Fragrant houseplants add a pleasant scent to your home, naturally

Everyone likes to walk into a room that smells good. But artificial fragrances can be potentially toxic, especially to children Where petsand susceptible adults, lung problems or breathing problems. Fragrant houseplants can be a safer way to bring pleasant aromas into your home.

Indoor plants have a lot advantages. They increase feelings of comfort and mental well-being, providing stress relief, healing properties, and even increased productivity. The plants can naturally help clean the airand fragrant indoor plants stimulate your senses.

Fragrant Houseplants That Smell and Look Wonderful

The smell is incredibly powerful. Inhaling odors can trigger memoriesevoke emotions and even change your mood.

Of course, choosing the best fragrant houseplants is a subjective endeavor, as everyone has unique preferences and associations with particular scents, but the following houseplants are some of the most popular aromatic options that are easy to find and to maintain.

Begonia

This popular houseplant can have colorful or succulent leaves and clusters of pink, red, yellow, orange or white flowers. While there are many types of begonias, fragrant (or odorata) begonias have a sweet, sweet scent that many plant owners love. These plants have oval-shaped, glossy evergreen leaves and tend to be easy to grow.

Fragrant begonias thrive in soil that contains peat, perlite and vermiculite and is neither too wet nor too dry. They will be happiest in a location with bright, indirect light and plenty of moisture.

Geraniums

Scented geraniums are sometimes compared to roses. Although they have a rosy aroma, geranium leaves also smell citrusy, fruity and a bit spicy. There is also varieties that smell of apple and cinnamon, peach, strawberry or mint.

The sweet, warm scent of these fragrant houseplants and their ability to thrive make them a favorite option. Simply rub your hand against the foliage or rub the leaves between your fingers to release the fragrance of the plant.

Jasmine

Not all varieties of jasmine are fragrant, but those that tend to smell rich, sweet, fruity and musky. Some most fragrant varieties of jasmine include lightly scented Arabian jasmine; the more fragrant common jasmine; Spanish jasmine, which has a pungent but not overpowering scent, and very fragrant pink jasmine.

Inside, jasmine plants should receive about six hours of bright, indirect light per day. The plants proliferate quickly, so pruning them after they bloom will keep them healthy.

Lavender

This sweet and unassuming plant has a fresh, light and floral scent. Lavender is a perennial plant with known health benefitssuch as promoting good sleep, reducing pain and inflammation, improving mood, and having antimicrobial and antiviral properties.

These fragrant indoor plants grow best in a pot that is only an inch or two larger than the root ball with lean soil near a bright south-facing window.

mint

you can grow many types of aromatic mint plants inside your home and even use them in cooking and baking. Peppermint has a sweet smell. Chocolate mint has a fresh peppermint scent with a warm cocoa undertone. Eau de Cologne mint, also known as orange mint and bergamot mint, smells like citrus.

These plants are attractive and grow well all year round indoors, even when you harvest the leaves. You can even collect several varieties to use in your kitchen or throughout your home.

orchids

Orchids are another beloved houseplant that offers several aromatic varieties. For example, Brassavola nodosa, commonly known as Lady of the Night, has a room-filling fragrance similar to freesia or lily of the valley. Brightly colored Rhynchostylis gigantea or foxtail orchid has a sweet citrus scent. Walker’s Cattleya (aka Cattleya walkeriana) has cinnamon-vanilla scented flowers that open very flat.

Caring for orchid plants indoors can be simple when you learn what they need to thrive. They do well with shallow planting in moist, well-drained conditions. They prefer bright, indirect light, but too much light can scorch the leaves. Placing them in an east or south facing window is ideal. Cooler temperatures at night help them bloom, and it pays to let them dry out a bit between waterings.

Oregano

This aromatic herb is another favorite to grow in kitchens. Plants can thrive indoors when they get plenty of direct light. You can buy plants or grow oregano from seed and start harvesting the leaves within about three months. Potting soil mixed with coarse sand in a small clay pot is ideal for these fragrant houseplants.

Other aromatic herbs you can grow around the house include rosemary, thyme, basil, and parsley. Growing Herbs Indoors can add beauty, flavor and delicious fragrance to your home all year round.

Of course, as good as they may smell, not all plants are safe for the curious. kids Where animals who might try to eat them. So investigate the potential dangers of any plants you might bring into your home and keep them out of reach if they are poisonous.

This story originally appeared on The simplest. Check The simplest for additional stories.