Happy Earth Day!

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? If you’re stumped for ideas you could always embrace Plants and their medicine.

I’ve an embarrassing secret to share. . . . last year on Earth Day I was making chicken stock and I let the pot burn dry. My house smelt like a chicken crematorium! Despite a thorough clean of every single kitchen surface, using an arsenal of eco cleaning products - the smell still faintly lingered. So I called upon Mother Nature to assist.

Bad smells are Sha Chi - negative energy in Feng Shui and although a bunch of perfumed cut flowers would bring a more fragrant note to my home, it's not really sustainable Sheng Chi - vibrant uplifting energy. Why? Because cut flowers only have short term energy and their vitality is cut short (pun intended!). They will in time fade, with the chi progressively dying off. Besides cut flowers visual beauty, they’ll only mask smells.

So did you know that certain Plants are air purifiers? NASA conducted an experiment over 25 years ago to determine the most effective indoor plants for removing toxic agents from the air. Chemicals such as formaldehyde, ammonia and xylene lurk in new furnishings, carpets and a host of everyday items commonly found in our homes and offices. Thankfully Mother Nature can help us get rid of some nasty manmade toxins. Choosing plants is another way of doing your bit for the environment on Earth Day, as it avoids the use of plug-in fragrance dispensers or aerosols either, to pump synthetic fresheners into the air.

NASA’s list of air purifying plants has one notable theme, to my mind at least - not too many have showy flowers, except for one noticeable showy exception - the Chrysanthemum morifolium, more commonly known as the Florists Chrysanthemum. And this plant is also the most versatile and capable of neutralizing most tested toxins.

So I marked Earth Day last year, with a trip to the garden centre to buy a potted Chrysanthemum - a big showy white variety as my kitchen needs the METAL element and white is the colour associated with Metal in Feng shui. I also popped my plant into a metal container to reinforce the metal remedy. And, I’m pleased to report it worked a treat.

If you don’t require an air purifying plant then perhaps you could choose a Plants linked to a Planetary day ruler? Yes, each day of the week is ruled by a planet and Monday’s ruling planet is the Moon. Although a big showy white hydrangea is not on Nasa’s 25 indoor cleansing plants list, it is linked to the Moon and would without doubt make a welcome addition to your home this Earth day.

Be a land and Earth custodian today and everyday.