Growing plants

Growing plants is a hobby that can be enriching in so many different ways. Taking care of the garden or having plants indoors gives us an opportunity to express ourselves. It also allows us to learn about nature and its processes. Having plants also gives us the opportunity to harvest and utilise what nature provides.

Green plants are essential for life

Green plants are required for photosynthesis, a process that is essential for life on Earth. Carbon dioxide and water are converted into sugars and oxygen. We wouldn’t be able to breathe or eat if it wasn’t for plants. The impact they’ve had on the Earth over millions of years is huge. You can also make a positive impact on your local environment with green plants. Air quality is improved by indoor plants. It is possible to create a more even and cooler indoor climate with plants.

Plants make you happy

Having plants in your environment, indoors and outdoors, improves your quality of life. There is scientific evidence that plants can affect us by:

• Having a calming and relaxing effect.
• creating a sense of well-being and community
• stimulating creativity, concentration and memory
• Lowering blood pressure and raising levels of hormones that make us happy.

Grow hardy plants in pots outdoors

Potted plants can be used to furnish a balcony or patio and create ‘rooms’ to enjoy. The pots can also be decorative and allow you to have flowers, for example, where you don’t want to or can’t make a larger planting.

Planting in pots is flexible. During a growing season, you can have several different annuals depending on the season. By keeping hardy plants in pots outdoors, you can keep flowers, fruit and vegetables that you would otherwise not be able to have. You can overwinter perennials that cannot cope with the climate where you live. Just bring the pot inside or put it in a sheltered place.

Ground cover plants

Ground cover plants are an important category as they make up most of the vegetation in many gardens. Here, many people think of grasses. However, there are alternatives that are as practical as grass and provide greater biodiversity. Blueberry and ivy are examples of ground cover plants that are suitable for a shady location. Strawberries are a pleasant and hardy ground cover that thrives in the sun. You can also mix several grass varieties with each other to get a resilient lawn that stays green for a long time.

Invasive plants

Invasive plants are plants that have come to a place from another environment and affect the ecosystem and biodiversity. Invasive plants can become a major problem. The giant hogweed is an example of invasive plants in Sweden. It outcompetes other species, can affect the water quality of a large area and is harmful to humans and animals through its toxic sap. A less extreme example of an invasive plant is the creeping rose. It’s a garden shrub that likes to spread in riparian areas. Planting plants outdoors is a responsibility, as it can affect the environment even beyond the property line!

Author: Johanna Damm

Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra

Last updated 2023-12-04