Leaf a tip for the maid! Five-star hotel for plants opens in Battersea…

Want a unique hotel that offers a sanctuary for your beloved plants...in Battersea? Of course, you do! And now you can, too, with the opening of a hotel exclusively for houseplants has just opened. No, you are not reading a spoof story from a website proffering satirical offerings, this is actually a thing. And, it seems to us here at Eden Harper, a very good thing at that. So much so, in fact, that the hotel owners say it’s a world first!

Much like pet owners who fuss over a home-from-home for their beloved animals when they jet off on their well-deserved hols, green-fingered folk who love their indoor plants often get anxious before going away -- often worrying that the hours of caring and nurturing they have invested in their plants will go to waste when they are ignored at home as the summer holidays unfold.

Well, they needn't worry any longer. Because the Patch Plant Hotel is open in Battersea and happy to house your botanicals in the manner to which they have become accustomed -- in a five-star all-inclusive hotel, the brainchild of online plant shop Patch.

The Patch Plant Hotel is open for bookings until next month with around 100 rooms available with lots of TLC thrown in as you soak up the sun safe in the knowledge your beauties are enjoying the best care imaginable. During their stay, residents receive a check-up from the "in-house wellness team", which, we are reliably informed, includes a bespoke hydration spa treatment. Who knew?

Once you have checked in your plants, you can give the hotel staff a run-down of the requirements necessary to ensure they can be collected in tip-top shape once you return from your sun-kissed trip to Spain, the south of France or wherever it happens to have been.

A Patch Plant Hotel spokesman explains: "The hotel is a sanctuary for your beloved plants. They will be in great company and looked after with the respect and love they so richly deserve. So many of us have asked a friend or family member to water the plants when we're away, only to return to disappointment -- the hotel not only saves your plants, but your relationships too.” Bold claim that one!

From plants that love the warmth and energy of the sun, to those who revel in the shade, the hotel accommodates all wondrous greenery, and when you return from your holiday, your plants will check-out in spiffing form.