HEALTH & WELLNESS | THE
P L A N T P OW E R By Cara Harris
Indoor plants are the best way to bring nature into the home. But when thinking about which plant to choose, do you consider whether it’s indigenous, and how and where it was grown? This article will explore the best indigenous plants to include in each area of your home, the benefits and uses of each, and why we should be asking for organically grown when looking to green our spaces.
BENEFITS OF ORGANICALLY GROWN INDIGENOUS PLANTS * Many can be harvested for flavourful foods, health-promoting tonics, delicious teas and other beverages, fragrant crafts, and first aid remedies. * All play a role in biodiversity conservation, helping to restore local ecosystems and provide habitats for wildlife. * They support the local wellbeing economy, helping to create meaningful nature-friendly employment. * Many provide a feast for the senses, with a variety of naturally relaxing, health-promoting sights, smells, tastes and textures. * They create opportunities for children (and adults) to engage with nature, discovering and exploring the intricate web of life.
IN THE KITCHEN Indigenous plants well suited to the kitchen include culinary herbs, edible plants and first aid remedies. Aromatic herbs like African mint, wild garlic, wild rosemary and blue sage do well in large planters in sunny spots or in kitchen gardens. These fragrant, essential oil-rich plants are useful to flavour dishes, and can be used in much the same way as their overseas counterparts. Try a wild rosemary vegetable roast, 20 | ISSUE 4 | 2 0 2 0 | T H E H I L L S E STAT E
new potatoes with chopped wild garlic leaves and mint, or a spekboom leaf and watermelon summer salad. Our indigenous herbs can also be used to create delicious beverages. Enjoy a calming yet refreshing African mint iced tea, vitamin C-rich num-num fruits in your morning smoothie, or a sprig of zesty spekboom in your gin and tonic. Minor ailments can be treated with indigenous first aid remedies made from your kitchen herbs. The soothing and mildly antiseptic sap from bulbine leaves and crushed spekboom leaves are useful in helping to heal minor burns and cuts in the kitchen. Try sipping on antibacterial and pain-relieving blue sage, wild garlic and honey tea to soothe a sore throat, or wild rosemary and mint tea for indigestion. * Bulbine – Bulbine frutescens * African mint – Menta longifolia * Wild rosemary – Eriocephalus africanus * Blue sage – Salvia africana * Spekboom – Portulacaria afra * Wild garlic – Tulbagia violacea * Num-num – Carissa macrocarpa
IN THE BATHROOM Bathrooms tend to have the highest humidity in the home, and suit plants that like the extra moisture in the air. Ferns enjoy this climate, and our indigenous krauss spike moss is a good choice here. Plants that are happy in lower light levels are also suited to bathrooms. Spatula-leaf crassula and hen-and-chickens look beautiful cascading down from a shelf or hanging baskets. The zebra plant is an easy-care option that looks great on a bright bathroom windowsill or countertop.
