Houseplants are becoming more and more popular. It's estimated that three-quarters of adults have at least one houseplant in their homes. Some have them at work. And spending on houseplants has climbed 50% since 2016, even as the price of plants has fallen. There are many reasons for this. Houseplants bring nature inside, brighten up winter months, and fill a need for nurturing a living thing. They also look good. Some people care for houseplants as a hobby, some use them to decorate, and some become obsessive about keeping them alive or making them propagate.
Anne Helen Petersen looks at how we've become so enamored of houseplants, from the early 1600s when plants were brought back from exotic faraway places, to the elaborate greenhouses of the Victorian era, to Mid-Century Modern minimalism. Each era attached different meanings to houseplants and the people who kept them. She will follow up with part two, soon, we hope. -via Metafilter