Urban Nature: Bring nature into your living-room with exciting plants 
Urban Nature is the name of this summer's trend in plants, which is about taking the best from nature and integrating it into the vibrant city scene.  The result is an urban environment rich in green oases, and interiors characterized by living plant walls and green room partitions.  

Julie Dufour Wiese, a Danish architect and ecological consultant, believes that the Urban Nature trend is just the start of a new and more personal way of exploring and living with nature, and that we have as yet only seen the tip of the iceberg for green oases in the city. 

"There is more and more focus on green roofs, recreational roof gardens, 'pocket parks' and green walls in the city – both because they are good for the climate, and because being able to see and experience greenery increases our quality of life," she says. 

Nature in the home 
As an architect with an eye for the materials with which we surround ourselves, Julie Dufour Wiese also takes account of nature and its positive effects on our well-being when it comes to our homes:  

"The integration of nature into the home and the workplace is also something we'll be seeing more of in future. Studies show that indoor plants help to counteract stress and headaches, and just as consumers like to have organic food products and herbs in their kitchens, people will in future increasingly wish to experience nature around them in the form of plants in their homes and at work."

Great interest in living plant walls 
This view is echoed by Kevin O'Donoghue Dideriksen of the new Danish firm Growtek in Nørre Aaby, Fyn, which specializes in plant walls for offices and building facades: 

"Even as a relatively new company, while we've been in business we have already seen a growing interest in turnkey solutions in the form of natural partitions for the home or office," he says, adding: "It's a development which is hopefully here to stay, to the benefit of us all."

Fact box:
Urban Nature:
In the home, plant walls and plant sculptures are becoming increasingly popular. This is an exciting new way to bring nature into your house and enhances the indoor climate with purified air.

Examples of plants with air-cleaning properties:
Asplenium nidus
Dracaena 
Ficus benjamina (Weeping fig)
Hedera helix (Ivy)
Sansevieria trifasciata (Mother-in Law’s tongue)