Why plants are our new best friends

A recent All About You survey proves plants are one of the family!

A recent survey conducted here on the All About You website confirms these days we are shunning friends and family in favour of talking to our plants! The research, based on more than 1,000 respondents throughout the UK, asked readers what role plants play in their daily lives. 89% of those surveyed say they regularly talk to their plants - evidence that Brits, like Prince Charles, are turning towards their flowering friends for company.

 

A further 24% pet their plants and a soppy 8% have even cried when they die.

 

Why are we so attached?

 

Why are Brits so attached to their plants? According to the survey, this can be answered by the reasons a plant is chosen in the first place. 24% claim it reminds them of a friend or family member and 3% say a pet.

 

Does your plant have a name?

 

It doesn't stop there; 10% of Brits go so far as to name their plant after a friend, 5% after family members and 2%, respectively, after celebrities and pets.

 

Why plants anyway?

 

The role of a plant is much more than offering shoulder to cry on. 80% of those surveyed by All About You keep them to brighten up their homes, 60% to make more homely and 41% to provide cleaner air to breathe indoors.

 

What's the UK's favourite plant?

 

And which is the nation's favourite plant? The cactus tops the poll with 44%, orchids are second with 41% and the leafy palm comes third with 33%.  52% prefer plants with flowers.

 

Who cares for your plants?

 

Despite 60% of Brits making arrangements for a friend to water their plants when they're away, just over half of the UK (54%) still worry that their little green friends might be dead when they get back.

 

56% of those surveyed would not describe themselves as green fingered but 49% have kept their plant alive for more than seven years.

 

Northeners have the best plant chats!

 

Regionally, those from the North East talk the most regularly with their plants (98%), followed by people from the South West (96%) and the Welsh (94%). It is the Scots who are most emotional - 15% cry when their plant dies, the Northern Irish are a close second with 13% and equal third are Londoners and those from North East with 10%.

 

allaboutyou.com editor Bernadette Fallon says, "It is interesting to see that plants are much more than just interior decorations - they've actually become one of the family. The study also shows that our readers are concerned with creating cleaner and greener homes for themselves and that plants, more than ever, play an integral part in achieving this goal."

 

For more on green lifestyles, see our 30 Days of Green Living campaign.

 

 

---

You might like this

 

 

Why eating in season is better for us

 

50 great British breaks by the seaside

 

10 simple spring cleaning tips for the home