There are many reasons that people own houseplants. Maybe it’s a newfound COVID-19 pandemic obsession, or even a way to make someone feel more at home when they’re miles away.
Annika Wolfgram, a third-year psychology and family studies student at UW-Eau Claire, has created her own version of plant culture by creating an Instagram, or “plantstagram” to share her plant progress and gain tips from other plant enthusiasts such as herself.
“I got into the plant groove when my grandma gave me plant cuttings and taught me how to take care of them,” Wolfgram said. “They quickly took over my room and soon the porch during nicer weather.”
Wolfgram said caring for her plants has provided her a “sense of purpose from caring for each of her plants.” In terms of keeping track of her ever-expanding greenhouse, she uses the app Planta to track watering and growth cycles of each plant.
“It makes me happy to check my plant’s progress daily and add water to my propagated plants, along with watering my potted plants,” Wolfgram said.
But you don’t just need to be a college student, consumed by upcoming quizzes and exams to enjoy the therapeutic process of propagating plants and caring for cacti.
Plant culture is everywhere you look. Manas Sanyal, a local Eau Claire bartender, has accumulated over 60 houseplants, all originating from their home city, Kolkata India. They said it reminds them of, “the Kolkatain culture and being back at home.”
It’s not just people looking to remedy homesickness, it’s also people looking to alleviate stress and practice mindfulness. An article posted on BBC said many see it as a form of “self care and reset from reality, especially when their reality is moving so fast.”
Research finds that interacting with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress. Using this information, plant interaction can “increase memory retention and concentration by 20%.”
According to a study conducted by The University of Michigan’s Environment and Sustainability Schools, we can also find that the …….
Source: https://www.spectatornews.com/opinion/2022/03/psychology-of-plants/