It's hard to believe, but we're already entering late Spring! So, I thought it would be a good time to update what’s blooming in my sunny & shady perennial gardens since my last gardening post!  The view in my gardens change nearly every day – I love it! Gardening is so peaceful... the connection with the earth... I really can feel the positive vibrations from the plants - it uplifts me!

So back down to earth.  A few of the photos below are of flowers newly planted this Spring (sweet william, stratheden, scabiosa, & yarrow), so they may be blooming out of turn.  I’ll have to wait until next year to see where they fall in the blooming cycle – I usually end up moving things after a year or so depending on height and bloom time.

So here’s what’s in bloom right now (courtesy of my iPhone)!

First, the sunny garden:

Cranesbill with Stratheden (one of my favorite spots in the sun garden)

Alstilbe

Sweet William

Daylily

Coral Bells (these grew so TALL this year!)

Yarrow (with Phlox not yet in bloom, behind)

Scabiosa

Next, the shady garden: 

Oxalis

Lamium (this is a super-quick spreader... I wouldn't mind if it took over most of the shade garden - so pretty!)

Rose

So, what's growing in YOUR garden? I'd love to know!

We went hiking this weekend for Mother’s Day.  It was the first real, long hike we’ve taken A.C. (after children); and Adam and I used to hike and backpack quite a bit B.C. (before children).  We were super-excited, and at the same time, not quite sure how it would play out. Truth be told, it ended up as the perfect trip; I couldn’t have planned a better Mother’s Day if I’d tried.  The children had a blast - they are naturals in the outdoors!  And Adam and I rekindled our love of hiking.  Can't wait to plan the next trip - even thinking of trying a backpacking/camping hike next time!

The hike we chose this past weekend was in the Delaware Water Gap national recreation area in Northern New Jersey/Pennsylvania.  It’s positively beautiful in that area (yes, New Jersey!) – breathtaking views, fresh air, even wild blueberries (though of course not yet in season). The weather on Sunday was nearly perfect – mid-60’s in the sun.  It was delightfully cool for hiking with a pack (or child) on your back, though a bit chilly for the children, who didn’t have packs, so it kept us all moving.  The coolness and breeze also kept the bugs at bay, which was a blessing.

We hiked a circuit trail up/down Mt. Tammany.  The whole hike was approximately 2.5mi, with an elevation gain of 1,200ft – I’d call it a moderate hike in difficulty.  It had varied terrain – a bit flat, most rocky, some small boulders, some gravel.  It’s a very clearly marked (blazed) trail, and well maintained.  Perhaps best of all, the trail was sparsely populated, even for a holiday weekend, which allowed us the freedom to move at our own pace – taking in the sights and sounds of nature, relatively uninterrupted. 

We chose to hike the trail in “reverse” – starting at the Appalachian Trail which is a bit less steep at the beginning, crossing the cascading Dunfield Brook, transferring to the “blue dot” trail, and descending on the “red dot” trail.  All told, with several brief rests on the ascent, a half hour stop at the top for lunch, a short tantrum, and a sleeping toddler strapped to my back for the descent, it took us a bit less than four hours.  With a 2 year old and 5 year old, on moderately difficult terrain, I call that a huge success.

For more information on the Mount Tammany hike, here are a few good links:

http://delawarewatergap.org/MountTammany.aspx

http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGN141-001

http://www.purdes.com/njhiking/tammany/index.html

Along the way, we enjoyed beautiful overlooks, streams, birds, new spring growth, and the peace and inner focus that I’ve only ever found with exertive backwoods hiking. We even picked up few cans left behind by less-than-conscientious previous hikers (pack it in, pack it out, folks!).  

I rediscovered my love of hiking on this trip.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed it just as much as I remembered it B.C., and perhaps even more as viewed within the new, innocent perspective of my children – who just happen to be natural hikers and gentle embracers of the beauty of nature. What a blessing to realize that we could share something we enjoyed so much, with our kids – and find that they really enjoy it too.  We're really looking forward to our next trip!

We managed to capture some of the sights along the way with our iPhones (the joys of modern technology).  Enjoy!

Back in the beginning of March I posted about the very first signs of Spring in our perennial gardens – the snow melting and flower sprouts bravely pushing up through the mulch.   Fast forward just two months – see how much exciting growth has happened in our gardens - - -  Thank you Mother Nature!

The kiss of the sun, for pardon. The song of the birds, for mirth.

One is nearer God’s heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth.

~ Dorothy Frances Gurney

 (Thank you to @OnBradstreet for sharing with me this perfect poem)


Clematis (my favorite climber)

 
Columbine (with Foamflower behind)

Coreopsis (with Hosta)

Poppy (our newest addition this year)

Salvia (with Liatris & Daisies behind - not yet in bloom)

Iris (so beautiful, yet so fleeting - they last only a week)

Wild Strawberries (Mother Nature's surprise for us, it grew in this year in place of grass!)

What better way to start off Spring Break than getting out in the sun, turning over the dirt, and planting a garden?  I’ve always wanted to plant & tend a garden with the children.  Gardening has so many benefits – it teaches patience, caring for the earth, attention to detail, nurturing, and helps boost spirits!  Gardening is therapeutic for me. Who doesn’t just feel better outside in the sun, earth in their toes, the sound of wind through the trees? I just can’t be grumpy out in my flower beds; and I’ve found, neither can my children.

Over the years, my children have helped me create and tend our perennial flower beds, but, due to our locale, never yet have attempted a vegetable/fruit garden.  This is due to the fact that we live in a condo which hires a landscaping company that sprays the common areas regularly with pesticides and fertilizers (Grrrrrr…).  That being the unfortunate case, I’m really not comfortable with planting anything edible here, due to the potential run-off from the grass area.  However, out beyond our backyard and the heavily-treated common area, right at the edge of the woods, there’s a perfectly sunny spot – just right for planting non-edibles! 

First, we had to clear a space out there.  So… out we went with rakes, shovels, and my new gardening best friend, the hound dog and spent the better part of two hours pulling weeds, cutting vines, raking and tilling.  The vegetation, dead leaves, roots, and downed branches that reside on the edge of the woods made clearing a daunting task, but we hung in there (my children are gardening naturals, I tell you). 

Two hours, and two very dirty kids (yes, they did actually lie down in the dirt) later, we had our very first garden!  I was able to scavenge 4 pieces of lumber from the woods (don’t even get me started on people dumping trash in the woods), to surround our space, and felt quite satisfied with the results!   My 5-year old tells me we need a sign that says, “Welcome to my Garden”, and I agree. 

Next, after a lunch break and much-needed shower, came the seeds.  Now, a couple of years ago, my daughter & I tried to plant some sunflower seeds out on the edge of the woods, and they were immediately dug up & eaten by the local squirrels.  So, this year, we decided to try using a seed starter and let our seeds germinate indoors first, and then transplant out to the garden.  We bought an “eco-friendly” seed starter kit made from biodegradable plant material. It was super-easy to put together and plant with the kids.  We chose some easy-to-grow non-edibles: pumpkins and three varieties of sunflowers.  My 2-year old enjoyed watering the pellets, and my 5-year old loved being in charge of labeling the rows.  We finished the seed starting part in about an hour, and added it to our nature table.  Now we just have to wait for the seeds to germinate & tiny plants to grow! We’re all excited to watch the magic of nature! Once the plants are strong enough & big enough, we’ll move them outside to the garden, and make tending our pumpkins and sunflowers part of our daily summer routine.

 
Please share your gardening with kids experiences!  I'd love to know which crops work best for you; and how you help your children learn to enjoy gardening!

A couple days ago, the children and I had a couple hours of time to fill between school and dinner.  It was a sunny day, far too nice to stay indoors, but I wasn't in the mood for a playground.  So... we decided to go geocaching! What is geocaching, you may ask? Basically, it’s high tech global treasure hunting. A bit more specifically, someone in the world (the hider) hides a treasure (a cache) somewhere in the world, and someone else in the world (the seeker), tries to find it by using their GPS!

Specifically, how does it work? Well, first, he hider creates a cache – usually a small Tupperware-like box (though it can be much smaller – called a microcache), often camouflaged, and fills it with trinkets, a pen, and small pad of paper.  The hider takes the box out to an undisclosed public location and hides it, and then records the coordinates – X(and Y) marks the spot, you know – by using their GPS.  Next, the hider uploads those coordinates to http://www.geocaching.com/ and describes a bit about the cache for the potential seekers: the size, the terrain, the difficulty of hiding spot, perhaps the contents of the box – particularly if the there is a special “prize” for the FTF (first to find), or a “travel bug” (a trackable tag that can be carried from cache to cache), and any clues (which are encrypted as to not spoil the surprise) if the seekers are having difficulty finding the cache. Next, someone else in the world (the seeker), goes online, chooses a cache that’s been hidden nearby, enters the coordinates of that cache into their GPS, and then attempts to find it! Once the seeker finds it, they take a bit of the treasure, leave a bit of new treasure, sign the log (if there is one), re-hide the cache (in the same spot) for the next seeker to find, and then log their find online, along with any extra hints, notes about the condition of the box or the hiding spot for future seekers’ reference.

Adam and I have been geocaching on and off for the last 6 years; and have even hidden a couple ourselves. We’ve taken the kids geocaching on nearly every vacation we’ve been on, ever since they were babies.  It’s a way we’ve been able to reconnect with our love of hiking/climbing/outdoor activities without planning a full-on outdoors camping  hiking trip.  A geocaching trip can be a quick as a half hour stop, or a full day hiking adventure! The fun part for kids is that many caches contain small treasures – bouncy balls, figurines, toys, stickers, even money! I really enjoy the hunt! It’s a great family activity that combines nature, technology, and science, introduces you to new places you’ve never explored, and spans age groups (one trip, we went with both Adam’s grandmother AND our (then baby) daughter; and all had a great time!). 

Yesterday’s seek was our first of the year, and my first time as the only adult on a geocaching trip; meaning, that I was both Captain AND Navigator!  This was also the first time I used the Groundspeak Geocaching app on my iPhone instead of the hand-held GPS.  Wow, what a difference!  Prior to the iPhone, you’d go to your computer before setting out, find a few caches that looked interesting, print off the details (in the event that you need to look at clues or re-read the description, etc.), then painstakingly enter each coordinate into your GPS & set way points. With the iPhone, the GPS, map, compass, and geocaching.com are all combined in one place – so there’s no printing, no entering coordinates – just pick your cache, and start hunting! Makes caching with kids much easier & more fun!

We ended up finding two caches on this trip – the first being a bit more challenging of a find than the second – which was convenient, as by the end of the second one, the kids were wearing down, and it was starting to get chilly outside.  My 5-yo was really into it this time; she knew right where to search, was actively checking the GPS map, and making guesses as to what was in the cache. 

My 2-yo was just excited to be able to run freely outside, through the woods and mud, and get a bonus toy! Both kids have asked me when the next time is that we’ll go out. Myself, I can’t wait until the next sunny afternoon that comes along – it’s just that much fun!

To find out more about Geocaching:

http://www.geocaching.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching

Follow Geocaching.com on twitter: http://twitter.com/GoGeocaching 

Yesterday, I found myself reading Amber Strocel’s blog and was inspired, as I often am, by her zest for life - and motherhood. In her post from Friday, she introduced me to the concept of a nature table.

Now, it’s been raining here all day; and if you believe the weather report, is supposed to continue for the next three days.  A long rainy weekend with two little kids necessitates an engaging indoor activity! What better activity for a rainy day than creating a nature table?

First, we brought the old craft table down from the attic.  It had recently been retired due to its small size & copious coatings of glue and paint. I couldn’t bear to just throw it out when we replaced it – and good thing – as it’s just the perfect size for its new life of holding little treasures. 

The children covered it with my daughter’s old receiving blanket. It has roses on it & we considered that the first nature-y part of our nature table.

Next up, we scoured our house for items brought in from outside, or things that reminded us of being outside.  It was really interesting to watch my children choose items – the two year old chose a soap dish shaped like a flower.  The five year old chose a flower sun catcher she’d painted. They added flower stickers, a beanie baby worm, two small plants, a painting, a photograph, animal figurines, two plants, and some seeds. 

We assembled the collected items and observed.  As lovely as it looked, we all felt like something was missing.  So…we donned our rain gear & headed out into the deluge! Outside was the real nature we were missing: rocks, leaves, seed pods, pine needles!
 

A half hour later, soaked to the bone, but happy as clams, we returned with our cold hands full of nature’s gifts:

We dried off our haul, added it to the table, and came up with this finished work:

I think it turned out beautifully!  Yet, more importantly, when we were finished, my 5-year-old announced: “This was really fun Mom!”  And truly, that’s all I needed to hear.  Thanks again Amber for inspiring an afternoon of fun, education, and the simple (and free!) wonder and beauty of nature.

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the Vernal Equinox occurs this year on March 20^th at 1:32 pm. It marks the day of the year when the amount of sun and the amount of darkness are exactly equal. Though, more importantly, the Vernal Equinox signals the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring in our hemisphere!

Here in New Jersey, 16 days out from glorious Spring, we’re already starting to see the first signs that it’s on its way.

Firstly, it nearly hit 50 degrees!

Now, though the thermometer reads like Spring, we still have snow in our back yard and through the woods. But, out in the front yard, which is Western exposure, we only have one tiny patch remaining:

Our first robin made her appearance a few weeks ago, just as the snow was starting to melt.  I don’t know where they go for the winter, but they surely are the first harbinger of Spring. And just today we lovingly observed the Canada Geese pairing off. 

As for our gardens, the narcissus are well up and heading towards budding. Although, to be fair, they’ve been up since an unseasonably warm day in January, because in New Jersey weather is just weird sometimes (can anyone say snowpocalypse 2010?), and a few days in January felt more like October.

Our tulips are pushing up through the old mulch in a couple of places, and even our daffodils in the back yard (in the shade), are coming up!

 
Our favorite garden store is open for the season, and yes, we did drive by already, though they don’t have anything much out yet besides mulch.  Wait a week though, and that will change, for sure.  I can’t wait to fill our poor winter bare wine barrel planter with some color!

Once the snow is completely gone, we’ll be out with rakes to get rid of the old leaves & sticks that have built up on the beds, trim back any branches that didn’t make it through the snow, and put down mulch. Sadly, we lost a rhododendron at the end of the season last year, after nursing it through the summer, so I’ll be replacing that first. I’d like to put in a stone path this year through the front bed, and figure out some low-light, low-growing, green ground cover for the “lawn” part of our tiny back yard.  We'll be installing a new bird (squirrel) feeder in the back, and, trading out our snowman garden flag for one that has spring flowers on it. 

We just can’t wait for the warmer days of Spring: the return of song birds, the sweet smell of lilacs, the rainbow colors of tulips, and many glorious afternoons spent in the garden!

Deepak Chopra tweeted this yesterday:

Emotions are contagious. We monitor, regulate, and are regulated by each other's emotional state. Your well being improves my well being.

I found it apropos, as I was at the moment pondering these questions: How to get out of a “bad mood”? How to avoid passing negativity along to those around you? How to stay immune to the negative moods of those around us?  How instead, to be open to positive moods, and sharing that energy?

It’s something I think about often as you really can’t escape people. Or yourself, really. So better to learn to interact in the most beneficial ways.

Our energy levels fluctuate throughout the day – and thus our moods.  Lower energy I’ve found directly correlates with more openness to allowing negativity to have an effect me. Negativity & lower energy makes me feel less creative & productive. The less productive I am, the less good I feel.  The less good I feel mentally, the less good I feel physically, the less positive my interactions with others, and my low energy and mood gets passed along. It’s a cycle which I’d like to break.  Of course, the cycle works in the opposite direction as well, so maybe I just want to reverse it, not break it altogether.

The more productive I am, the more energy I have.  The more energy I have, the better I feel, the more able I am to deflect negativity thrown my way, and be creative in dealing with “bad moods” – my own, and others, to be more positive. When I’m positive, people react positively, I feel healthier, and things just work right.  When more things work right, I’m more apt to be grateful and expectant of more things working right. When you expect things to go well, health to be good, and people to behave well, they pretty much do.

So how to achieve that positivism reliably? This is really what I’m pondering. Thought into action.

In the short term, giving myself physical space from negativity or chaos works best.  If I can get a moment to myself, to think, breathe, it makes a world of difference. Taking my focus off a future or past worry, and centering instead on the current moment also works for me. If I cannot get my brain to shift gears from worry to peace, occupying myself with a task that requires concentration & creativity – art making or playing the piano or even organizing a space works to distract my mind and start the cycle working in the opposite direction – the more creative I am, the more positive I am.

Now, I can’t always physically separate myself from the chaos (say, driving kids in the car).  So in these instances, I find music helps center me. The more cheerful, the better. 

Your nerves gather with the altitude
Exhale the stress so you don't come unglued
Somewhere there is a happy affair, a ghost of a good mood

~Owl City (from Rainbow Veins)

Alternatively, outside we go. Nature always has a calming, energy-boosting quality.  You can’t take a walk in the woods and come out feeling bad. I mean, unless you’re attacked by a bear.  (who obviously hasn’t discovered the virtues of positive thinking). But, I digress.

In the longer term, overall positive thinking & repetition of affirmations has worked the best for me, as trite as they may seem: I am healthy. I am productive. Life is good.

I do believe by repeatedly telling myself that things are good, things really can only become better.  Not by tricking myself, but rather looking at what's already there in a better way than I currently am (remembering that when I'm feeling down, negativity flows more easily than positivity). And if things don’t actually become better, at the very least, my reaction to them does.  Thus, the reactions of those around me become improved as well, and can lead to physically changing things for the better. Positive energy transfer: it’s what I’m striving towards – greater positivism, increased gratitude, more peace. It can only be good.

So, how do you cope with negativity and turn it into positivity?

We have many houseplants – I don’t think you can ever have enough!

Houseplants are proven air cleaners. They add oxygen, regulate humidity, filter out toxins, and beautify your space.  I believe they add positive life energy to a home, and help children learn about caring for living things.

NASA did a study on houseplants and indoor air pollution.  Certain plants are able to remove dangerous chemicals from the air like trichloroethylene, benzene, & and formaldehyde!

Read NASA’s findings on interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement.

Based on that study, here are my recommendations for best air cleaners: 

Top chemical removers:

Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)

Marginata (Dracaena marginata)

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum “Mauna Loa”)*

Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis)

Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifritzii)

Mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)*

Mother-in-law’s Tongue (Sansevieria laurentii)*

Other great air cleaners:

English Ivy (Hedera helix)**

Golden Pothos (Scindapsus aureus)*

Chinese Evergreen (Aglonema modestum)

Green Spider Plant (Cholorphytum elatum)

Heart leaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium)*

Ficus (Ficus benjamina)

Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)*

*NOTE: I find it interesting that many of the aforementioned plants are considered toxic– particularly when ingested. I wonder if this is partially because they are so good at absorbing (and thus, perhaps harboring) chemicals? I have marked the toxic plants with a star * in the event that you have small children or pets. Those with two stars ** are particularly toxic, and I definitely do not recommend for households with small children or pets who could consume the leaves.

For a list of toxic & non-toxic plants for pets, please see the ASPCA’s page.

For a list of toxic & non-toxic plants for children, please see the National Poison Control center’s page

That being said, all plants have the ability to clean air.  If you are uncomfortable with keeping any plants in your house known to have some toxicity, I’ve compiled a list of  common non-toxic houseplants (not listed above). Now, while these specific plants may not have been studied to show the ability to drastically reduce toxic chemicals, they will still do their job cleaning your air & beautifying your environment while being safer to have around children & pets:

African Violet (Episcia reptans)

Begonia (Begonia sp.)

Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exalta)
Christmas Cactus (Zygocactus truncatus)

Hoya (Hoya sp.)

Jade Plant (Crassula argentes)

Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe sp.)

Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus lobbianus) – this is a favorite!

Peperomia (Peperomia sp.)

Ponytail Palm (Beaucarenia recurvata)
Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica)
Wandering Jew (Tradescantia albiflora)

For a list of hundreds of houseplants with description, photo, and care instructions, check out this site.

Which houseplants are your favorites?  Please let me know!

I’ve been thinking lately about our indoor space. I suppose this is only natural when its 30 degrees with blowing wind outside, making it extremely uncomfortable to be anywhere BUT inside!

But the cold weather & closing up of windows & doors always makes me uncomfortable.  Cleaning products, dirty shoes, dust… not to mention the continual offgassing of carpets & paints; I can’t help but think of the accumulation of unhealthy particles.  So I dedicate this post to trying to keep our indoor air healthy this winter!

We’ll start with the shoes.  We’ve always kept a shoe rack by the front door and, as strange as it may be, I do ask everyone to remove their shoes on entry.  This prevents the continual tracking of icemelt salt, dirt, and other gunk, through the house, and on/into the carpets.

So… carpets. And paint. Sigh. In a perfect world, where I could design my own house, I’d have chosen natural ZERO-VOC paint for the walls, and toxin-free tile or wood for the floors.  In reality, our home came with carpeted floors & painted walls of unknown origin.  To this end,  whenever we’ve had to do paint touchups, I’ve purchase all natural paints from BioShieldPaint.com (I don’t operate nor am affiliated with, but I’ve had good experiences with).

To clean our carpets, I use hot water, a squirt of dish detergent, and essential oil of tea tree & lavender in the detergent compartment of our steam cleaner.  I’ve found the essential oils + gentle cleansers work just as well to remove the surface & ground in dirt & dust while leaving the air fresh-smelling, and no chemical residue in the carpets!

Speaking of chemical cleaners, we use only all-natural chemical-free cleaners inside the house. I do, unfortunately make an exception for bleach – as I’ve yet to find a reliable way to remove mildew in the bathroom.  Tea Tree Oil does a good job at keeping the mildew & mold at bay once the bleach kills it, but it doesn’t get rid of it when its already there.  If anyone knows a more natural solution for bathroom mildew, please let me know!

Next, lets talk about the HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) air purifier, and why I believe its important to sleep with one. The bedroom is the place in your home where you spend the most time.  You breathe & re-breathe the same air for hours on end.  The ease of your breathing is linked with good sleep, and good sleep is linked with good health.  It makes sense to me that keeping that air clean, circulating, free of dust, mold, animal dander, and dust mites (yuck) helps insure that we sleep better, keep our lungs clearer, and our bodies healthier overall!  So why HEPA? Because its proven to remove the tiniest sized particulate from the air – from large dust down to tiny viruses. For info on how a HEPA works, read here.

One drawback to HEPA purifiers is that they require a fan to operate – because in order to trap the particles, they need to pass through the filter. So you have to get used to the white noise while sleeping.  However, we’ve embraced the sound of the fan over the last 15 years – and find we can’t sleep without it! 

Note: Not all air purifiers are the same.  Some, actually, can be detrimental to your health. Please stay away from air purifiers that use ozone to clean the air, or have an ozone feature.  They have been shown to create unhealthy levels of ozone in the indoor air which can lead to decrease in lung function, aggravation of asthma, etc. You can read the EPA’s report on ozone generators.  

Next up, the house heater filter. We’re currently using a 1” pleated allergen filter in our heater/air conditioner to filter the whole house air as it goes through our furnace. The drawback with this, as opposed to the standard flat fiberglass filter, is that it reduces air flow – so it does reduce the efficiency of the heating system overall.  This does likely lead to a slightly higher heating bill because the heat has to run more often.  But, I think the benefit of particulate reduction far outweighs the negative of slightly increased electricity bill in the winter. I recommend checking for a high MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) rating (the one we use is a 12) as well as a high MPR (microparticle performance rating).  The higher the number, the smaller the particle the filter can capture.

Now those last two items CAN be rather pricey, and not everyone has a blown air heating system, or wants to sleep with white noise. So, the third idea thing I recommend for clean indoor air is houseplants! Houseplants are proven air cleaners. They add oxygen, regulate humidity, filter out toxins, and beautify your space.  I believe they add positive life energy to a home, and help children learn about caring for living things. They also are relatively inexpensive if you purchase from a bigger nursery, but particularly if you can obtain cuttings from friends who already have established plants.  Schools & other non-profits tend to have houseplant sales as fundraisers. We’ve also had some luck with obtaining houseplants through garage sales (and the benefit to this is that they already come potted!).  For a list of best air-cleaning houseplants, see my post on Houseplants as Natural Air Purifiers.

Thanks for reading.  Please feel free post your comments & ideas! I’m always open to suggestions, and continually working towards a more natural toxic-free home.