Instead of venturing out of the house to go to work or buy groceries, the pandemic has forced us to adapt to daily life within four walls. Even two years into the pandemic, people are still bringing the outdoors in, resulting in a boom in indoor gardening, houseplants, living green walls, biophilic furniture, and more.
“With the lockdown, so many people who lived in metropolitan cities weren’t able to do things like have lunch in the park or enjoy an afternoon of reading in an open space,” says gardening expert Dominique Charles de Plots & Pans. “Adding fresh indoor plants has brought the joy of the outdoors that many didn’t realize they were missing. I hope people will continue to add plants to their homes for the beauty and quality of the outdoors. fresh air they provide.
Nick Cutsumpas, the factory trainer and urban farmer behind Farmer Nick, agrees: “People are spending more time at home than ever before and they want to feel connected to something green that they can farm,” he says.
While our love of houseplants is high — with 66% of U.S. households owning at least one houseplant — that’s just the beginning. People also bring full gardens into their homes. In the past, gardening has not always been the most accessible hobby. Unless you have a garden, enough space, and the right conditions, growing your own food hasn’t always been an option. But thanks to a little creativity and new technology, bringing the outdoors in and creating the garden of your dreams, regardless of space and climate, is on the rise.
According to Jacob Pechenik, CEO and Founder of Lettuce Grow, the company’s initial focus was to grow outdoors in the Sunbelt states. But he soon realized there was a huge demand from apartment dwellers in urban areas.
“It was perhaps even stronger than in traditional outdoor markets,” says Pechenik. “Since the launch of our Glow Rings, which allow our customers to have the option of growing indoors or outdoors and/or to alternate depending on the season, we have recorded around 40% of sales in the domestic markets. Think New York! It is our second largest market.
Pechenik says Lettuce Grow just surpassed 2.5 million plants grown and harvested by their community in all 50 states. And, he doesn’t see this indoor gardening trend dying any time soon.
“The trend will only continue, with more than 50% of the world’s population now living in urban areas and lacking outdoor space, let alone time, for a traditional garden,” he says. “In 10 to 15 years, every household should have a hydroponic system, like our Farmstand. People will see indoor gardening appliances as ubiquitous as refrigerators. People will look at them – the same way they look in a pantry or fridge – to see what they are cooking for dinner. We have the technology and the capability to do it, and it makes sense in every way. »
Besides being a fun and mood-boosting hobby, indoor gardening, like being a plant parent, can also be good for the planet. These days, food is shipped across the country, creating carbon emissions in the process. Aside from the food miles of transportation, we also have to go to the store to buy those groceries. Pechenik says 70% of people grew their own food just 100 years ago, and revisiting that in 2022 can help us reconnect with nature and where our food comes from.
“Growing your own food at home, say five feet from your kitchen or dining room table, whatever you choose tastes amazing and is packed with nutrients,” says Pechenik. “Most ‘fresh’ produce on grocery store shelves has been dead for 10 days, has traveled thousands of miles, is likely sprayed with chemicals, and much of the nutritional value is lost along the way.”
While this technology makes it easy to grow your own food in any space, you can also try indoor gardening with nothing but your food scraps. The videos continued to go viral on social media, showing how easy it is to grow everything from lettuce to onions to celery, with food scraps that usually get thrown away.
Another houseplant trend you’re sure to see more of? Living green walls. “Green walls and more artistic forms of botanical life are definitely starting to take hold. From office spaces to private residences, companies doing large-scale green wall installations are seeing an increase,” Cutsumpas says.
Habitat Horticulture makes a popular green wall hanger called Gromeo that Cutsumpas says doesn’t take as much time or money as full-scale options. There’s also WallyGrow, which lets you create a green wall with planters that have a smart watering design that keeps watering to a minimum.
It is also becoming increasingly popular to incorporate plants into furniture, i.e. biophilic furniture. “Biophilic furniture is all about incorporating living plants into the furniture itself or designing furniture specifically for plants,” says Cutsumpas.
Blooming Tables, for example, created the world’s first terrarium table. But you can also use what you already have at home to DIY your own biophilic furniture.
“I’m experimenting with biophilic plant-filled furniture and the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” he says. “I made biophilic furniture from reclaimed wood: a coffee table, a plant flight and airy plant frames. I think you’ll see more of it on both the pro level and the DIY level. »
There are plenty of ways to bring the outdoors into your space, no matter where you live. Only one question remains: with all the possibilities, which method will you choose first?
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