14 million Brits say being around plants makes them better thinkers and more creative
17 MILLION say plants change their mood, with different plants having different effects
53% of Brits say plants in the office increase their emotional wellbeing
We are in the midst of a houseplant renaissance; Brits are gasping for greenery. According to the Flowers & Plants Association, the UK’s flower and indoor plant market is worth £2.2bn. According to Royal FloraHolland, a large Dutch flower marketplace, Europeans spent €35.9bn on houseplants and flowers in 2016. In the US, the 2016 National Garden Survey estimated that of the 6m people who had taken up gardening — including indoor gardening — 5m were millennials.
Arboretum, the new independent members’ club championing the power of plants in increasing wellbeing and productivity, has commissioned nationally representative research across a sample of more than 2000 UK adults. In the UK, the average worker spends 92% of their time indoors with city workers moving from apartment blocks to office blocks and back again with scarce access to outside greenery. Because of this, it is growing increasingly important to bring the outside and all of its benefits inside for us to reap the rewards that being around plant life provides.
Arboretum’s exclusive research has highlighted the importance of working and living among plants when it comes to our health, both mental and physical. In fact, 17 million UK adults believe that plants don’t just affect our health but that different kinds of plants can have different effects on our mood. Whether their colour, their smell, their size or their shape, being around plant life does more than just brighten a space. According to experts, some plants can help calm us, some detoxify the air, inspire romance or energise. It would seem that the benefits for indoor plants goes well beyond a mere mood boost and forays into the realm of psychology and holistic healthcare.
Countless research has highlighted the medical and psychological benefits of being around plant life. A NASA study, conducted in 2015, showed that different plats are capable of filtering out different toxins from the air around us, a vitally important quality amidst the UK’s most concrete and polluted areas. As well as this, a 2008 study found that hospital patients who had plants and flowers in their room were less anxious and required less post-operative care.
Ronald Ndoro, Founder of Arboretum: “Numerous studies have continuously highlighted the power that incorporating plant life into our everyday spaces has in promoting our mental health and wellbeing. Given this, and the amount of time that we spend within the workplace, it is growing increasingly important for businesses to consider how to incorporate plants and greenery within their working spaces, for the benefit of their employees. Millennial burnout and mental health is a growing epidemic within the UK workforce, especially in large cities such as London where it is easy to get stuck in a cycle of dull and greyscale environments. At Arboretum, we value and respect the power of plants and highlight their usage in promoting creativity, wellbeing and mental health, benefits far beyond that of aesthetic.”
About Arboretum
Arboretum is a new independent members’ club and co-working space launching in April 2019, founded by hospitality entrepreneur Ronald Ndoro. The club will be launched with plant-life throughout, sporting a ceiling garden, indoor forest and plant-powered deli in a co-working space that understands the power of plants in increasing productivity, wellbeing and mental health.
