The Arvida Bethlehem Shores resident’s Tauranga home is surrounded by lush greenery and caring for her plant obsession is a daily job (except for Sundays where she takes the day off).

“I begin around 8 o’clock and I start watering them and cleaning them throughout the day.”

Shifting plants outside when it rains and inside when they’ve had enough sun takes some coordination for Aida, who is fully committed to her plants.

“I really love my plants and I enjoy looking after them to make sure they’re looking their best at all times. I believe having lots of house plants makes the house more alive.”

From tendrils to ficus, snake plants to chain of hearts – it’s ‘plants, plants, plants’ for Aida who admits to have had 500 house plants at one stage!

“My plants are everywhere! It starts getting a bit stressful when you have too many and then they start getting bigger, and then you don’t know where to put them.”

The village manager Julie Sargisson says “It’s like a botanical garden…there’s plenty of oxygen there.”

During the warmer months, Aida recommends placing house plants outside but not in direct sunlight. If you can’t put them outside then place the pot in water for hydration.

Image courtesy of sunlive.co.nz