Bedtime stories for plants launched

Many people like talking to their plants, believing it aids their growth, with Prince Charles2 possibly the most high-profile nature natterer. With the UK continuing to experience an outright houseplant obsession, flatshare site SpareRoom has today launched the first ever bedtime stories for plants – specifically designed for ‘plant parents’ to read aloud to their ‘plant babies’ to encourage botanical development.

According to a study from the Royal Horticultural Society3, speaking to plants could positively affect their growth. What’s more, at night plants use the energy they stored up during the day through photosynthesis and the darkness can also trigger plants to fruit, set seed of flower4. This all suggests that the twilight hours are an important time for plant development.

Bedtime Stories for Plants, written by children’s author Alice Hemming and illustrated by Livi Gosling, includes a collection of three short stories5 entitled ‘The Three Ferns’, ‘Longing’ and ‘What Goes Around’. The stories are designed to be read aloud to plants and can be downloaded for free from SpareRoom as an eBook or audiobook.

Aston spoke to Matt Hutchinson, director at SpareRoom and Angela Slater, plant expert and gardening blogger to discuss the research and also where people can download and read the stories to plants.