How Biophilic Design Can Boost Productivity In Your Home Office: Best of Growing Joy Replay

2026-07-09

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Did you know plants for your home office can do more than just look nice? Office or work from home, they can boost your focus, spark creativity, lift your mood, and cut your stress. It's been proven over and over. So today, for the Best of Growing Joy series, I'm digging into the archives and refreshing an old solo episode from the middle of the pandemic. Fair warning, you'll hear me talk about work from home a lot, since that's all we were doing back then. Our community got really creative with their setups too. This one's all...

So today, for the Best of Growing Joy series, I'm digging into the archives and refreshing an old solo episode from the middle of the pandemic. Fair warning, you'll hear me talk about work from home a lot, since that's all we were doing back then. Our community got really creative with their setups too.

This one's all about biophilic design, something I keep coming back to this year since I'm renovating my own home through that lens. We'll get into easy ways to turn your desk into a plant-filled workspace that actually helps your productivity and your mental health.

Think about it, work is a huge chunk of our life. Nine to five, five days a week. So why not spend it surrounded by plants? That's what this episode is about: making your workday more joyful, more relaxing, and more productive. I hope it helps.

In this episode, we learn:

[02:07] Why Bloom and Grow Radio is doing an episode on #plantywfh spaces
[04:39] Check out Maria’s Planty WFH space tour
[05:03] What to expect from this episode on work from home setups and biophilic design
[06:50] The AMAZING and unbelievable benefits of engaging with plants and biophilic design, according to 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design
[07:27] What is biophilia, the idea behind it, and the important figures behind this wonderful hypothesis
[09:24] The psychological role of plants in our creativity
[10:09] How being around nature and scenery affects patient recovery, as studied by Dr. Ulrich in 1972 to 1981
[11:13] A review of direct versus involuntary attention based on studies by Stephen R. Kellert and Rachel Kaplan
[13:41] Biophilic Pattern #1: Visual Connection with Nature
[13:54] Planty WFH Tip #1: Put your desk near a window
[14:15] Planty WFH Tip #2: Put plants within the eyeline of your desk
[14:33] Planty WFH Tip #3: Have a green wall in your office
[14:56] Planty WFH Tip #4: If you can’t have real plants, pictures of plants will do!
[15:09] Biophilic Pattern #2: Non-Visual Connection with Nature
[15:26] Planty WFH Tip #5: Play nature sounds like the one-square inch forest silence in the Olympic National Park, bird songs, or waves
[16:36] Planty WFH Tip #6: Have different plant scents nearby, or you can use a diffuser like Maria!)
[16:53] Biophilic Pattern #3: Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli
[17:09] Planty WFH Tip #7: Set up bird feeders or pollinator-attracting plants, or take care of rare-blooming plants for a nice surprise
[17:39] Biophilic Pattern #4: Thermal and Air Flow Variability
[17:59] Biophilic Pattern #5: Presence of Water
[18:07] Planty WFH Tip #8: It’s your humidifier’s time to shine! Maybe a tiny fancy plug-in fountain?
[18:40] Biophilic Pattern #6: Dynamic and Diffuse Light
[18:52] Planty WFH Tip #9: Install a grow light with a timer, and have a more sustainable work hours setup!
[19:12] Planty WFH Tip #10: Reduce your blue light intake and light candles after a long day of work
[19:33] Biophilic Pattern #7: Connection with Natural Systems
[19:47] Biophilic Pattern #8: Biomorphic Forms and Patterns
[19:56] Did you know there are interesting and precise angles in nature?
[20:35] Biophilic Pattern #9: Material Connection with Nature
[21:07] Planty WFH Tip #11: Add accents in your home office like wood grains, fossil textures, and bamboo rattans
[21:30] Planty WFH Tip #12: Try a natural color palette of greens and browns
[21:50] How Maria and Billy managed their storage during their move
[24:52] Biophilic Pattern #10: Prospect
[25:04] Why it’s important to change the focus of your eyes every once in a while
[25:18] Biophilic Pattern #11: Refuge
[25:19] Why Maria recommends a planty screen-free space
[26:10] Biophilic Patterns #12: Mystery and #13: Risk and Peril
[26:20] The biggest rule of thumb of biophilic designs for Maria
[27:06] If you can’t have real plants, download the Bloom and Grow Radio’s free and gorgeous watercolor of prickly pear cactus in various states of bloom!
[28:03] Planty WFH Tip #13: Envelop your space in plants (if you can!)
[28:32] Maria’s planty WFH tips and ideas based on her own WFH setup
[30:04] The best plants for low-light home offices
[31:13] Are you blessed with a high-light office situation? Maria recommends these plants that love abundant light
[31:36] Planty WFH Tip #14: Install grow lights to incorporate more plants
[32:44] Planty WFH Tip #15: Tiny space? Go vertical!
[34:21] Maria’s biggest takeaways from 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design and her top advice on #plantyWFH setups
[36:26] Finding joy and awe in your #plantyWFH as a small break from your work day

Mentioned in our conversation:

Get the free download with 9 Tips for Greening Up Your Work From Home Office Space
Check out Maria's #plantywfh office tour on youtube!
BAGR YouTube video Houseplant Tour: My Restorative Plant Corner // Why Plant Care Truly is Self Care
BAGR Episode How To Use Plants To Create Restorative Environments With Anne Meore From NYBG
14 Patterns of Biophilic Design by William Browning, Catherine Ryan, and Joseph Clancy
Hoh Rainforest Audio
Biophilia by Edward O. Wilson
Frederick Law Olmsted
View Through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery by Roger Ulrich
Stephen R. Kellert
Attention Restoration Theory: Exploring the Role of Soft Fascination and Mental Bandwidth by Rachel Kaplan
What Was That Like Podcast by Scott Johnson