7 of the Best Bedroom Plants

I’ve put together an easy to follow list with 7 of the very best bedroom plants to help you keep things alive in the bedroom.

We are all becoming so much more aware of the importance of a good nights sleep. The amount, and quality of the sleep we get has a huge impact on our health and wellbeing, with mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety being strongly linked to poor sleep quality.

The dark cold winter months can be a challenging time for our mental health, and with the added intensity of the restrictions brought on by a global pandemic, there has never been a better time to bring in more elements from nature into our homes and give ourselves the much needed boost that we need to carry us through.

Keeping living plants in the bedroom can help us get a good night’s sleep by both purifying the air that we breath and also by giving off a scent that helps us to relax. And let’s face it, they can just bring any space to life (literally).

Here’s a list of 7 of the very best bedroom plants and their benefits…
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Peace lily

The humble Peace Lily is a great place to start due to its ability to reduce the microbe count in your home’s air, and even absorb mould spores from a damp environment, which, in turn can relieve allergy symptoms such as; throat and eye irritation, nasal stuffiness, coughing and wheezing.

Hay fever and asthma sufferers rejoice. 

It’s a stylish plant with a delicate white flower – perfect for those of you that like to keep things clean and pared back to create a restful atmosphere for a good night sleep.

Aloe vera

Aloe vera is well known for its antibacterial, antiviral, and antiseptic healing properties within its gel, but, did you know that they also emit oxygen at night as opposed to during the day, giving the air around them a boost that can benefit the quality of your sleep?

They’re tolerant of neglect, making them a great choice for newbie houseplant owners. You do need to ensure they have adequate drainage though as they do not like to sit in water and they need a sufficient amount of sunlight to survive, so they will thrive on a windowsill or in south or west-facing rooms – trust me, I’ve learned this the hard way.

Ivy

Ivy can drastically reduce the airborne mould in a room in a matter of hours, which is great news for homes that have poor ventilation or issues with condensation. Research has shown that the saponin components in ivy leaves can relax the airways and reduce coughs. They are even used by doctors to treat asthma, bronchitis and arthritis.

Ivy requires minimal sunlight so it’s a great choice for those darker corners of a room – you can use them as hanging plants or climbers so they’re perfect if you want to feel immersed in nature.

Boston fern

Boston ferns are large, leafy, evergreen plants that will give you that visual boost and feeling of being connected to nature and vegetation all year round. They’re great at helping to naturally restore moisture in dry environments which in turn can help with dry eyes and sinuses.

They’re great if you suffer from dry skin irritations too, and conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

They aren’t the easiest of plants to care for though, and you’ll need to mist and water them regularly to reduce dropping leaves and retain their healthy greens but if you find the right spot for them to flourish they can really create a bold impact.

Keep them out of direct sunlight if you want to keep them sweet.

Rosemary

Rosemary may seem like an unusual choice for the bedroom but it’s strong, heady aroma is known but it’s known as an air-purifying plant that helps relieve stress, regulate your mood and improve the air quality in the room.

You will get a better night sleep and you can enjoy the added benefit of snipping off a sprig or two to add to your cooking.

Rosemary loves basking in the sun, but on those super baking hot days (remember them?) you might want to move it to a cooler spot in the room so that it doesn’t dry out.

Jasmine

Flowers and greenery can help perk us up and keep us feeling positive. For those of us craving a bit of winter greenery in our homes while we’re cooped up indoors, jasmine is an indoor plant with a fragrant scent and white flowers.

According to a German study, the scent of jasmine actually improves the quality of your sleep and increases your chances of waking up feeling refreshed.

Jasmine is on my list of things to add to the wooden clad wall in our bedroom – I think a hanging plant with the leaves creeping up the wall would look and smell absolutely incredible in there. We already have some climbing up the pergola in our garden and there is nothing better that lying in the hammock, enjoying the gentle waft of jasmine while you sip on a slow gin.

Lavender

While we’re on the subject of fragrant plants we couldn’t leave out lavender, could we? Renowned for it’s rich, mellow, floral scent, there is a reason why it can be found in most baby bubble baths and essential oil blends, created to help us relax – studies have found that smelling lavender before going to bed helps us experience deeper sleep and, as a result, feel more energised in the morning.

You can read more about essential oils and how to make a relaxing pillow spray using lavender and vanilla oil that will help to promote a good nights sleep. Read more in my previous blog post about natural home fragrances here.

And that my friends, is how to keep things wild in the bedroom for Valentines day. You’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of a good bunch of living house plants, than you will from a bunch of red roses, and, if you pick the right ones, they’ll even give you the night that you’ve been fantasising about – the one one where you fall straight to sleep and and don’t wake up again until the morning. Bliss.

Night all.

For more plant care advice and tips on how to introduce biophilic design principles into your home or workspace, you can read Marianna’s new book ‘At Home with Nature‘.