LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Plants make house a home
Green. We’re not sure we remember it. The touch of grass on our bare feet; the soft, smooth texture of a leaf in our hand; the sweet-smelling freshness of a shoot emerging from the ground.
Thankfully, in her new book, The Indestructible Houseplant, the so-called Queen of Green, Tovah Martin, gives her word that “life will be beautiful” if we simply incorporate plants into our homes. And boy, do we need that green beauty in the whiteness of winter.
This nearly 300-page book pleasurably accomplishes several things at once: It provides us with the names and cultural requirements of 200 of the easiest and most interesting houseplants; it presents them in a decorative way that thrills and inspires; it outlines in a conversational tone the tips and tricks we’ll need to grow these plants successfully.
Martin has a rustic-country and inventive esthetic. The plants in this book are often pictured in containers with a history and likely an alternative function — whether it be a blue enamel pan, a tackle box or an umbrella stand, all of her choices are sympathetic to the plant and provide a unique and somehow appropriate display. Each plant has a character, and a container is chosen with that in mind.
This book is very personal. Tovah Martin is a fixture in the gardening world, as she spent 25 years working with begonias and other tropical plants at Logee’s Greenhouses, a world-class retail garden centre in northern Connecticut. Among its 1,200 varieties of tropical and other exotic plants, Martin developed her love of these beauties and has had first-hand experience growing many of them.
She opens the book by inviting the reader into her own home, a converted barn next to an 18thcentury shop in western Connecticut. She describes — through words and pictures — where her plants live, how she makes room for them and which plants need less attention from you, the everhopeful green thumb.
She is honest about her plant greed, but also about her own failings. It is an exciting journey to take and very entertaining.
The way to use it is to read it as you would a novel, making your way from the ubiquitous African violet to the ZZ plant, with classics, like the spider plant and English ivy, mixed in with exotics such as Malaysian grapes and slipper orchid. Make a list of those that fit your environment — nd there likely will be many.
With a visit to the supermarket, big-box store, florist, plant store, church bazaar or swap meet, you’ll likely find what you’re looking for.
And should you be unsure about your abilities, Martin has provided help in the last chapter, called The Details. There she outlines how to keep them well and happy, from pot size to watering, from grooming to propagation and beyond — she’s got you covered.
Kudos to Martin for writing a book on houseplants that is miles from dreary and makes you feel like running out and grabbing plants to make your own indoor garden.
The Indestructible Houseplant: 200 Beautiful, Easy-care Plants that Everyone Can Grow, by Tovah Martin (Timber Press, 2015); $30.95 at Amazon.ca