apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I wish I could have a plant at my desk. The office forbids it. FORBIDS it. Which is weird, since we are supposed to be a "green" building.

I wish any of the rooms I worked in had windows. The downside to working in theater, I suppose.

Maybe it's the other way around: people who are inclined to decorate their work spaces with green plants are generally happier to start with...
Either way, I'm gonna go buy one right now...

I heard about a study (long time ago when I was a kid) from my my mom who is a landscaper. Research found that drivers indicated lower incidence if road rage if they drove along highways with wildflowers or trees.

teacupcake- maybe a fake plant for your office? It is worth asking as it wouldn't introduce allergens or bugs to your office. I think it has all the benefits of the real thing, too, except improving air quality.

I must be really happy at work -- I have no less than six plants on my desk and I've got a couple more on top of the file cabinet. Poor teacupcake - I can't imagine working someplace that "forbids" plants. Ick! I have quite a rock collection going as well, don't know if that tracks with the plant thing or not. They make me happy too.

teacupcake, what about fresh cut flowers? i would imagine they have the same affect, or are those forbidden as well....

Have I misunderstood this: "And I'm going to doublecheck that my plants are helping and not hurting the air around me."

Why would a houseplant hurt the air? I checked out the link and it had plants to improve air quality in the chart.

I'm confused.

I have a green thumb and still managed to kill an air plant.

oh no Sassy!!! That takes some talent to kill an air plant....

I have a tiny air plant on my desk at work -- I'd like something a little extra.

One big bonus about plants is they release oxygen and take in CO2, so you're getting improved air to breathe. In a lot of office buildings with their recirculated air, that's a pretty good thing.

In our office we have plants along all the window ledges that the office workers have brought in. Some of us have them on our desks too. I can't imagine why a company would forbid it.

hmmm... are they sure its the plants making the people happy, or just that happier people buy plants? to me, having the get up and go to buy a plant for work seems to indicate a certain amount of... pep?

I am unable to keep plants indoors, they just DIE on me. So in my cube I have a ton of fake plants, some for the floor, some tiny succulents for the desk, etc. I even have a fake orange tree from Joannes that everyone asks if it's real. And so far visitors have said my [now shared] cube is the coziest, homiest, most comfy spot in the office. People come just to sit and chat and chill. My cubemate and I have table lamps on our desks, which also warms the place up.

And yes, I've killed an air plant. If you don't get the water drained from its base, it will rot from the inside out. Technically they do need watered each week, but you can do your own research and find which particular type you have and how to treat it.

@stephanieokay: I think this refers to if the plant got mad at being cooped up in an office and decided to emit evil gas, for example... Just kidding, no, I don't know either. I work at home looking out over my back roof garden and I LOVE it. However it may harm productivity as I run out to check my beloved seedlings almost hourly.

If you happen to work in a lab rather than an office, a plant can really spruce up the place too - especially if your lab is as bleak and messy as my partner's chem lab, poor guy. I've found that spider plants do really well, especially if your lab tends to leave its lights on ALL THE TIME (argh!) or if you have a little out-of-the-way ledge for printers and reference book storage, so that the beautiful leaves can hang down.

Amazing what a little plant or even one single flower can do to your office space. It is feng shui too!!!!

Oooh, I have an idea. You know how you are only allowed animals in some buildings (banks, post office, etc) if they are service animals? I'll claim that my plant is a therapy plant. What are they going to do, fire me? I'm getting a little cactus this weekend. Monday, here I come!

nice teacake--send us a picture!