To celebrate Plant Appreciation Day, Thursday 13 April, big-box store Ikea is releasing a special phrase book to help our plants thrive. Plantitudes will be available for free with the purchase of a plant in-store on the day and while stocks last.
Aussies love their houseplants, and they love to talk, so it’s no surprise that a new study has shown that Australian plant owners are more likely than most to talk to their plants. The global average was 13 per cent while 19 per cent of Australians admitted to talking to plants. Ikea is helping us pair the love of plants and talking with a Swedish twist.
Through 18 pages, readers will learn loving terms to say to their leafy or prickly friends. Phrases include: Please don’t die (Snälla, håll dig vid liv lite till); you look thirsty, would you like a drink? (Du ser törstig ut, vill du ha lite vatten?) and I be-leaf in you (Jag tror på dig).
In keeping with the plant loving theme, the book has been made using 100 per cent recycled paper, printed with eco inks, and is entirely decomposable. When you have mastered the phrase, rip out the page and add it to your compost or green waste to go into a mulch that will continue to help your plants grow.
“Plants may not be able to decipher Swedish or maybe because they are plants from IKEA they can. We thought it was a fun way to give some fresh phrase ideas to the Aussies out there that love having a yarn to their plants – after all, according to the Ikea Life at Home Report, we are the country most likely to do so,” says Nadar Agha, from Ikea Australia.
The report surveyed over 37,400 adults in 37 countries, asking questions about their home life. Conducted between July and August last year, the Australian dataset saw more than 1,000 people surveyed.
Mr Agha says the report captures how Australians are feeling about their homes in this ever-changing time. He says while we are re-entering the world after being at home for so long during the pandemic, he is surprised by how many of us are choosing to embrace their homes more than ever.
“We’re seeing this reflected so clearly in the statistics with homebody behaviours – those super personal and sometimes unique rituals and activities you do when no one else is around, which are higher for Australians than the rest of the world,” he says.
The statistics show that 65 per cent of Aussies surveyed feel their home reflects who they are. The three most important aspects to make homes feel like us were noted as: decorated with things they had bought themselves; items that spark memories; and a space for needs and interests. More than four in 10 (43 per cent) also said they feel more positive about their home in 2022 than they did they previous year.
According to Mr Agha, research has shown that plants react favourably to low levels of vibration, like normal speech, and he speaks to his plants in hopes that they will grow.
“My favourite phrase from the book is Behöver du lite mer solsken, meaning ‘do you need more sunlight?’ as it’s always one of the main tricky questions facing plant parents,” he says.
You can receive a copy of Plantitudes with the purchase of a plant at Ikea Canberra on Plant Appreciation Day, Thursday 14 April; www.Ikea.com/au
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