Using Plants to Enhance Your Garden Office Atmosphere
Studies have proven the benefits of outdoor views and plants on mood, productivity and creativity in offices without windows; using plants is an easy way to bring more life and warmth into a workspace.
An indoor edible garden transforms your office into a space that fosters wellness and sustainability. By growing herbs and vegetables in containers indoors, you reduce packaged food use while showing your commitment to the environment.
1. Plants in Planters
Planters provide an ideal way to introduce greenery into the workplace while simultaneously creating an airy and relaxing atmosphere. Studies have proven that plants boost morale, reduce stress levels and boost productivity – making them ideal additions for any garden office! Strategically integrated into break rooms, lobbies or shared areas greenery not only adds visual appeal but contributes to enhanced indoor air quality and creating a pleasant working experience for employees as well as customers alike.
Plants come in all sorts of heights and shapes to complement any design aesthetic, from tall planters with preserved greenery in vertical walls to shorter options with shorter planters in multiples arranged across them. Planters can even be made to reflect a company’s brand identity through materials, colors, or layout that reflect it visually.
Ficus elastica, more commonly known as the rubber plant, is one of the most sought-after office plants as it thrives in both bright, indirect sunlight and medium light conditions. Saintpaulia African violet is another popular small office plant requiring low levels of water and humidity, which also doesn’t need to be placed near windows. Other favorite small office plants include Japanese Holly Holly Aloe Madagascar Dragon Tree Calocchoa plants are all popular choices too.
Container planters are an excellent way to add visual interest and create focal points in otherwise uninteresting spaces. This design features a sculptural pedestal featuring creeping Jenny, burlesque pigeon berry, Madagascar dragon tree and an agave that bring color and texture. A granite remnant unifies and elevates this collection of pots while adding depth.
Repurposed planters hold an assortment of succulents such as hens and chicks, ghost plant, burro’s tail and other easy-to-grow varieties. The lower layer consists of organic material like leaves, straw grass clippings and compost to provide essential minerals to the soil over time.
This large curved-form planter makes an eye-catching centerpiece in any courtyard, featuring both high and low plants for visual contrast and interest. Low maintenance lavender sprigs, Burro’s tail, and other low-growing species fill out its sculptural design while gravel and rocks under its pond provide ideal nesting grounds for ground nesting pollinators.
2. Terrariums
Installing plants in your office can improve its aesthetic appeal while also creating an environment conducive to work. Plants have been shown to reduce stress levels and increase concentration, leading to greater productivity in the workplace. They also contribute to air quality improvement by decreasing pollutants while increasing oxygen levels – as well as reduce background noise! Introducing natural humidity also encourages workers to take breaks from work more regularly, which promotes overall wellness and increases employee health and well-being.
One way of accomplishing this goal is through the introduction of edible gardens into the office. Not only can edible garden plants add beauty, they can also promote employee wellbeing by cultivating an atmosphere of collaboration among workers. Furthermore, edible garden plants may promote health by encouraging employees to eat more vegetables and herbs.
Companies should also consider the environmental impacts when designing an indoor edible garden, in addition to its aesthetic appeal. Certain plants have been shown to significantly decrease harmful gases like formaldehyde and carbon monoxide; Rubber plants, Areca palms, Lady palms and Snake or Mother-in-Law’s Tongue have proven particularly successful at doing this.
Terrariums are glass or plastic containers designed to provide small plants with an ideal environment. Terrariums can be particularly beneficial for species that do not thrive under regular house temperatures, enabling them to flourish with minimal care required. Many terrariums feature accessories like rocks, sticks, seedpods, bark and other natural-looking elements in order to evoke an outdoor setting while adding ceramic figures of frogs, mushrooms or snails can add delightful decorative touches.
An enclosed terrarium can last for years by creating an ecosystem that’s self-supporting. When exposed to sunlight, moisture evaporates from its soil into the container walls and back into its surroundings; providing long-term moisture. Meanwhile, decomposing plant matter creates nutrients for future plant growth.
Before planting a terrarium, it must be rinsed with water to wash away any loose debris that may have settled onto its sides or be sticking out from underneath its container. Following planting, an additional misting of water may be required to dislodge any dry growing medium from leaves or walls of the container.
3. Hanging Plants
Hanging plants offer an ideal solution when space on windowsills or plant stands is limited, as many green plants thrive in hanging baskets – from trailing succulents and bright flowering houseplants to trailing succulents and flashy flowering houseplants. Plus, hanging plants help soften sunlight entering a room for a more comfortable working environment for employees.
Indoor hanging plants come in all sorts of styles and sizes, from the classic English ivy found gracing stone or brick walls, to more minimalist varieties like ripple peperomia with indented leaves to create their signature sculpture-like quality. If you want to show off your plants without worry of maintaining long leaves then ripple peperomia might just be your perfect pick!
Some plants, like the pitcher plant (Scindapsus pictus), have evolved to become carnivorous to survive in their native habitat. The pitcher plant thrives in warm, damp spots in your home and makes an interesting conversation starter; its tall, colorful fronds will draw people’s eyes toward your entertaining areas!
Other low-maintenance hanging houseplants include string-of-pearls (Sedum sp.), mistletoe cactus varieties and tree ferns; these require consistent water but don’t need the same level of attention as other houseplants. When choosing these kinds of hanging pots with low water requirements and prevent overwatering needs, COMPO(r) soil may help.
Hanging houseplants in your garden office can create an inviting and stimulating work atmosphere for employees to enjoy. Not only will the natural greenery help improve mood and energy levels for team members, but it will also contribute to creating a healthier work environment by filtering pollutants out of the air and increasing humidity levels.
Maintaining healthy hanging plants begins with following their care guidelines. While houseplants generally need regular supplies of water, overwatering them could result in root rot or lead to their leaves turning yellow and turning droopy over time. When in doubt, wait until their leaves appear wilted or the soil feels dry to the touch before watering again.
4. Potted Plants
Many companies have begun adopting the trend of adding gardens or plants to their offices as an attractive way to boost employee productivity and reduce stress levels, increasing concentration. Studies have proven the beneficial results from proximity to nature.
Office plants can be placed in various containers, from flower pots and hanging baskets to window boxes. Tropical and succulent species tend to do best when water alone is sufficient, while others need additional soil such as orchids and ferns. It is important that office plant selection matches light and water requirements to avoid over or under-watering; before placing a new plant into its container it’s wise to check its roots to make sure they can fit easily within its pot.
An outgrown container can restrict a plant’s roots, hindering their development. To combat this issue, its roots should be pruned back prior to transplanting it into a larger pot – typically 2-3 inches wider will do just fine, although for orchids who tend to develop quickly it would be prudent to choose something larger as their rapid growth makes them vulnerable to overwatering.
Ferns, lilies, and bromeliads all require unique conditions to thrive; their optimal growing environment should include well-draining potting mixes with perlite or pine bark to aerate them, without pea gravel which may smother roots or prevent proper drainage.
Keep the potting mixture moist to prevent it from drying out during winter temperatures and lower humidity, especially as temperatures decrease and humidity drops. Achieve this can be achieved by covering it with nonflammable material like quilt batting, household insulation or 1-inch thick closed cell foam (then covering with frost blanket or blanket for air circulation and periodically unwrapping it for proper airflow; this will keep it from becoming soggy in wet weather while discouraging disease development.