Try Gardening to Get These 8 Benefits

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Everyone needs a patch of green. Whether you're in the city or looking to live in a house and lot for sale in Laguna, you must get your hands busy. Once in a while, you should spend time on your porch or backyard. If these aren't available, you can make an indoor garden or grow a few seedlings on hanging pots. The possibilities are endless.

There are different things you can grow. If you have space, you should try growing some produce. You can save on grocery shopping when you don't have to purchase your fruits or vegetables. Other than crops, you can also tend flowers. Get some seeds of your favorite herbs and watch them bloom. But if you don't have the patience and the skill to grow greens, then you should turn to succulents and ferns. These plants don't require a lot of tending. They only need water now and then.

These are some garden ideas you can try in your new home. But, why should you try gardening? Would you get something out of it besides free food? Unknown to a lot of people, cultivating plants and spending time with soil has a lot of benefits. Below is the list of benefits you get when you immerse in gardening.

1. It relieves stress

Most of the time, gardening requires you to be outdoors. Even succulents need sun exposure now and then. The fresh air and sunlight can uplift your spirit. Meanwhile, moving back and forth will make you sweat. Sweating can lessen the levels of your cortisol which is also the stress hormone. Low levels of cortisol support your immune system, boosts your memory, and minimizes your risk of heart disease. Meanwhile, constant movement prevents you from getting obese.

2. It makes you confident

Gardening also makes you sure about yourself. You can feel a sense of pride and achievement when you see the seeds transforming from a tiny plant into a fruit-bearing tree.

3. It connects you to other people

You should consider gardening to your list of interests. It doesn't only give you a chance to be outdoors. It also offers you a chance to get to know other people in your community. It's a chance for you to be part of a group of people who are into the same things as you are. You can talk about your plants, how you grow them, and the different methods of propagating plants. You can get advice from seasoned growers on herbs, flowers, and vegetables. In exchange, you can offer a few nuggets you learned along the way.

4. It gives you a break from being indoors

Some plants need water twice a day. Thus, you need to be out of your couch if you want your plants to survive. When you have plants, you don't have to stay all day indoors. You need to go out. You must bring in your succulents after an hour, or they'll wilt under the sun. You have to check if the fruit is ripe and ready for harvest. In short, it keeps you busy. Time in front of the TV is now a luxury.

5. It imparts values to your children

If you want the kids to get their eyes off screens and devices, you should make gardening part of their lives. You children can learn several values when they learn how to tend to your backyard greens. For one, they will learn to be patient. They will realize that growing plants don't happen in an instant. At the same time, they get to appreciate the value of hard work. Plants don't thrive by themselves. They need a few things to survive which they won't get by themselves. 

Lastly, it will teach them things about nature and wildlife. It will show them where food comes from and how it grows. It can influence them to pick healthy, fresh food over processed ones. Most of all, it can help understand the limitations of natural resources.

6. It's your ticket to Vitamin D

Being outdoors exposes you to sunlight. You can feel the sun on your skin and enable it to absorb as many nutrients as it can get. Gardening pushes you to soak up Vitamin D which helps the body break down calcium to make the bones strong.

7. It's a form of exercise

Gardening will make you bend, lift, stretch, and twist. These movements all warm up and work the small muscles in your body. All of these can improve your strength, stamina, and flexibility.

8. It positively impacts the environment

Even if you're starting out with a plant or two, these have a positive impact to the Earth. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and other toxins in the air. When you raise a garden, you are combating air pollutants. You are also making use of run-off rainwater. Your plants can absorb the harmful pollutants to prevent them from reaching lakes and other bodies of water.


You won't miss out on these benefits when you consider growing a garden. You won't only see your plants thrive, but you can also watch them positively impact your life and the community.

Beautiful Indoor Plants for a Good Night's Sleep

Plants are the most underrated home decorations. Most homeowners forget that living greens aren't only perfect to fill empty spaces. They also carry benefits. They clear the air of toxins, release a fresh batch of oxygen, and retain room temperature. Some species of plants are only alive at night which provides restful sleep. Moreover, adding plants to your home encourages a green environment.

If you are looking for bedroom decors, then you must include plants on the list. Below are some species of plants you can nurture indoors if you want an extended shut-eye. You can purchase a pot of garden shops or plant boutiques at Ayala Malls Cloverleaf. Have fun checking out these plants and learning how to care for them

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a favorite medicinal plant and succulent. Its leaf produces a gel used as a remedy for several skin conditions, e.g., burn, sunburn, frostbite, cold sores and, psoriasis. It releases oxygen at night which increases the oxygen levels in your bedroom. Those with asthma, heart conditions and pulmonary diseases can benefit from the high levels of oxygen while sleeping.

Care Tips:

1. Aloe vera must be in a cactus potting soil. Regular potting soil works as long as you add perlite or building sand.

2. Place it on a surface with bright light.

3. Water it when the soil is parched.

Chinese Evergreen

One of NASA's approved indoor house plants, Chinese evergreen is tropical plant thriving in humid air. It has tiny red berries which break of the lush green hue of its leaves. It emits high oxygen content and absorbs chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde.

Care Tips:
1. Chinese evergreen is best on a well-draining soil which is an equal mix of fertilized soil, perlite, and sand.

2. Spray water on its leaves especially when the air is dry.

3. Avoid overwatering to prevent root rots.

4. Fertilize old plants once or twice a year using water-soluble houseplant fertilizer.

5. Trim its parts once it gets large or leggy.

6. Save the cuttings in water to propagate new plants.

English Ivy

Ivy, the common name of the genus Hedera, is a plant that crawls along the ground, tree, or wall to access sunlight. English Ivy is known to treat inflammation issues in the body. It can also relieve irritation and other skin conditions due to its anti-bacterial properties. Hanging the climbing vine in your sleeping quarters eliminates airborne mold. Thus, you can minimize acquiring of respiratory tract congestion.

Care Tips:
1. Hang the ivy in corners with low light or filtered bright light. This prevents the plant from drying up.

2. Keep the room temperature stable.

3. Water it on a regular basis as growth accelerates in a moist environment.

4. Trim the long stems that have few leaves to support its growth.

Jasmine

There are hundreds of species of Jasmine, and they have one thing in common. Their scent decrease anxiety levels which can help people struggling with depression. The aroma also allows people unwind before heading to bed. Its flowers are also aesthetically pleasing. It has five to eight petals that unfold to form a star. Having a plant in your home saves you from expensive doctor's fees as each of its parts can be used to cure ailments and fight illnesses.

Care Tips:

1. Jasmine needs soil combined with bark, coir, and other organic materials.

2. It can tolerate direct sunlight along with cold temperature. Place them near the windows during spring and fall. Lessen sun exposure during winter.

3. Prune your plant to keep under control.

4. Repot during springtime. 

Rubber Plant

Rubber plants have large leaves that absorb high quantities of air contaminants. They can stand up to 50 feet. The plant directs pollutants to the soil so microbes can break them down and deposit them in the ground. Hence, it provides its nutrients while improving the quality of air in the area.

Care Tips:

1. The rubber plant must be in a shadowy area. That way, it won't be hot for the temperature won't be too hot for the plant.

2. Its soil must be moist especially during the growth stage.

3. Wipe its leaves with a damp cloth or spritz it with water.

4. Water it once or twice a month during dormant stage. Increase the amount of water once its leaves start to droop.

Snake Plant

Snake Plant, also known as "Mother-in-Law's Tongue," converts carbon dioxide to oxygen during night time. It is one of the three houseplants that can filter the air while you sleep. Besides formaldehyde and benzene, it also takes in trichloroethylene, xylene, and toluene. A potted plant for each person is sure to reduce respiratory problems and headaches from waking up.

Care Tips:

1. Snake plants prefer a dry environment. Allow its soil to dry between waterings.

2. Position them in areas with no sunlight.

3. Propagate it through leaf cuttings and place it on land an inch deep.


Indoor plants are low on maintenance, so there's no reason for you to skip them. They are perfect people who don't have the luxury to tend to their greens. Think of the benefits of a well-oxygenated bedroom before passing up on a pot or two.

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Rebuild Forests with Plantable Coffee Cup

We all love coffee. Period.

What we don’t like is the fact that each coffee cup we use contributes to the pile of waste in landfills. Americans are the leading coffee drinkers worldwide, consuming up to 400 million cups daily (or 146 billion cups annually).

Buying a coffee contained in a disposable cup means contributing to about 23 lbs. of waste every year. Not to mention, Styrofoam is not an entirely recyclable material it’ll be in the landfills for over 500 years.

Sure, merchants can introduce recyclable cups. But, are these enough? Will these be able to reduce the amount of Styro cups in the landfills? No, more so since recyclable cups can only be used three times before they end up in wastelands as well.

Here comes the good news – plantable coffee cups!

A Kickstarter project, spearheaded by an eco-startup in San Luis Obispo, aims to turn your coffee cups into trees. Dubbed as ‘The World’s First Plantable Coffee Cup,’ Reduce. Reuse. Grow., the brains behind the project, wants to manufacture paper cups embedded with native seeds. You simply need to soak the cup in water for 5 minutes and plant it afterward.

The best part is, the cup may contain seeds that are native to a particular region, avoiding the existence of invasive plants in the process. You need not attend a tree planting Philippines event to know how to plant the cups. Instructions on how to plant the paper are detailed at the bottom of the cup, too.

Coffee drinkers may plant the cups themselves in their backyards or a local park. They may also place them on Reduce. Reuse. Grow.-marked trash bins, which will be then transferred to specific reforestation locations.

Alternatively, a third-party organization may collect the cups and plant them for local reforestation initiatives; a more appropriate move since producing these containers involves mowing down of trees. Don’t worry if the cups are thrown away because they are 100% biodegradable; these can be completely biodegraded in just 180 days.

The coffee cups are currently in the prototype form. The project will come to fruition once it reached the $10,000 goal. As of this writing, nonetheless, the project had already garnered more than $21,000. The cups will be delivered to local coffee shops. Each cup will cost about $.02 per cup.

Plantable is not such a new idea. In fact, there are plantable wedding invitations, plantable greeting cards, and plantable gift wrappers. There are also plantable pencils, courtesy of Sprout.

Apparently, this project is a perfect way to tackle the problem that haunts the worldwide coffee industry while breathing new life to trees. And the compostable coffee cup is just the starting point as there are many other seed-filling opportunities.

Let’s drink to that!

Understanding the Garden Home Concept

Do you know what a garden home is? Have you seen some garden homes in Laguna? Perhaps, you have seen one, but you have no idea that it is actually called as such. The concept of garden homes is quickly creeping into the local real estate industry. And why not? A tropical country, the Philippines is a suitable place to develop garden homes.

Origin of the garden home concept

‘Garden home’ is another term for patio home, an American classification of a housing type. The term has a suburban setting with shared landscaped features (in exchange of a monthly association fee for maintenance). The typical target market is those people who want to slash garden maintenance cost in their monthly household expenses.

Originally, patio homes are small in terms of lot area, replacing the backyard as patio. These homes can be constructed in rows with or without shared walls.

Garden home concept in the Philippines

The garden homes, as we know, has almost the same concept as patio homes. However, instead of the backyard, homeowners are sharing their front yards and the rest of the gated community, for instance. They also share common facilities including in-village parks, pocket gardens, sidewalks, etc. The homeowners are also paying a monthly maintenance fee for such.  

Also, garden home homeowners can still have their backyard that they can style and maintain by themselves. That’s because ownership is not limited to specific lot area. House structures are usually detached. There is also an ample provision of area for backyard gardening.

Benefits of living in a garden home community

Everyone wants to own a home. However, not every one of us realizes the benefit of owning a garden home. To live in a place close to nature is very different from living in a place that makes full use of the available spaces and convert them into nature-like facilities.

Essentially, it is ecologically healthy. Living in a community that allows its owners to commune with nature provides instant access to clean and fresh air and water. In fact, garden home communities promote healthy outdoor living.

There will be relaxing views everywhere when you go outside. Walking around the neighborhood will never a worrisome activity especially when you have your kids with you. This means you get to enjoy the indoors as well as the outdoors, that is, to immerse oneself with the natural wonders around him.

Most probably, this is the very reason property developers choose to construct garden homes that are within the natural setting. Homeowners can thereby maximize their natural surroundings at their disposal. Such a new living concept that does not degrade the homeowners of the conveniences while savoring the serenity of living closer to nature.

In the Philippines, there are wide options for gated communities. These communities offer the would-be homeowners the opportunity of enjoying the indoors and outdoors whether it’d be looking out the window, taking a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood or even jogging at night. Good thing, these developments are either in-city or near-city.  

Further, there are communities within a community wherein the goal is to cultivate community integration and build people-friendly structures that endow dwellers with a neighborhood that is full of interactions regardless of the lifestyles of the community members. The sub-communities are specifically built with providing a heightened sense of well-being in mind through the green spaces.

With all these, the concept of garden homes is one concept that is not very difficult to embrace. Nowadays, everyone’s into eco-living. This is one reason the concept is well-accepted in the Philippines. Again, why not? If it encourages vibrancy, diversity and a healthier living option for the Filipinos, then let’s embrace the concept tighter.