National Tree Day brought to you by Toyota and Planet Ark.

A few weeks ago you may have seen I was to Sydney to participate in the launch of Planet Ark’s National Tree Day… National Tree Day is Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature care event – while it may occur on a single day, it seeks to inspire year-round consideration of ‘going green’. Toyota’s partnership with Planet Ark and involvement in National Tree Day reflects the company’s positive support of both the environment and local communities. For the past 15 years, Toyota dealers, staff and local heroes have been rolling up their sleeves to get their hands dirty in support of Planet Ark’s National and Schools Tree Day programs and in this time have engaged more than 3 million volunteers to plant 20 million native trees nationally.

Here’s what it’s all about…

Having just one day allocated to National Tree Day doesn’t mean we only have to plant a tree, or head in to the outdoors on that particular day… we can do this any old day! And this doesn’t just mean, let’s love our outdoor plants, it means we can also bring the outdoors in and surround ourselves in what nature gave us 😉

I used to be mad about indoor plants back in the year 1999. It was the year I met my husband and I moved in with him. Then it sort of became uncool and daggy to have indoor plants… Fast forward a decade plus a few and I’m back to loving indoor plants again (I hope this doesn’t mean I’ll be back loving tartan lounges and suede paint?)…

I am a big fan of foliage. Raiding anyone’s garden who will let me snip a bit here and there to throw in to a jar. I even take the scissors with me when I go for a walk in the bush with my boys. My girlfriend fills a washing basket full of clippings and brings them to me. My house always has a bit of greenery somewhere…

Our homes can be polluted with a mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted as vapour from plastics, cleaning products, carpets, paint, cosmetics and electronic equipment. Gas cookers and unflued gas heaters can also elevate carbon dioxide levels (the reason why you should use your exhaust fan when cooking on a gas stove and open a window with an unflued gas heater). In high concentrations, VOCs and CO2 can be toxic and carcinogenic. Even low levels can hurt health. – source.

Not only do indoor plants look good they also have a purpose:

• Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. So whilst we are sleeping, the plants are refreshing the air.
• Adding plants to hospital rooms speeds recovery rates of surgical patients. So if you’re unwell at home, then it wouldn’t hurt to add some indoor plants?
• If you or anyone in your family has allergies, smokes or just wants to breathe fresher, cleaner air in their homes, then indoor plants are a great addition.
• Students demonstrate 70 percent greater attentiveness when they’re taught in rooms containing plants. Good for homework?
• To improve health and reduce fatigue and stress, place 1-3 plants in an average size room.

With some clippings I start filling jars and bottles – whatever I can find. They last for weeks and weeks too!

I also love to rip a stem off a yucca pup and throw in a vase. It will grow new roots (so you can plant again in the garden!) and because of it’s size it’s a great addition to any console table.

DIY terrarium

If you don’t have a huge garden, or your garden is already overflowing, or you’d love to add something new and fun to your house you could make your own terrarium. I know you’ve probably seen heaps of these gorgeous arrangements floating around on Instagram!

A terrarium is an area within a glass container usually enclosed to keep an ecosystem in a small scale. No live animals or insect are kept in the jar, it’s purely a miniature garden.

I went to the hardware/nursery shop over the weekend and gathered some supplies to make my own.

What you’ll need:

• A glass bowl of any shape or size
• Some rocks for drainage
• Some potting mix (I got a brand which was ideal of low watering plants)
• A variety of succulents in different shapes and heights
• Some moss, for the base and greenery

How to do it:

• Place the rocks in the bowl first (this is for good drainage)
• Pop a couple of handfuls of potting mix on the rocks
• Separate out all the succulents (even brake some apart so you use small bits, rather than too many large ones)
• Then arrange them in the bowl. EASY!
• They hardly ever need water – like maybe a gentle spray every few months. I have been putting mine outside once a week for a few hours just so it can grab a little bit of filtered light.

To find out more about how to make your world greener visit the National Tree Day website here. Join in the fun and plant something today – this year you will be part of a milestone event to plant the 20-millionth seedling since the campaign started in 1996.

Happy planting! ♥ KC.