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!

Tree Planting 101: It Takes More Than Just Digging Holes on the Ground (Part 2)

We’ve discussed in the first part the basics of tree planting Philippines. Now, we will discuss the necessary steps in organizing the activity.

1) Conduct a needs analysis

Organizers cannot just choose an area where they want to plant trees. No one would want to plant trees that will only be uprooted after a few days just like what happened to 28 fruit trees planted on MacArthur Park by Heart of Los Angeles volunteers.

One of the few things to determine is whether the area is a candidate for future developments otherwise the efforts will be wasted. Inspect the climate and growing conditions locally.

You may also ask the local people which trees they would want to see on the vicinity. Empower them by giving them a sense of ownership of the activity, so they would take part without hesitation.

2) Consult the experts

Again, deciding which saplings to plant needs guidance from the experts. It is possible to coordinate and partner with local government units such as the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO). The office, which usually includes a forester, can suggest areas where you can implement the activity.

In some instances, the local units also provide saplings to plant. This is free of charge provided that you’d provide documentation of the activity. CENROs can provide organizers with as much as 5,000 saplings. It would be best to ask the experts which trees are suitable and yet do not consume much water. You may also choose to plant extinct and medicinal trees.

3) Accomplish the documentation

Depending on the location, secure permits to formalize the process. Write a letter of request to inform the entities having jurisdiction over the area the intention to plant trees on the property. Secure a copy of the permits and other documents.

4) Prep the area

The majority of the volunteers expect actual tree planting and not necessarily clearing the area. Arrange a prep date that may involve only a few people, depending on the extent of activity. For instance, preparation may only mean removing unwanted shrubs and grass or it may include pre-digging holes so the volunteers would know where to plant the trees exactly.

In digging furrows, the rule of thumb is 6” deep and 2 meters apart. Stick 3 bamboo poles around the perimeter of the furrows. These will serve as markings, and they also purport to indicate that the furrow is already planted. Saplings come in separate plastic bags. The plastic bag must be removed during planting. The plastic bag must be then placed on at the other end of the bamboo pole to let the others know that it is already planted.

Further, you may borrow grass cutters from CENRO if they have any, or any of the volunteers themselves. Prepping the area may require 1 to 3 days though this will depend on the total area that needs planting. This should be accomplished 5 days or a week before the activity.

5) Spread the word

As an organizer, you need not spend too much on promoting the tree planting activity. Leverage the use of social media. Have your friends like and share the cause with their friends and so on.

Look for local celebrities who also support the cause of preserving the environment. Politely ask him or her to share or re-tweet the announcement, so more people will be aware of such an activity.

Tips during tree planting

• Remind the volunteers to wear protective gears such as gloves, hats and boots when planting, if no sponsors will provide such.

• Teach the volunteers the proper way of de-soiling the sapling after removing it from the plastic bag. Shaking it gently will suffice, but be careful not to remove the roots. Don’t use the soil that you remove from the plastic. Instead, use the soil around the furrow in buying the sapling. In this way, the newly planted tree will easily adapt to the new environment.

• If you can choose the saplings, choose that are more than 3 feet in height. They have a better chance of surviving than those saplings 3 feet below in height.

• When transporting the saplings from pickup points to the planting areas, don’t hold them on the stem. Hold the plant on the plastic bag.

• Encourage the volunteers to bring their own shovels. If not possible, use improvised shovels such as coconut shells which can be obtained from any local market for free.

• Some activities require ongoing monitoring while some can be left as is. Plan the extent of the activity early on so the volunteers would know what to expect. Send them with a progress report by collecting their contact information before or during the activity.

• Visit the area regularly to determine whether watering is still needed or not. Check will plants thrive and which didn’t and consider re-planting the portions with new trees (if possible).

Environmental servanthood is one way of giving back to nature which had blessed us with a very important resource that we must appreciate and nurture for the years to come. If organizing a tree planting activity is not for you, you might as well become a volunteer. The benefits are surely rewarding!

Tree Planting 101: It Takes More Than Just Digging Holes on the Ground (Part 1)

If there is one activity that coincides with Earth Day that would be tree planting. Billions of trees are planted every year to compensate the unfortunate fact that billions of decade-old trees are uprooted to make way for buildings, malls, parking lots, etc. Tree planting in the Philippines is a common practice especially among the local industries, but do we really know the essence of tree planting per se?

Planting is simple, and yet organizing a tree planting activity that transcends beyond gender, age, class and even industry is no easy feat.  Here are the basics on how to organize the activity and make it a success. Before we proceed, however, let’s understand what tree planting really is, its benefits, importance etc.

What is tree planting?

Tree planting is an act of planting seedlings. It can form part of reforestation activities involving the community and the local, national or international government. Participants of a tree planting activity, for instance, are usually volunteers.  

What are its benefits?

The mere act of planting helps Mother Earth in many ways. Here are some of the benefits of planting trees.

- Filtering air pollution

- Aiding in water recycling

- Preventing soil loss

- Creating shade

- Providing animal homes

- Making food for both humans and animals

Why tree planting is important?

Without trees, there will be no life. FACT: Trees provide the air we breathe. A tree can produce about 260 lbs. of oxygen in a year enough to support 2 people. Essentially, we – humans – must ensure that we make up for the trees we cut and uproot. Planting trees, therefore, is our responsibility since we consume the biggest benefit of such!

Who can plant trees?

Anyone can be a tree planter. It’ll only take 5 to 10 minutes to learn how to plant a tree properly. Some organizers are distributing learning materials long before the actual date of the activity. Some chose to create a video and post on their social media profiles.

If performed correctly, we can restore deforested areas and thus create ecologically-sustainable resources to use today and in the future.

When should trees be planted?

Trees can be planted any time of the year. However, the right time may depend on the type of trees that you want to plant. In the Philippines, the planting season is from June to January when the climate is not too hot and not too cold.

If you are going to plant a tree alone, you might as well do it on an important date such as your birthday, your parents’ anniversary, etc. if you want, you may do it with a loved one. Through this, you can make the activity more memorable. Just always consider the weather. You don’t want your sapling to drown from excessive rainfall. Saplings do best when they are exposed to mild to moderate temperature.

Where trees should be planted?

The right planting sites generally differ although the most common areas are personal gardens, parks, schools, church grounds and workplaces. You might have to ask for the property managers or caretakers before you may plant a tree on that area.

For organized tree planting activities, it is the responsibility of the organizers to scout for locations and accomplish documents of approval before proceeding to plant. In most cases, however, organizers already have a place in mind, and the vastness of the area dictates how many saplings and volunteers are needed to plant the whole area.

In the Philippines, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon are the most common choices of tree planting sites. Nonetheless, there are organizers who prefer conducting the activity in the city where volunteers can plant trees on roadsides, river banks, etc.

That’s pretty much the basics of tree planting. In the second part, we will discuss how you can go about organizing a tree planting activity.