The jungle name is: Why plants are girls' best friends

MORE YEARS OLD BACK CULTURE OF HOME PLANTS In Russia, many people associated them with grandmothers' apartments and government premises — dried palm trees in kindergarten and clinic, or seedlings in plastic sour cream jars that captured sills. But, as is often the case, fashion is able to change course overnight: today, home plants are the pride of those who are called millennials. Young people around the world suddenly became involved in home gardening, and potted plants ceased to be a symbol of life failure. No more jokes about the "old maid with a cat and a ficus": the world is happily evolving, so an adult independent woman with a pet and a luxurious house tree in 2017 is an example to follow, and not an object of ridicule.

For the sake of justice, the love of plants never really subsides, it just periodically blossoms: the very people of the Victorian era were crazy about ferns, giving this collective insanity the beautiful name Pteridomania. In the report of the Garden Media Group on trends this year, there are no longer botanists in coats, but young people: they break up gardens, grow herbs at home, bring flowers to work - and generally those who sell gardening are directly interested in their enthusiasm. And it turns out they have a good idea: knowing that the easiest way to lure us is with fresh technologies and the gamification of the process, the suppliers of home greens do not skimp on the tricks. Gardening is doubly pleasant when the compiler of a monthly package of cacti by subscription decides for you; and growing edible spinach is not difficult when you can buy a hydroponics kit at IKEA - and no one will look askance, letting go of a little joke about what you really grow in it.

The “conscious reversal” is also to blame: after the frivolous fashion for everything “organic” and for serious environmental problems, the millennials - or at least a part of them - have thought about what they consume and how. Someone was impressed by documentaries like “True Cost” and “That Sugar Film”, exposing clothing production and modern diet, psychological fatigue from constant thoughtless shopping fell on someone — however, awareness became an important part of self-identification. Sometimes it takes radical forms: people give up city life, leave the city and start their own economy. More often, everything happens on a smaller scale: small apartments turn, if not into the jungle, then at least into a front garden with fashionable neat terrariums. In an attempt to make his life more minimalist and more effective, there arises a craving for everything "natural" - and it is easiest to join it through plants.

Millennials generally reflect a lot on where and how they live. According to statistics, young people first of all care not about a hypothetical and very distant future, but about what happens to them here and now. For example, they do not save money for a comfortable old age, but they set aside for traveling - a simple and understandable thing that can quickly improve the quality of life. Plants and a cozy home continue this logic - plants can easily make life more comfortable right now: they clean the air (NASA even studies which plants are best suited for this), control its humidity, decorate the interior and positively influence the psyche, taming the neuroses . NASA even believes that plants can help with sick building syndrome when people get sick because they are locked up.

To take an example of how to equip life and home, is, as always, from the Scandinavians. Severe gray winters and short summers taught the northern inhabitants to turn their dwelling into a real comfortable fortress. And if in the winter it takes the form of the notorious “Hugge”, then regardless of the season, the emphasis is on bright space and green accents. Living plants do not just look favorably against the white walls and shade photos in instagram well - they bring much-needed warmth and vitality that are always with you, even if there is an apocalypse outside the window. So, along with the fashion for Scandinavian design, the moment of glory fell to palm trees, fig trees, cacti and other green pets. By the way, life in the city leaves an imprint on their properties: the smaller the space, the more popular the small plants like succulents. Search for "succulents" since 2010 has grown five thousand times.

The main thing is that the care they require is minimal - it’s not in vain that you’re trying to gossip yourself with candidates for the window sill you’ll most likely come across lists in the spirit of “10 plants that cannot be killed” (succulents and aerophytes take the unequivocal primacy). Plants come in handy at the generation of kidalts: when at the age of thirty you don’t think about children and still juggle with careers and partners, the maximum that is enough for your care is a pet. There is nothing wrong with that, just the time frame has shifted, and circumstances have changed: we live longer, settle down later and think more of ourselves. When the determination is not enough for a dog or a cat, it’s just right that there are plants in which you can send your little care for your neighbor without being very upset if your time and effort are not enough. A cactus is not a dachshund and not a child: if you forget it behind the closet, the crime does not happen - the maximum it will become dusty.

Plants can melt the heart of someone who doesn’t follow trends - even if the wholesale fashion for something annoys you more and you don’t stand in line for Yeezy Boost and ruddy iPhones. When a hurricane rages on all fronts from politics to technology, the craving for good and eternal can help calm down even for a while. And no matter what your love for plants is determined to be - irresponsibility, inclination to fashion or an attempt to avoid loneliness - the main thing is that the final effect will be extremely useful.