By Michael, on June 1st, 2012 
If you want to do your part to help preserve the planet, you can do so with the use of both indoor and outdoor plants. Plants not only help clean up the earth's air and soil, they keep our ecosystem in check and beautify our surroundings as well. If you'd like to know more about how you can use plants to help make our world a healthier place in which to live, get your green thumb ready. Here are several suggestions for using plants to help save the environment.
You can purify the air within your home or office simply by keeping indoor potted plants. Indoor plants reduce many air pollutants by absorbing carbon dioxide, and this in turn makes our air cleaner, fresher, and healthier. Potted plants also help to keep dust levels down. Cleaning the air naturally with plants is a great alternative to artificial air freshening sprays and harsh cleaning agents--some of which may not be so kind to the environment. If you live in a newer home, you should definitely consider keeping potted plants in an effort to be kinder to the planet. Many synthetic materials are used to build new homes these days, and the off-gases produced by these materials are very dangerous to the environment, indeed. Indoor plants will come to the rescue in a new home, making the air safer to breathe. Anyone can keep potted plants--and if you live in small home such as an apartment or condo where you are unable to have an outdoor garden, a small indoor one will do just fine. Some suggestions for indoor plants you should consider keeping are aloe vera, bamboo palm, peace lilies, English ivy, mums, weeping fig, and spider plants.
Outdoor Gardens
Outdoor gardens do wonders for the environment on a larger scale, removing pollutants from the air outside your home and in your neighborhood. Most gardens need fertilizer and pesticides to sustain themselves, as well as plenty of water. You can eliminate the need for dangerous chemicals and conserve water by filling your garden with native plants. Native plants are used to the area's weather changes, and have a much stronger tolerance to pests as well. This means that once they've established a presence in your garden or landscape they will need less water to maintain themselves, and will require little or no fertilizers or pesticides to stay healthy and strong. Gardening with native plants will attract native wildlife, and your efforts will help offer much needed support to your regional ecosystem.
Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs are treasured allies to the environment as they, too, purify the air around us and keep soil clean and nutrient-rich. Throughout its life, one tree can remove up to a ton of carbon dioxide from the air. We need more trees for this purpose with the enormous number of cars and factories polluting our air on a continual basis. Trees not only act as natural air filters, they can help conserve energy, too. By strategically planting trees around your home, you will require less energy to heat and cool it. In the winter time, trees will act as a wind barrier, keeping your home warmer. In the hot summer months, the shade provided by trees will keep your home cooler--saving you money and conserving precious resources that will benefit your entire community. Last but certainly not least, trees help sustain the earth's soil. Planting more of them will keep our soil clean, promote healthy crop growth, and slow down erosion--a huge support to the eco-system as a whole.
Plants and trees are vital to our survival on this planet, and as explained in this article, there are many ways in which you can use them to help the environment. Whether you're able to keep only a few potted plants in your home or you fill your landscape with gardens and trees, any contribution will be invaluable to our planet.
Guest post from Jean Clark. Jean writes for BackgroundCheck.org.
