Throughout this pandemic, many of us acquired new hobbies and interests to make the reality of being stuck at home more bearable. Some of us took up baking, reconnecting with an abandoned musical instrument, or focused more seriously on our physical fitness. Apart from helping us cope, we’ve also reaped other rewards from these hobbies, and they may have helped us arrive at new personal realizations.
One such hobby that may have borne fruit is gardening. The benefits of growing and tending your own plants are numerous. They can help us with our mental health and can, of course, literally bear fruit.
You might think that the benefits of a garden are confined to the home space, but in reality, plants can benefit public spaces as well, including our workplaces.
Regardless of your industry, your enterprise can likely benefit from plants, so before you head out to pick up some supplies for planting, here are some ideas to inspire you.
Garden Cafe
The first and most obvious idea would be to have an outdoor dining space for a restaurant. During this pandemic, many of the establishments that survived or were allowed to continue operating were those with al fresco dining spaces. But beyond this necessity, having a garden space for your dining patrons has so many merits.
Is there anything more romantic than a dinner date under the stars? A garden space will certainly add to that ambiance. Apart from the aesthetic appeal of flowers, your garden can also be functional for your kitchen. You can grow your own herbs and even some vegetables on-site, and that’s a huge come-on for many diners.
You can even make the garden more interactive. Perhaps your restaurant’s dining concept can be a fusion of a restaurant and a gardening workshop. This way, patrons don’t just come in to eat. They can tend to the plants themselves and interact with other plant lovers.
Office Zen
When your work is always in the digital space, as it is in many workplaces, it can be easy to burn out and lose track of reality. A fast-paced, demanding economy has left us all hunched over our laptops and staring at screens for hours on end.
When all you’re seeing are pixels, wouldn’t it be nice to take a breather in a real garden? It is said that the color green helps us calm down, and what better way to have more green in the office than by creating an actual green space?
You don’t need to put an actual zen garden in your office, though that would be wonderful, of course. A small corner, maybe a balcony, can be turned into a relaxing hideaway for your staff. Add some floor planks, pebbles, and an assortment of potted plants, and you have yourself an office worker’s dream.
Having an office garden can definitely boost your staff’s morale, which can only benefit your business. It’s also an attractive office feature for any prospective employee.
Farmers at Work
You might think that this next idea is taking the previous one to the extreme, but hear us out.
Urban farming, or growing fruits and vegetables in smaller city spaces, is a growing movement, and your office space can be its next target.
Imagine having a space in your workplace where you and your staff can grow plants. Instead of bringing people out, maybe you can bring the plants in! That rewarding experience you get from tending to your home garden? You can recreate that in your office and let your coworkers benefit from it, too. Don’t think it’s possible? Check out this urban farm designed by a Japanese design firm for inspiration.
Office Pets
If the above-mentioned ideas are a little too overwhelming, then that would go against the entire purpose of this article, no? As with any new project, it’s important to take it easy.
Maybe your baby steps could simply be adding more indoor plants to your workspace. This could be a good way to test your ability to care for plants amidst a tight work schedule. You can encourage your staff to also bring their own little indoor plants like succulents or moss. They’re low maintenance but add that touch of green that can make such a difference.
Having more green in your life is always good. From more veggie intake to getting more oxygen, we can benefit from having more plants in our lives. If they are so essential to living, why shouldn’t we make them essential to workplaces where we spend such a huge chunk of our lives?
