Living With Indoor Plants: What’s Behind the Current Houseplant Boom?
Indoor plants have become more than mere decoration. For a younger generation, the charm of houseplants has become a therapeutic means to escape the stressors of life.
Chances are you own a houseplant, possibly several. Whether you’re a budding horticulturalist or just someone who wants to liven up a dreary room, indoor plants have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. But the current houseplant trend is hardly anything new.
In the late 1800s, affluent Victorians enamored by the visual elegance of orchids spent so much money on them that the term “orchidelirum” was used to describe their houseplant obsession.
The houseplant craze of the 1970s made green leafy vines a gaudy staple of suburbia. But this aesthetic quickly faded away for a more minimalistic setting in the 1980s.
More than four decades later, houseplants are back in vogue and more ubiquitous and in-demand than ever before. Since 2014, plant spending by 18 to 34-year-olds has grown at a higher rate than any other age group. According to the 2019 National Gardening Survey, Americans spent a record $52.3 billion on lawn and garden sales, with the 18-34 age group accounting for 25% of those sales. From 2016 to 2019, sales of houseplants surged a whopping 50%, with an estimated 33.1 million households partaking in some type of houseplant cultivation.
Plant spending by 18 to 34-year-olds has grown at a higher rate than any other age group since 2014. (Left) Photo by vadim kaipov on Unsplash; (Right) Photo by Cassidy Phillips on Unsplash
Not just an American trend, houseplants have become a worldwide phenomenon. Last year saw a “botanic boom” in Singapore and the Philippines. The UK’s Royal Agricultural Society reported a remarkable 65% increase in houseplant sales in 2018 alone.
Recent years have seen the emergence of a veritable collectors market for houseplant rarities. In June of 2020, the New Zealand auction site Trade Me reported a record sale of the indoor plant Hoya carnosa ‘compacta’ for $4,225, the most ever paid for a houseplant on the site. A few months later, that record was broken when another indoor plant, Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, was sold for $5,291.
Have people gone mad for houseplants? Not at all. Rather, the current houseplant obsession is a conscious reaction to a world gone mad. It’s no wonder millennials and Gen Z are flocking to houseplants to offer a reprieve from the rigors of their daily lives. Houseplants have become more than just mere decoration; for many, owning houseplants has become a form of therapy, offering a tangible connection to the greater world around them.
From subtle flourishes to an urban indoor jungle, houseplants have become a ubiquitous element of modern homes. Photos by Jane Duursma on Unsplash; Beazy on Unsplash; Judah Guttmann on Unsplash; Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
From recurrent terrorism, endless wars, economic collapse, and a once-in-a-century pandemic, millennials and Gen Z have borne the brunt of societal catastrophes. In her book Rootbound: Rewilding a Life, author Alice Vincent recounted the events in her early 20s that led her to take up tending to houseplants. “When a lot of things took different directions in my life to that I had expected, I found solace in gardening and plants.”
For Vincent, houseplants allowed her to form deep emotional connections with the plants she tended. More importantly, houseplants helped Vincent navigate through the many fluctuations in her life. “I find the seasonal change of plants and the wider natural world around is something that helps to guide me in my everyday life. Gardening is also something very meditative for me.”
Vincent’s story isn’t unique. For those going through the same quarter-life crises as she once did, Vincent’s houseplant journey has become a parable for their own lives. As Vincent told BBC Culture, younger readers resonated with her experiences and found “the life they were told to achieve and expect to be somehow lacking.”
A popular “plantfluencer,” Vincent’s Instagram page boasts a jarring mix of splendid visuals to her more than 40 thousand followers. From cuttings to flower arrangements to backyard landscaping ideas, Vincent’s Instagram page stresses the versatility of houseplants and their urban splendor.
Vincent joins a growing number of plantfluencers who utilize social media to spread the benefits and joys of owning houseplants. Although social media has become a driving force for the recent houseplant resurgence, the reasons for owning houseplants are more nuanced and varied than following a simple trend.
Jennifer Coates’ fascination with houseplants began by accident. While browsing through Instagram, the 33-year-old writer happened upon an Instagram account that showcased an assortment of visually striking indoor plants. She was hooked and decided to buy her own houseplants soon after. Coates now lays claim to a collection of over 100 indoor plants in her Los Angeles home, and she spends about 45-minutes a day taking care of them.
For Hilton Carter, his gleeful obsession with houseplants made him feel like a kid in a candy store. Already owning a small collection of indoor plants, Carter increased his collection to about 60 plants within a few months. “Plants are not a prop,” said Carter to BBC Culture. “[H]aving this living thing in your home, making you focus on the daily caring of something that you’re now bonded to. There’s something in the caring process that’s therapeutic, you can use it to meditate or escape, and for two hours once a week completely zone out.” His Baltimore home is now a lush indoor jungle, much to the playful chagrin of his wife. Carter has written several books about houseplants and has become a popular plantfluencer with an Instagram account with over half a million followers.
George Hudson’s desire to have houseplants was fueled by pure nostalgia. The 24-year-old student moved to London from lush Derbyshire in the Midlands of England to pursue a politics degree. Growing sentimental for the green acres he grew up on as a child, Hudson started working at a local garden that allowed him to regain his connection to nature. He now owns a growing collection of about a dozen indoor plants that grace his London home. For Hudson, the reason for owning houseplants was simple. “It’s partly a back-to-nature thing,” he told The Guardian. “[It’s] a relief from the developed cities we live in.”
These are just some of the stories about the many millions who have been captivated by the allure of houseplants. Each story is united by a shared sense of selflessness when amassing houseplants. Not as frenetic, untidy, and financially draining as owning pets or having children, houseplants nonetheless require the same amount of accountability from their caretakers. After all, a houseplant is a living thing that needs proper nourishment and constant upkeep. As Hudson opined to The Guardian, “[Owning houseplants] gives people something to look after and care for; something people crave.”
More than simple decoration or an obsessive hobby, houseplants offer many therapeutic effects that might provide the key to understanding people’s love affair with them. From lowering stress, improving mood, increasing attention span, and enhancing indoor air quality, amongst many other benefits, houseplants offer respite from the cyclical pressures of a demanding world.
It’s no mistake that houseplant sales skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic when millions were on lockdown. From indoor plants to succulents to vegetable gardens, many flocked to some type of homegrown gardening as a means to lessen their lockdown languish. Taking care of houseplants provided an activity that eased the mental and emotional distress brought on by the isolation of the lockdowns and the horrors of the pandemic.
Houseplants make it necessary for their caretakers to stop, slow down, and appreciate the wonders of nature from the sterile confines of their brick-and-mortar homes. However minuscule, indoor plants provided a purpose for many on lockdown to nurture life amidst a world filled with death.
UCLA professor of psychology Patricia Greenfield believes that the sudden interest in home horticulture might have been a primal reaction to the pandemic. Our immediate responses when faced with death lay dormant, patiently “waiting to have conditions threatening survival to come out with activities like gardening.”
A recent study further complemented the therapeutic effects of houseplants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found a direct correlation between owning and taking care of houseplants and increased emotional well-being. The study indicated that houseplants would continue to be popular with consumers well after the pandemic ends and will lead to increased sales for the home horticulture industry. These economic effects are already being seen. While many sectors suffered in 2020 due to the pandemic, the gardening industry had record year-over-year growth and show no signs of slowing down.
I don’t own any indoor plants – at least not yet. However, I do have an outdoor garden that I’m quite fond of. During the lockdown, I finally had the time to indulge in a long-gestating backyard renovation project that had become a frustrating slog. Like many millions who discovered the delights of indoor plants during the confinement of home lockdown, I took to the joys of outdoor plants to stave off the pandemic blues.
Working solo, from sunup to sundown, I got down and dirty in my backyard and uprooted the entire space. Gone were wildly overgrown hibiscus shrubs, snaking bougainvilleas, disease-ridden stunted trees, and dead or dying bushes.
What was once a dense and depressing jungle of random plants that required weekly upkeep became a blank canvas for me. I planted various small palms, succulents, and ornamental tropicals, all of which are low maintenance, water-wise, and aesthetically pleasing. My outdoor garden finally looked like a garden and less like an overrun, dense forest waiting for a brushfire to purge it of its rampant wickedness.
What a difference a year can make.
Not only is the pandemic now under control, so is my once untamed backyard. I take absolute enjoyment in taking care of my new plants. From daily watering, weekly fertilization, and monthly pruning, I welcome the responsibility of being the caretaker to these magnificent living organisms. Plants that were less than half my height a year ago have now blossomed, and in some cases, have become taller than me. A personal tropical paradise has sprung to life, born from a time of plentiful and indiscriminate death. I am very thankful to have such a lush, leafy space all to myself. For many millennials like me, indoor plants have become just as therapeutic as my outdoor plants, if not essential.
Our lives have come to be defined by the tasks that disconnect us from the natural world. We’re either at work or online, our lives stripped of the subtle nuances we take for granted. Houseplants allow us a means to take a breather from the stressors of the world by bringing a little piece of nature into our homes.
“There’s something deeply moving about seeing something germinate, flower or even go to seed,” said Vincent to BBC Culture about the healing nature of tending to houseplants. “There’s a real joy to be found in new growth or the return of a favourite perennial plant through the soil after a long, dark winter.”
The patience and care needed when taking care of houseplants aren’t just the particulars of a growing hobby. Rather, it’s a testament to the human condition to inherently cherish life. Get yourself a houseplant; you’ll be glad you did.
