Can Houseplants Cure The Winter Blues?

The best potted greenery is foolproof, rewarding, uplifting, and—most of all—beautiful.

It’s amazing what a little ivy can do for your state of mind as the cold weather starts to close in. Over the years, I’ve discovered that I need plants to survive the harsh and unrelenting New England winter, just as I wouldn’t make it long without oxygen or granola. I guess that’s why I started collecting houseplants decades ago and never quite stopped—and now, with 300-plus green companions, I have learned to look for species that I can count on to stick around. Specifically, I collect plants with a single defining characteristic: They have to be indestructible. 

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Rodale's Organic Life by Tovah Martin.