Create your own Urban Jungle

By Sara Duck
May 17, 2018

The Ancient Greeks and Romans used aloe vera to treat wounds. In the Middle Ages, the yellowish liquid found inside the leaves was favoured as a purgative. As a herbal medicine, aloe vera juice is still commonly used internally to relieve digestive discomfort.

To use the gel of your own aloe, simply cut off a leaf. You will see that, depending on the thickness of the leaf, there is a translucent gel inside. You can rub it on your skin to relieve burns from the sun or the oven.

Aloe vera plants auto-propagate and grow new offshoots. When these are big enough, you can gently remove them from their mother plant in the early summer (including as much of the roots from the offshoot as possible) and plant them in a well-drained pot placed in bright indirect sunlight.

 

DID YOU KNOW

It's not easy to make your aloe vera bloom indoors? ONly mature plants (at least 4 years old) bloom, so don't expect too much from a small aloe vera plant. Give the plant as much direct sunlight as possible and some extra fertilizer every two weeks. Also remove all babies so it has more energy to put into producing beautiful flowers. If your ale vera still won't bloom, simply enjoy the beauty and virtues of its leaves.

 

Urban Jungle: Living and Styling with Plants, by Igor Josifovic and Judith De Graaff. $48 Indigo.ca

 

Learn to embrace your green thumb with the new book Urban Jungle, by Igor Josifovic and Judith de GrAaff. This book is for anyone who longs to live a greener life. Filled with real life plant inspiration and information, styling ideas and interesting DIY projects, this tome will help banish any fears you may have about living with plants. Check out an excerpt from the book on aloe vera, one of the easiest and coolest-looking houseplants to maintain!

 

About Sara Duck

With more than a decade of experience in contributing to the world of media, Sara Duck has an expert eye for what's on trend in the world of home and décor.

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