As a building owner, you know that a beautiful, well-manicured landscape shows the outside world that you are professional and organized. You see your landscape as a way to make a great first impression. Shouldn’t your lobby do the same? Imagine a client walking into your lobby for the first time to find a towering two-story tree welcoming them into your building!
Office plants and trees have come along way from the occasional spider plant or ficus. While we like to stick to traditional plants for your exterior landscape, inside, we can plant any plant that will thrive in the environment which can be anything from bamboo to palm trees. So while it’s a snowy St. Louis winter outside, it’s a California summer in your lobby!
The benefits to indoor plantings go way beyond impressing your clients, however. Incorporating plants into a work environment have been shown to improve the health and well being of those they surround. Hospitals have long known the benefits that plants can provide and most have atriums for their patients to enjoy. Those patients who have exposure to plants require less pain medication, have lower blood pressure, and less fatigue and anxiety.
When you work in an office building, you’re surrounded by cold computers, bland office furniture, and muted colors. An indoor garden can be a welcoming oasis that can help your mind as well as your health.
They make air more breathable.
Indoor plants remove carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air as part of photosynthesis. Some plants absorb more than others so when choosing plants for an office, we not only look at which ones will thrive in the space and look beautiful, we also look for those that will help clean the air the most.
Offices can be full of pollutants. Building materials, furnishings, upholstery, and cleaning supplies fill the air with toxins. Office plants reduce pollutants such as benzene and nitrogen dioxide by absorbing them through their leaves, and the microorganisms found in potting soil also break down and remove toxins from the air.
They reduce sickness and absenteeism.
Higher humidity levels not only help to cut down on dust and allergens, but it reduces dry skin, dry or sore throats, fatigue, coughs, and headaches. They remove mold and bacteria which reduces sicknesses which means there will be fewer people calling in sick to work. With illness costing the U.S. economy more than $576 billion annually, indoor plantings can save companies a lot of money in lost productivity. Frequent absenteeism is a drain on any business.
They reduce noise.
Plants absorb noise really well. Reducing background noise will not only reduce stress levels, employees will be able to better concentrate on their jobs. They can even be used effectively as partitions instead of cubicle walls.
They’re good for your mental health.
One of the biggest advantages of indoor plantings is their effect on the mental health of the people around them. According to a study by NGIA (Nursery and Garden Industry of Australia), having office plants greatly reduce stress and negativity in office employees. In the 3-month study, those who had office plants saw a 30-60% reduction in stress and negativity, while those without increased these levels 20-40%. Overall those offices with plants saw large reductions in anxiety, depression, anger, hostility, and fatigue. Relaxation fosters creativity. And without the extra CO2 floating around, minds are clearer and more able to concentrate and focus on their jobs.
Plants simply make any environment more comfortable and relaxing. They bring life to an otherwise dull environment. They can add character or definition to a large or small space. Our on-staff horticulturists can choose plants or trees for your building that will not only be the most aesthetically pleasing and thrive the most, but will also provide you with all of the physical and mental health benefits possible. Some examples of our indoor plantings projects can be found here. We not only install these beautiful gardens, we maintain them too so you know they’ll always be vibrant and healthy.
Call Bluegrass Landscaping and Maintenance today at (314) 770-2828 to find out how to make your building’s lobby or any other space a lovely, inviting oasis!
