7 Plants To Purify Your Workspace & Boost Your Productivity

They say plant lady is the new cat lady, which is a statement we’re 100% onboard with. It goes without saying that adding some greenery too your home is beneficial to your health, so why shouldn’t it be the same for your office? After all, we spend more than a third of our day at work, and in a city like Hong Kong, there’s always room to improve when it comes to air purification.

In fact, studies have shown that the presence of indoor plants can boost productivity, reduce common allergy symptoms by decreasing particulate matter (e.g. dust, pollutants), improve mood, boost relative humidity, respiratory issues, and generally decrease the likelihood of Sick Building Syndrome.

While Garage Society is already all about the greenery, there’s always room to up your plant game in your office or home. We’ve listed some of our favourite air purifying indoor plants below, which are easily found just about anywhere (although we highly recommend a visit to the Hong Kong Flower Market). If you’re someone who struggles to keep a cactus alive, be sure to check out our favourite tips and tricks below.

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Watering: Dip your finger into the soil about one inch deep, and water thoroughly (i.e. until water drains from the bottom) if it's dry to the touch. This method is great for Hong Kong’s climate because the frequency vacillates dramatically depending on the humidity.
Soil: Use a stick to poke some holes to aerate the soil after watering, as the soil tends to become more compact. This also prevents again root rotting, which is a main culprit of indoor plant death.
Light: While some plants require less light than others, no plant will thrive and live its full potential in extremely low light. If you like the idea of having some plants in a room that doesn't get much light (e.g. washroom, kitchen), then it's probably best to swap them out every couple of weeks.
Fertilising: If you want to go the natural route to fertilisation, then try using homemade fortified water (e.g. water saved from washing rice, water used to boil eggshells, green tea, rainwater).
Pruning: When you see a sad-looking brown leaf, trim it from the closest node. Not only does it keep you're plant looking pretty, and you encouraged, it also saves the plant from unnecessary photosynthesis to keep the leaf alive. Of course, if you're getting a lot of these leaves then you're probably doing something wrong.

Garage Blog Data-Driven Design: Marketing In the Brave New World [Mandy's In-House Notes]

Welcome back to Mandy's In-House Notes, a twice-monthly column touching on all things brand-building, entrepreneurship and female-empowerment related, from the mind of Mandy Pao.

This week, we're talking about the power of using the right data to inform your design process.

^{Author: Mandy Pao, Founder and Creative Director, Eloquence International}

^{Cover image: Jezael Melgoza via Unsplash}

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True career fulfillment can be puzzling—yet not impossible to find. What many people don’t realize is that it’s a process that takes work and patience.

Most importantly, we need to search for it. If you’re lucky, you’ll find not just a job or career but a mission.

^{Cover image source: Liz and Mollie}

^{Author: Pin Cher, Career & Clarity Coach}

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^{Author: Ching Lam Ip, Programme & Marketing Lead, Garage Society}

^{Cover image source: Quentin Lagache on Unsplash}