Copyright 2020 HOWARD PATTON MD
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Contents
INTRODUCTION
Evr wndr hw the d f ndr lnt wnrh bm rtd n ur culture?
Curious, I rfrmd a few ntd Ggl rh nd fund tht th rgn of hulnt dt bk to early humn htr! Houseplants were n ttu mbl f wealth nd luxur meant to mr; nl rntl hv th bm more bl for all people. For td Friday Unwnd, Im sharing my vr brief, hghl nnttd htr f hulnt!
Nlth Orgn
Humn n th rl Nlth rd (but 10,000 BCE, lng g!) bgn domesticating r. Th process of domestication w n nrdbl slow r, where vr gnrtn humn selected lnt tht hd trt fvrbl for humn cultivation nd numtn. Plant domestication llwd rl humn to mv frm hunter-gatherer settlements t permanent t and
twn. S really, plants were a major ftr in th rtn f humn vlztn.
Hngng wth Babylon
On of the rlt rrd of houseplant ownership in human history (tht I uld find) n b trd bk to th fabled Hngng Grdn f Babylon. Whl there tll a utn f th grdn actually xtd, I hn t fn the story nd wll hr t. Arund 600 BC, n th t f Bbln (ltd in Modern Day Ir), King Nbuhdnzzr II mmnd th gardens fr h wf, Qun Amytis.
The queen w born in a different lnd (hlr speculate h w frm Ar r Pr), and h missed the flg nd rolling hills of hr brthl. Mvd b h wf, the kng ld the ntrutn f one of th great wndr of th ancient wrld, mlt wth mv hngng dl f lm, dates, dr, and brght flwr.
A 19th century drawing of th Bblnn hngng grdn. Illutrtn b Duth rtt Martin Hmkrk.
Egtn, Grk, nd Rmn
Aftr Bbln, houseplants rrvd t th mjr Mediterranean powers btwn 500 nd 400 BC. Wlth Egtn, Greeks, and Rmn r ll dumntd to have kt hulnt n their rwlng tt. Whl ll thr ultur kept lnt in terracotta t, th Romans, rfrrd marble. Th Romans wr nthrlld wth hw flowers nd wnt to great extents t collect the largest nd brghtt flwr possible. Favorite Roman houseplants were large rose and vlt vrt.
Mntur Pttd Plnt
The Vietnamese Hn Nn B, Th Chn Penjing, nd the Jn Bn r ll forms of mntur grdnng that rd between 200 nd 500 CE. These displays mm a full size tree r frt n miniature. Woody uttng r dlng r ld n a hllw container and with ntnt lf and rt runng r transformed t rflt th grwth frm of much lrgr tr.
Renaissance Rurgn
After the fall f th Rmn Emr, drtv hulnt lrgl drd from Eur. Mnk kept th only houseplants and fvrd funtnl lnt lk herbs, vegetables, nd frut. Hulnt nl gn became vgu durng the Eurn Renaissance. Th wlth gn wanted to hw thr vt t thrugh lnt (lrl, th undrtd hw mn bnft lnt ffr nd wh thr so vlubl!).
Fmul, wealthy ndvdul rtd orangeries, whh wr rl grnhu tht llwd the grwth f citrus durng wntr months. Aftr Chrthr Clumbu nd his xlrtn, wealthy ndvdul wntng t showcase xt lnt frm r th n fund tht th humdt f th orangeries suited their lnt well.
Victorian Grwth
Th Victorian r saw th frt u f houseplants by th mddl class. The ndutrl revolution uld wth advancements in rhttur llwd fr bttr htd hm nd more nturl light. No longer the ld dng recesses of th t, th Vtrn home rvdd th proper climate for hrd houseplants. Bk and gud on grdnng nd hulnt l bm vlbl, further nrng th dr for houseplants.
Modern Er
Hulnt really ddnt bm so mainstream untl ftr WWII. Th r of th modern ff and wrk day spurred the dvlmnt of ndr plant u. Hardy lnt, rtnt t lw lght nd drught, wr used to lvn u often trl wrkl. Frm the wrkl, th lnt nturll mgrtd t hm. Td, mdrn rgtn nd breeding techniques hv grtl nrd th dvrt f hulnt available, whl at th same tm drng th cost f purchasing one.
N lngr a ttu mbl only for wlth, th hulnt h now bm a mbl f beauty, wellness, and clean lvng. At Welltended, w believe vrn huld have houseplants, nd wr working t rmv th hassle nd tr f urng nd caring for ur hm nd office lnt.
A Brf Htr Of Hulnt
The htr f hulnt g w, w bk
Indoor plants are ubutu th d, but whn and whr dd th trend rll bgn? Did ur ntr dmr the truturl shape f th Fddl Lf Fg, or frt vr t drng lv? Whl certain plants like ur dr Fiddle hv nl recently m nt Intgrm fame, potted lnt hv unurrngl bn rund fr ntur. Lets tk a trll nt th t t lrn but the htr of hulnt, nd how thv m to b where th r today!
The Very First Indoor Plnt
According t the Enld Brittanica, th rt f ndr grdnng with ttd lnt n b traced back to th early Greeks and Rmn. Oldr vlztn f Egypt, India, and China l md u f ttd lnt, but mostly in utdr spaces nd urtrd. And f course, th Jn fr centuries have bn dwrfng trees fr rnmntl ur.
The Art Of Grwng Houseplants
Though nnt vlztn md u f ttd lnt, t wasnt until th 17th ntur that th idea f grwng lnt ndr was grtl ndrd. On the possibility for the frt time, urrng th ntrutn f grnhu and conservatories r Englnd. Th trutur wr ud to grw, mntn, nd enjoy trl plants that wr brught vr durng Clumbu voyages to the new world.
For tlvn r nd movie buff alike, uv rbbl ttd a lnt or thr in the lbrt t of Vtrn rd dramas. Houseplants bm nrdbl ulr n the md to lt 1800, nd were used a w to brghtn thng u during Englnd lng, dreary wntr. Sm f the most ulr lnt f the Vtrn r include th Ct Irn, Btn Frn r Brd Nest Fern, Englh Iv nd Parlor Plm essentially plants tht could hndl th rbbl ndtn f that tm: rltvl low munt f sunlight, high lvl of humdt nd drft.
Hulnt Today
Recent decades have n a numbr of dffrnt hulnt fads, frm the living rm jungl f the 70 t th obsession with fux lnt and flwrng rhd of th 90s. But n the increasingly ft-d, hr-nntd world w lv n today, th rl of houseplants seems mr important thn vr. Bnd the latest t lnt trends, lnt dd but to ur and help u t fl grounded nd nntd with ntur. Modern n nt to th mrd f physical and mntl hlth benefits tht m with lnt, and lmt anyone who tries thr hnd t rng fr n indoor lnt wll gr t a rwrdng experience (even whn thng dnt lw go wll!). Considering ll th hv t ffr, its n wndr houseplants hv bm ubutu.
So wht d th nxt dd (nd future gnrtn!) hld n tr fr hulnt? Onl tm will tll! But wth grwng knwldg, plentiful rur, and new plant hbrd popping u vr d, w know n thing fr sure: they certainly arent gng anywhere!
Hulnt Tht Changed History
Th rh fr th perfect houseplant can b vrwhlmng. In New Yrk flwr district, tr r tmng wth ttd lnt of vr h nd z, from rhd and petite Afrn violets to nrmu, thorny rtur tht look straight out f Lttl Sh f Hrrr nd m or m not bt off my thumbs whl I l. But I nl hv rm for n n my apartment.
Intd of mkng n vrht dn, I took a few steps bk. Mk that a fw thund. In m ut fr th perfect houseplant, I gave htr th reins, hng t wuld gud me t my perfect lnt.
Th Hngng Gardens of Babylon
Humn bng are th nl animals tht dmtt thr animals. Evn when we lvd n v and wore lnlth, dog and t ntr rvdd u with muh ndd mnnh. Lng story short, fr eons w hv bn brngng thng home that dnt necessarily blng thr. No one xtl ur whn l frt trtd grwng plants ndr, but the most prominent nnt vlzr f the lnt was the Bblnn emperor lld Nbuhdnzzr. Btwn 605 and 652 B.C.E., Nebuchadnezzar married a wmn nmd Amt wh was frm Pr, n r full f lush greenery nd rolling hills. Qun Amt felt alienated n th l n Bbln tl, bult frm mrbl nd ru stones.
To make Amt fl mr mfrtbl, Nebuchadnezzar bu he w that knd of guy built hr th Hngng Gardens of Babylon. H undd lm, cedar, and dt trees frm the lng. Tm f gardeners ultvtd fragrant flwr t grw ud dwn.
In m rtmnt, I could nvr wrk on th same scale as Nebuchadnezzar (nd t unlikely t be dgntd a Wndr f th Wrld, whh h was) but I could lv with th hrm of upside dwn-n wth a miniature lm tr. G small nugh, nd u can ntl a palm tree n a mrm hldr nd nvrt it. But would making ll th blood ruh t its tiny fronds ulf Crult t Plants?
