22-Nov-09 7:00 PM CST

Plants add some life to drab office cubicles How does your cubicle

By Virginia A. Smith

The Philadelphia Inquirer

We spend what, eight, 10 hours a day in our grim-gray cubicles at work? They're all alike, with their faded fabric dividers affording no privacy and dirt-brown carpets darkened with hints of soup and soda.

But here's a practical road to workplace relief: the cubby garden.

"You look around and see a garden flowering. It lifts your spirits," said Marilyn E. Reynolds, an office-plant buff whose cubby at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is filled with green.

She knows, from experience, that office landscaping - "interiorscaping" in industry parlance - can be liberating for the soul and, as a growing body of research suggests, healthier for mind and body.

This leads to something else, sure to warm the boss's heart: Cubby gardening may even boost productivity and lower absenteeism.

Ken O'Brien, vice president/branch manager at the Souderton, Pa., regional office of Initial Tropical Plants, which installs and maintains office plants, said his three decades in the business have taught him a few things about cubicle gardening: Plants soften spaces and bring welcome color and personality to the office, especially when they're placed in decorative containers .

O'Brien likes the pointed foliage of Rex begonia, which comes in rich mixes of burgundy, reds and pinks with swirling, starry leaves. Croton is another eye-catcher, with its crunchy leaves of yellow, pink, red and orange. Aglaonema has shiny, oval leaves in fleshy, riotous shades of green.

Such an inventory illustrates a few things: Office plants are no longer monochromatic. Foliage can be fabulous. And there's a lot more variety out there.

Just like their outdoor cousins, O'Brien said, indoor gardeners "want vibrant now. They want lush. They're paying a lot more attention to what the plants look like."

Reynolds and her Philadelphia co-workers fuss over their cubby gardens, which include the time-tested, spiky mother-in-law's tongue, surely one of the worst-named plants ever but a reliable and curious addition to a desktop.