1 year ago
2 minutes reading time

Give a gift that keeps on giving

For many people, their go-to gift for most occasions is flowers. And there’s nothing wrong with that. A nice bouquet is a wonderful little token of acknowledgment for an event, happy or sad. I love receiving cut flowers and arranging them around the house. However, a few days later comes the job of throwing away said flowers, the accompanying mangy water and cleaning up the vases. And every time I scrub slime from my vases, I think “There’s got to be a better way!” 

And there is.

Enter the new healthier way of giving flowers – giving a whole flowering houseplant. That’s right, instead of expensive cut flower arrangements, the new green trend is to buy a whole potted plant. There are several advantages to this. They’re cheaper than cut flowers, they last much longer, and they help keep you healthy. 


A gift that keeps on giving

A flowering houseplant can live for several years and requires very little care. Some of them will stubbornly keep flowering even if you abandon them for weeks on end. They don’t die easily, so they make the perfect gift even for someone with a black thumb. 

Due to their longevity, houseplants, when given as gifts, are a wonderful reminder of a special occasion. If you gift someone a houseplant rather than cut flowers, they will remember you every time they walk past it. 

Houseplants also have the added benefit of keeping your home fresh and healthy by purifying the air. This means better sleep and better mood, which are essential items in today’s stressful lifestyle. Now that’s a thoughtful gift!


Best houseplants for a UAE home

Don’t be discouraged by the hot UAE climate. Several flowering houseplants grow very well in our country. Here are my top three picks:


Peace Lily: A beautiful, elegant plant, the Peace Lily or Spathiphyllum is one of the most popular houseplants, and with good reason. It’s a low maintenance plant, needing watering only once a week if that. Keep in mind that over-watering will kill your peace lily much faster than under-watering it. It is also very efficient at removing harmful toxins like formaldehyde and benzene from the air. The graceful white blooms just add to its appeal, making it an ideal plant for the home or office. 


Chrysanthemum: Another popular houseplant is the Chrysanthemum Morifolium, also known as Florist’s Daisy or Hardy Garden Mum. They require more frequent watering than the Peace Lily and need to be kept near the windows for sunlight. These frilly flowers not only brighten up your space but also cleanse the air of many toxic chemicals such as trichloroethylene, ammonia, xylene, and many others. They can, however, be harmful to animals if ingested.


Red Anthurium: Also known as Flamingo Lily, the Anthurium Andraeanum is another famous flowering houseplant. It requires lots of indirect light and the soil must be kept moist at all times. If cared for properly, you will be rewarded with brilliant red blooms all year round. It’s incredibly long-lasting and is yet another plant that keeps your air clean and healthy by removing airborne ammonia, toluene, formaldehyde, and other toxins.

So the next time you have to make a gift of flowers, choose one of these long-lasting, healthy gifts rather than cut flowers. It will be a gift of not just beautiful flowers, but of health and happiness as well.








Houseplant Basics

Seena Raghavan

Editor