For Vincent, the calmness she experiences when she cares for plants comes from seeing something thriving in dark times. “The economy is terrifying, the planet is literally burning, and although it feels small, there’s something undeniably beautiful about how things are going to grow regardless of what is going on in your life. There’s a sort of persistence to it. That can be very calming when it feels like everything else is topsy-turvy,” she says.

For Austin, “Being around plants takes us out of fightor-flight mode. You’re doing something uncomplicated, nurturing or that might increase your awareness of something greater than yourself,” she explains.

Wellness trend

Improving our mental health is not the only reason we’re filling our homes with greenery. Of people who bought houseplants in the past year, 34% did so to improve the air quality in their homes, according to Retail Insight Network. That rises to nearly 45% for Londoners, a city that is constantly at the centre of negative pollution reports.

But given our wellness-based world, is it that shocking that people are turning to plants to help themselves? “I am really into herbalism and nature for healing and I know particular plants help purify the air,” says 32-year-old Stephanie Barnes, who lives in Brighton, where pollution levels are at the maximum safe limit according to the World Health Organisation. “I really believe in the health benefits of having lots of plants in your home,” agrees Poppy Marples, a 28-year-old interior blogger (@dustsheets_and_decor), also from Brighton. Although she says she’s mainly in it for the aesthetic, her home is bursting with plants because “they help clean the air you breathe and deter illness”.

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