Charger Blogger Shares How Plants Can Brighten Your Mind and Your Space

Hey, everyone, and welcome to today’s blog topic: Plants. If it wasn’t already obvious by the blatant granola-girl-Trader-Joe’s-Wannabe vibe, I have a lot of them. How many is a lot, you ask?

Thirteen. Thirteen plant children.

Author: “Well, now I know where all my money is going.”

I mean, I also have a lot of other things that aren’t plants – legos, paintings, etc. – but if my apartment was on fire, my plants would probably be one of the first things I’d grab.

And my boyfriend. He’s also important.

I picked up plant-keeping sometime in my high school years. This is when Covid hit, and I, obviously, needed a hobby of some sort. Watering, pruning, re-potting – these are all things that houseplants do need in order to thrive, and getting to know my plants has certainly been a journey.

Another reason why I got plants is how beneficial they can be to one’s mental health. Sometimes, they can be the reason I even bother slithering out of bed some mornings. The thing is, though, is it just me imagining they’re helping my brain, or is there some actual science to this phenomenon? Let’s see!

Author: “To the Goog!”

[BATMAN THEME]

After doing some digging (no pun intended), I found that people spend about 95% of their time indoors (Hassan and Zhang Deshun). Considering that we started as a predominantly outdoors species who roamed the planet, this percentage isn’t great. I’m not saying that everybody needs to immediately jump outside and embrace their inner mother nature, but maybe touching some grass wouldn’t be too bad.

Speaking of grass, Earth’s soil actually contains a bacterium named Mycobacterium vaccae that acts as a natural antidepressant (“How to Use Houseplants to Boost Your Mental Health - Westwood Gardens”). Perhaps this is why I’m always so happy while repotting, or why touching the ground with your bare feet can boost your mood. Have you ever felt moss with your feet? Really beautiful, plushy moss? It’s great. 10/10 would recommend.

But it’s not only the soil that makes our brains so happy. Interestingly enough, there is a “...reciprocal connection between mindfulness and connectedness to nature, and natural environments can strengthen the effects of mindfulness-based interventions” (Ma). When you’re taking a walk outside (no earbuds, no music, not on the phone) you really seem to understand things a bit more. Funnily enough, individuals who took care of houseplants displayed a non-judging attitude and acted with awareness towards their plants (Ma). Nature really pulls us in and asks us to observe the natural world around us when we allow ourselves to follow that pull.

I understand that we live in a very hustle-and-bustle age and era. There are meetings to attend, classes to go to, jobs to be worked, etc., etc., etc. However, disconnecting – even for a moment –can help realign our minds with our true intentions, goals, and desires. Also, nature is pretty gosh, diddly, dang cool! Everything is always changing, and that’s part of the beauty of it all.

Moral of the story? Get a plant. Go outside. Touch dirt. Maybe I’ll do a plant care article at one point for those with plant woes. Hmmmmmmmm.....

I really hope that you guys liked this article, and that it shed some light on how houseplants and nature can boost your mood. We’re not going to be in summer forever, so get outside while you can. Campus is walkable, so go for a lap between study sessions if you want or even bring a friend. It’s up to you.

Wishing everyone plenty of love and light this week, and remember that you can do whatever you set your mind to.

With peace, love, and lots of peanut butter,
Bea 💚

Hassan, Ahmad, and Zhang Deshun. “Promoting Adult Health: The Neurophysiological Benefits of Watering Plants and Engaging in Mental Tasks within Designed Environments.” BMC Psychology, vol. 11, no. 1, 6 Oct. 2023, link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-023-01362-5#Sec9, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01362-5. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

“How to Use Houseplants to Boost Your Mental Health - Westwood Gardens.” Westwoodgardens.com, 11 Mar. 2024, www.westwoodgardens.com/blog/houseplants-boost-your-mental-health. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

Ma, Jingni. “Interaction with Nature Indoor: Psychological Impacts of Houseplants Care Behaviour on Mental Well-Being and Mindfulness in Chinese Adults.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 23, 28 Nov. 2022, p. 15810, www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/23/15810, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315810. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.