GREENENGOOODS
Houseplants:
More Than a Pretty Face
Indoor plants promote healthy living for
othing says soothing like the color • provide humidity to dry rooms; and
your customers and a healthy bottom line
green. And the granddaddies of • add natural glamour to any space.
for your garden center.
N
all things green are certainly the
members of the plant kingdom, Tip: As a marketing tool, emphasize how
the lungs of our environment. indoor plants improve indoor air quality.
By Suzi McCoy
Perhaps it’s the calming rustle of leafy
branches in the wind or a wavy sea of grass Give ‘Em Facts!
that draws us in. Either way, people and plants The more time we live and work indoors, which
are universally connected and share a natural is most of the day, the more we need houseplants
symbiotic relationship. surrounding us for our health and well-being.
Emerging research sug- Call it a healthy “codependency” that benefi ts the
gests indoor plants are more environment and helps to improve the quality of
than just a pretty face: They’re our lives.
good for our mind, body and Most of us spend 90 percent of our lives
soul, and there’s another indoors. According to the EPA, indoor air typi-
payback for garden centers. cally contains two to fi ve times more pollutants
Highlighting the many ben- than outdoor air and can be up to 10 times more
efi ts indoor plants provide polluted, especially if you’ve recently installed
for homes and workplaces carpet or painted!
can make your bottom line
healthier, too! Tip: Provide fi gures on your POP signage.
The EPA ranks indoor air quality as one of the
A Case for top fi ve health threats in the United States!
Indoor Plants
Folks are fascinated with High-Tech Overload
plants and how they benefi t Our busy modern lives depend on technology,
their health and well-being. but some ordinary products can be hazardous to
To maximum impact on your health!
sales, you need to understand Back in the ’80s, Dr. Bill Wolverton, a retired
and emphasize why indoor NASA scientist and author of How to Grow Fresh
plants are essential, how they Air, conducted a landmark study for NASA to fi nd
enhance lives and what plants ways to clean air in space bases and vehicles.
work best. Wolverton discovered how plants improve air
Indoor plants: quality by naturally “fi ltering and absorbing” up to
• remove carbon dioxide 87 percent of airborne toxins called volatile organic
and airborne toxins; compounds (VOCs) such as ammonia, formalde-
• supply oxygen that improves concentra- hyde and benzene, as well as tobacco smoke, all of
Spathiphyllum (or peace lilies, above) and orchids (top) are house-
plants that help improve indoor air quality and eliminate VOCs.
tion and our sense of well-being (allowing us to which are found in many homes and offi ces.
be more focused, creative, attentive, healthier Emphasize the right plant for the right job. For
and happier); example, ferns love benzene, a VOC produced by
22 Lawn & Garden Retailer January 2010
www.lgrmag.com
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