I visited a nursery this week to buy some indoor plants. A friend had suggested one does this to make your air cleaner in your home, or office. What may seem a large capital outlay (they are not that cheap!) becomes well worth it down the road for your health and attitude – for who does not improve their mood when surrounded by gorgeous, green, and leafy indoor plants.

I have always been a fan of the delicious monster, but beyond that (and some vague ideas) I had little idea of the whole host of incredible plants one could source and house for your home, just for the indoors! Outdoor plants are more real. Swayed by the wind, open to the elements, ideally watered by rain alone – they are legit plants. Indoor plants are like spoilt children. Given far too much attention, sometimes better looking (for who would choose an ugly plant for their home) and fed with precision for optimal performance they are the brats of the plant world.

It actually makes me think about Singapore and how any plant in that city almost feels like it is in a city-sized home rather than the outdoors. Cities fascinate me. Urban planning and future cities, and smart cities, and basically most of the big ones in the East. I feel like the future fate of planet earth lies very close to the fate of these huge Asian cities. Zurich will survive, as will Melbourne, Vancouver, Portland, Paris, or Nairobi. Somehow, their size and people will make it work. But large cities over ten million with so many needs and at increasing speeds – certainly they are the future’s benchmark?

Asia draws me. Asians draw me! One feels that if China, India, Japan, Korea (both of them), Indonesia, Pakistan and a few others “get it” then a lot of the world’s problems subside. In fact, we could likely “copy and paste” many of their solutions and implement them in other places. Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, Spain and such.

Ever a fan of Citylab, I stay closely glued to developments in the world, and its precious cities. Who knows, perhaps one day we shall all be in one, and our health with be directly linked to our species and number of indoor plants 🙂