Episode Details

So we have said goodbye to 2020 and all of the insanity that came with it, but there is something we haven’t said goodbye to: working from home. Many companies have pledged to work from home well into 2021, leaving us sitting in our sweatpants, computer monitors and weird makeshift home offices with reluctant acceptance. People are spending more time than EVER indoors and at their screens, and that’s why it’s never been MORE important to have plants not only in our homes, but in our work from home office set ups.

Since WFH isn't going anywhere, in 2021, I'm choosing to reframe it from a frustration to an opportunity.

An opportunity to have complete control over our WFH environment and create our desk space oasis to look exactly like we want it.

Today’s episode is all about the why and how behind bringing plants into our workspaces, whether you are still working from home or are back in your office. Cobbling together a work from home set up was STRESSFUL in 2020, in our old apartment I had a desk that folded up into the wall, so I couldn’t even decorate and settle in the way I wanted. But now, as we turn the page to 2021, let’s shake things up create some stress free and joyful moments in our lives! For me the solution here has been plants and something that blew me away recently is how many people in our community are going HAM on their workspaces with plants. I posted my planty wfh set up on IG in December, asking if anyone else created a jungle oasis at their desk the way I did in 2020, and SO many of you sent pictures of your amazing planty home office set ups, and asked for help and ideas for how to set up your own. So this episode is for you plant friends, inspired by you and members of our community, and I hope everyone walks away from this episode with one idea to incorporate a little more green into their daily workflow. 

I’ve broken this episode into two sections: the WHY where we dive into the reasons why having plants are so important in our space and talk a little about biophilic design and then part two the HOW. I share ideas inspired from the WHY section, break down the ways I incorporated plants and biophilic design into my home office and then review some photos listeners sent in and hope their setups might inspire you as well. 

Get the free download with 9 Tips for Greening Up Your Work From Home Office Space

In the episode we learn:

• [02:07] Why Bloom and Grow Radio is doing an episode on #plantywfh spaces
• [04:39] Check out Maria’s Planty WFH space tour
• [05:03] What to expect from this episode on work from home setups and biophilic design
• [06:50] The AMAZING and unbelievable benefits of engaging with plants and biophilic design, according to 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design
• [07:27] What is biophilia, the idea behind it, and the important figures behind this wonderful hypothesis
• [09:24] The psychological role of plants in our creativity
• [10:09] How being around nature and scenery affects patient recovery, as studied by Dr. Ulrich in 1972 to 1981
• [11:13] A review of direct versus involuntary attention based on studies by Stephen R. Kellert and Rachel Kaplan
• [13:41] Biophilic Pattern #1: Visual Connection with Nature
• [13:54] Planty WFH Tip #1: Put your desk near a window
• [14:15] Planty WFH Tip #2: Put plants within the eyeline of your desk
• [14:33] Planty WFH Tip #3: Have a green wall in your office
• [14:56] Planty WFH Tip #4: If you can’t have real plants, pictures of plants will do!
• [15:09] Biophilic Pattern #2: Non-Visual Connection with Nature
• [15:26] Planty WFH Tip #5: Play nature sounds like the one-square inch forest silence in