“Plants are cheaper than therapy” – Plant Therapy SF
The National Gardening Survey conducted in America concluded that 30% of people who garden are in the 18 to 34 years of age bracket. This the largest share since the annual survey began in 1973. Nearly a third of houseplant purchases were made by people under the age of 30.
It is suggested that the reason for this preference in raising plants over babies (and I would suggest caring for domestic cats or dogs) is that young adults in America are nowadays more likely to live in tiny apartments with no real savings and without a partner to raise children. Therefore they turn to plants as an outlet to express their nurturing instincts. Plants are much cheaper to maintain! They present excellent value for the improvement in wellbeing that they are said to bring.
“The act of nurturing something can release oxytocin, a hormone related to social bonding.”-Roberto White, a psychologist at Boston University.
Julia Dixon, 25, a musician in Austin Texas is a good example. She’s always had a connection to gardening and living in Texas which is very hot she decided to cultivate plants indoors.
“It’s more than just about having green things in the house. There’s just happiness in seeing something that you taken care of. I’m not in a place where I can have kids but I thrive on having things that are beautiful that I can take care of and make grow.”
Some people are so passionate about growing their plants that they refer to themselves as “plant parents”. They even give their plants names. A currently fashionable plant is the fiddle-leaf fig tree and Swiss cheese plants. This humanising of plants reflects the relationship in many homes between people and their cat.
Having plants indoors can also improve air quality and of course improve the environment provided they are well cared for.
In a strict sense and being cautious, having many plants in the home is not an ideal environment for a family cat because many plants are toxic to cats. Click this for houseplants which are safe for cats.
Source: The Times 31 Aug 2019 and modified by Michael.
