Garden Gathering: Bringing Outdoor Elements Inside Your Home for

When spring comes to the Greenville/Spartanburg area, it makes you want to run outside and stay there until the sun goes down and the lingering chill takes over. Being outside is great, but why not bring some of the outdoors in? That way, you’ll be surrounded by spring even as you do necessary household tasks. Here are some ideas.

Bring in plants and flowers

Put houseplants in every room of your home, even the laundry room and mudroom if you have them. Indeed, some plants such as ferns do best in humid areas out of direct sunlight. Some friendly plants scrub the air of pollutants. These include philodendrons, peace lilies, rubber plants, and types of ferns. Even plants with showy flowers like chrysanthemums pull volatile organic compounds (VOCs) out of the air. Still, don’t forget to bring in flowers that are simply beautiful or fragrant. Another idea is to grow herbs, preferably in your kitchen, where they'll be close at hand when you're cooking. If your kitchen doesn’t get a lot of natural light, use artificial light designed to grow plants. Herbs like basil, sage, mint, and thyme also have delicious aromas.

Bring the sun and air in

Now is the time to open the curtains, pull up the blinds, and open the windows to let in the spring sunshine and fresh air. If you’re renovating your home, consider installing larger windows, such as bay or bow windows, to let in even more light.

Bring nature indoors

Besides plants and flowers, find other things to bring indoors to beautify the rooms. This is a great project to do with children. Things to collect include pine cones, feathers, interesting pieces of wood, and beautiful or unusual rocks. Some people even collect the bones, skulls, or antlers of animals in the woods.

Add fresh, springlike scents

Fill bowls with potpourri to bring the fragrance of spring into your house. You don’t even have to go out of your way to do this. Carolina jessamine, for example, blooms in early spring and even late winter. Pick the blooms, add them to a decorative bowl, and enjoy the heavenly scent. Later in the spring is the time for Japanese honeysuckle and wisteria. If you’re still using incandescent light bulbs, a few drops of essential oil added to one can fill up a room with scent. If your incandescent bulb days are in the past, add essential oils to diffusers.

Use natural materials

Consider using natural materials if you’re thinking of reupholstering your furniture or buying new furniture. These include real wood for furniture frames and fabrics such as cotton, coir, bamboo, linen, or even silk as upholstery. Natural fibers are also good for drapes, curtains, rugs, runners, and carpets.

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