Turning a new leaf

We're going potty for houseplants, from buying and nurturing to styling and even snapping for our social media. Jennifer Morgan unearths the roots of the craze

We’ve found our green fingers again. After many years of dusty cheese plants abandoned in the corner of our living rooms, we’re on a houseplant growth spurt. From careful selection to growing babies, sharing tips online to booking in plant sitters while on holiday, we’re doing things that, well… we never thought we would for our houseplants.

Beth Chapman, founder of Leaf Envy (leafenvy.co.uk), believes we’re looking for a way to balance our fast-paced and digital-led frenzy of urban life. ‘Millennials and Gen-Z are looking to counterbalance this and be closer to nature,’ she says. ‘Our love of plants goes far beyond aesthetics: in fact, this innate attraction to nature is ingrained in our DNA and has been built up over hundreds and thousands of years of living in agrarian environments. This concept is called biophilia, and biophilic design has become very relevant in architecture and interiors to connect this biological human instinct with the physical spaces we interact in. It’s not just a trend – it’s in our genes.’

As the owner of over 200 plants, Hilton Carter loves to see different textures of foliage all grouped together. In his book, Wild at Home (£16.99, Ryland Peters & Small), he writes: ‘Bringing greenery into your home has so many positive benefits. Not only are you creating a space that can artfully blur the line between interior and exterior, but also one that has great depth. This depth is warm and inviting, and at the end of the day brings a real sense of euphoria. You are literally giving your space life and turning a house into a home. You create a kind of true connection, as if you are at one with nature again.’