The 3 best green plants for a study, do you have any at home?

Keeping some plants in the study not only beautifies the study and improves the air, but the plants' light, elegant fragrance can also make one feel relaxed and happy; what is more, their fine qualities can influence a person too.

3 green plants with a rich scholarly air:

1. Orchid

The orchid has light, elegant flower colors and a fragrance that is clear without being heavy. Its leaves stay fresh green all year round, combining strength and softness with a graceful posture; even when it is not in bloom, it is like a living work of art, which is why it has been loved by literati since ancient times.

Place a few pots of orchids to accent the study, and it at once feels full of life; on the day they bloom, waves of clear fragrance bring a sense of relaxed delight. Moreover, it stands alongside "plum, bamboo and chrysanthemum," together known as the "Four Gentlemen," and placing it in the study lets one carry on its noble and elegant qualities.

The orchids here generally refer to Chinese orchids (such as Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium faberi, Cymbidium ensifolium, Cymbidium sinense and Cymbidium kanran, etc.). This type of orchid is very different from the large-flowered, brightly colored tropical orchids: it has no eye-catching gaudy display, no huge flowers or leaves, yet it has a plain, quiet, light and noble temperament, which fits the Eastern aesthetic standard very well.

2. Asparagus fern

Asparagus fern means "the bamboo of refinement." Its leaves are slender and beautiful, densely growing like feathers, with layers upon layers of emerald cloud; the plant form is elegant with a distinctive charm, hence it is also called cloud bamboo. Asparagus fern is mainly grown in pots for its foliage, and placing it in the study makes the scholarly air even more pronounced.

Although asparagus fern is not bamboo, its leaves are soft and stay emerald green all year round, and its stems have nodes and look like bamboo in shape; but compared with upright bamboo, it brings out an elegant, unrestrained posture, so calling it asparagus fern is more than fitting.

3. Acorus gramineus

Now as for Acorus gramineus as a thing, it does not rely on the sun's color, does not need an inch of soil, and does not heed spring or autumn; the longer it grows the denser it becomes, and the poorer the soil the finer it grows. It can suit one's mood and cultivate one's nature; with this gentleman on either side of the study, one at once feels a clear, free and easy delight. - Ming dynasty, Wang Xiangjin, "Qunfang Pu"

In ancient times, literati and refined scholars liked to place a pot of Acorus gramineus on the table. Acorus gramineus has sword-shaped leaves full of green, dignified and beautiful; placed in the study it stands gracefully, elegant and handsome, and it also has a unique fragrance.

Bonsai made with Acorus gramineus is both poetic and helps resist pollution. When the ancients read at night, they often placed a pot of Acorus gramineus under the oil lamp, because Acorus gramineus has the function of absorbing fine dust in the air, which could spare them the suffering of lamp smoke stinging the eyes. Nowadays we no longer suffer from smoke, yet we can still enjoy the elegance of Acorus gramineus.