of the earth: they produce the oxygen that makes life possible, add precious moisture, and filter toxins. Houseplants can perform these essential functions in your home wih the same efficiency as a rain forest in our biosphere." -BC Wolverton, PhD "How to Grow Fresh Air - 50 Houseplants that Purify Your Home or Office"

Betsy Robinson recently wrote an article for Spirituality and Health Magazine that focuses on how plants can improve your health, your well-being, and most importantly, your actual indoor air quality. Here's an interesting statistic quote from her January/February 2007 article:

"Since room conditions are unique, it's impossible to prescribe how many plants are needed to clean a given space, but consider this: a 100-square foot room with an 8-foot ceiling contains 22,640 liters of air filled with perhaps 3,917 micrograms of formaldehyde, the predominant indoor pollutant. The common Boston fern removes 1,863 micrograms of formaldehyde per hour."

Makes you want to go buy a plant, doesn't it? Well, if you do, here's a list of plants to consider. Wolverton rates these as the top ten in terms of their pollutant filtering capabilities, ease of growth and maintenance, and resistance to pests:

1. Areca Palm
2. Lady Palm
3. Bamboo Palm
4. Rubber Plant
5. Dracaena "Janet Craig"
6. English Ivy
7. Dwarf Date Palm
8. Ficus Alii
9. Boston Fern
10. Peace Lily

Want to make a difference today? Go to your local nusery, buy one of these for every member of your staff and get one for yourself, too.

Give the gift of fresh air to your staff, your family, your friends and your clients.

Grow some fresh air.

Plants in our homes, offices, hospitals, shopping malls and other interior settings go beyond just their aesthetic appeal and are actually physically and mentally beneficial to people. The belief that plants and natural settings can positively stimulate the psychological well-being in humans has been around for thousands of years.

During the middle ages elaborate plantings were created as a way to produce soothing environments for the ill. For centuries sensorial gardens for meditation have been an integral part of eastern culture. It is obvious that the immediate environment in which we live and work is linked to our state of mind, mood and stability. In recent years considerable academic research as to the positive effects of plants on people has been carried out.

Studies suggest office workers in a green environment are sick less often, have higher spirits and are less fatigued than workers in a plant-free or sterile environment. In addition, heath care facilities report patients exposed to plants and natural settings are less stressed and feel less anxious, contributing to a faster recovery and a more pleasant care experience. Experts theorize the reason plants have so many positive effects on people is because for the past two million years we have evolved with and have settled around clusters of vegetation. Therefore, plants may still signify on a subconscious level food, water, shelter and protection; thus increasing survival.

Interior foliage has also been proven to purify polluted air, which can be up to three times worse than outside air. Research by NASA concludes that common houseplants can effectively reduce the amount of contaminants found in the indoor air supply. Furthermore, plants have the ability to influence humidity thus hampering dust particles and lessening minor respiratory discomforts normally associated with overly dry conditions.