The benefits of landscaping are many, and this extends to the use of indoor plants for health purposes. Take ordinary indoor plants, for example. House plants provide more than beauty. They can help protect your health by purifying the indoor air.

During this winter season when we have our homes closed tightly to keep out the cold, indoor plants can be very helpful. The same is true for any other season, such as the summer, when you routinely keep your doors and windows shut to keep out seasonal humidity and heat.

The purifying features of indoor plants can become even more important as people attempt to reduce energy costs by making their homes air-tight. As energy costs continue to increase, this will become an increasing concern for folks. As homes become better insulated, this allows more opportunity for formaldehyde and other noxious fumes to build up in the indoor atmosphere. Such fumes can be released by furnishings and building materials like older plywood and pressed board. In severe cases, this can cause what is known as the “sick building syndrome.”

The solution to such threats to indoor air quality is indoor plants. Studies in both the U.S. and Britain have found that plants purify indoor air. What is even more interesting is that they found some species of plants performed better than others.

Philodendron, golden pothos, and spider plants are very efficient at removing formaldehyde from the air. Experts also recommend mums, gerbera daisies, peace lily, corn plant, English ivy, and dumb cane. With the exception of the mum, which is used as a gift plant and an indoor flowering pot plant, the others are all easy to grow indoor plants.

A British study found several plants, including the peace lily, the corn plant, and Benjamin ficus were all excellent for reducing indoor noise levels.

If you fear that having indoor plants will create dust indoors, realize the opposite is true. A study found offices containing plants had less dust than those without plants.