No comments about Professional Interior Plantscaping.

No comments about Potted.

No comments about Ken Druse's New York City Gardener: A How-To and Source Book for Gardening in the Big Apple.

No comments about Plant Seeds and Pick the Blooms: 36 Affirmations for a Life of Balance, Creativity, and Fulfillment.

No comments about Succulents for Mediterranean Climate Gardens.

4 comments about What Houseplant Where.

1. This book completely lacks in organization and factual information. Houseplants appear almost randomly throughout the book. In at least one case, the same picture of the same houseplant appears on two different pages, listed with two DIFFERENT NAMES!!! Has nice pictures, but that is absolutely the only good component of this book. As a senior in college majoring in horticulture, I recommend discounting most, if not all, of the information in this book.



2. Unlike another reviewer, I found this book very useful. I am pretty much a beginner with houseplants. I don't understand why some plants fail and others don't. This book was very helpful to me because it gives details about which plants like low light, full sun, lots of water, a dry environment, etc.

   Based on the info in this book I purchased a large hibiscus plant for a sunny sliding glass door window. It's gorgeous, it's blooming -- it's all I could want in a plant.

   The book IS organized -- and it's true, the same plant appears in several places, but that's because a low-light plant might also be a good trailing plant! The organization is by type of foliage, light requirements, showiness of the plant, and other categories. Probably not the kind of classification that a horticulturist would like, but it was very useful to me. There are lots of pictures so you see exactly what the plant will look like, and they're labeled with both Latin and common names.

   If you're looking for a plant for a specific place in your house, this book is an excellent resource.




3. All I know about caring for houseplants is that you have to water them now and then. No wonder that I have killed most plants that I have owned! This book was really helpful for me. It is great in that it's broken down into categories such as locations (windowsill, low light, full light, humid rooms, offices etc). There are also sections for different types of flowers (fragrant, winter blooming) and foliage. And for me there are the sections on houseplants tolerant of neglect and houseplants for beginners. Every plant listed in the book is accompanied by a nice picture. Next to each plant there are directions on the type of light it needs, fertilization and watering guidelines and the temperature and humidity it needs. The beginning has great tips for everyday care, trouble shooting problems.

   This book is definately for someone with little gardening experience. I found it to be extremely helpful.




4. This book has an interesting twist that you won't find in most plant books - it has a whole section on what plants go well in what rooms. It includes the standard "How this book work" and plant basics. I like how they have plant care broken down into "Everyday care" and "Longer-term Maintenance." Every day care includes picking your plants, transporting plants, light, temperature, feeding, watering and cleaning. Longer-term maintenance includes repotting, pruning and training. These sections are short, but cover the necessary basics. There is a section on propagating and a section on problems (over/under watering, pests and diseases). There is a section on choosing your plants for their flower (Floral Effect) or for their beautiful or interesting leaves (Foliage Effect). If you are looking for a plant with yellow leaves or a plant with sword shaped leaves the Foliage Effect section a good place to look. There is a section call "Special Uses" which includes "Houseplants for Beginners," Houseplants Tolerant of Neglect," "Beneficial Houseplants," and many more.

   Some plants are listed more than once because they fit into more than one category. Each time the plant is listed it includes a very short description and water, light and feeding information. I use this book mostly for the pictures and the placement ideas. It has great pictures and great ideas for placement.

   The room to room guide is something I haven't found in any other book. It gives you an idea of what plant to put in what room. Do you have a room with a sunny windowsill? The Locations will give you some suggestions for your windowsill. If you have a dry room, this book has suggestions. It has suggestions for almost every room in the house. This book is good for beginners and intermediate plant grower. The advanced plant grower might not find it as helpful, but the advance grower might still find the Locations section interesting.

2 comments about Grow Your Own Venus Fly Trap: Just Add Flies! (Mini Kit).

1. Growing a Venus flytrap from seed is not an easy thing to do. This kit comes with only two seeds. The odds of one germinating and growing those two seeds to an actual plant are very small. Your better off buying a mature plant from California Carnivores or other reputable nursery. The book gives a little science of how the traps work on a flytrap and also tell you not to feed it burger wich is very bad for the plant. Also if you do buy this kit anyway use only rain water or distilled water to water the plant. Leaving tap water out for a few days like the instuctions say to do does nothing to remove the salt that is in tap water. Tap water will more then likely kill your plant.



2. I just got my Mini Kit today and it is just a little bigger than a deck of cards. Seeds (2) look like flakes of dirt...can hardly see them. After soaking them 24 hrs you have to refridgerate them for 3 weeks! I was a little surprised by how long the process will be. Then somewhere around 6 weeks after that we should see growth.
   
   This may actually work but I am very skeptical. I will update how everthing goes in about 3 months when I should see some progress. Hope this doesn't change the mind of someone from trying but I would suggest to buy the plant itself...it has to be more satisfying than this (especially for kids that aren't very patient...like mine).

No comments about 37 Houseplants Even You Can't Kill.

5 comments about Indoor Bonsai For Beginners: Selection * Care * Training.

1. As stated in the title this book is about indoor bonsai, or more precisely how to grow and maintain tropical bonsai indoors. It doesn't contain much info on non tropical species, which are more appropriate to growing outdoors. There are many beautiful pictures that will inspire the beginning bonsai artist to create masterpieces of their own. Highly recommended beginners book.



2. This may be the worst Bonsai Book ever written. The tree on the front cover is a prime example of what a Bonsai tree is not supposed to look like. The tree is a young Ficus with no taper to the trunk. The branches grow straight up and the style is all wrong. Most importantly are the horrible scars on the branches from leaving the wires on too long. The book is very generic and really doesn't give enough information to create a heathly and well trained tree. If you have shown enough interest in Bonsai to pursue more information on the Art of Bonsai then you have already outgrown this book. Avoid this book, and buy a tree instead.



3. The first part of this book is general information and it is written for indoor bonsais. The pictures of the bonsais are of smaller trees, not the large bonsai trees that you see in many books. These are trees that the average person can have in their home. I think that indoor bonsais are smaller than outdoor bonsais. The author says much of the fascination of this hobby is derived from the experience of watching a plant grow. So the first section he describes in detail how to grow a bonsai from the very beginning.
   
   An indoor bonsai does not mean that it lives indoors all year. All bonsais grow better if they are outside as long as your area will permit. An indoor bonsai is one that can live in the house during the winter without a dramatic set back. Outdoor bonsais on the other hand must spend the winter out doors. If you try to keep them in the house for the winter they will eventually die. Most bonsai books include many of the indoor bonsais, but they don't label them as indoor bonsais and they don't tell you how to keep them thriving in the house for the winter.
   
   The second section is the "A-Z of Indoor Bonsai Species". There are 45 indoor bonsais in this book. Each bonsai has a brief description of the tree or shrub. Position, Soil, Watering, Feeding, Training, Acquiring a plant, and Pest are described for each bonsai. It ends with any particular features that make it suitable for training as a bonsai. There is a picture for each bonsai described. The name and age of the bonsai are under each picture.
   
   There are not many books that are devoted to indoor bonsais. The section on each species gives you good information. There is more information in this book than you will often find in a larger book. It's a good book for indoor bonsais. This book is not only for beginners it is for anyone who wants to learn more about how to care for indoor bonsai.



4. This is an excellent step by step book for the absolute beginner of either a "gift" bonsai or a gardner wanting to learn and play. I followed the instructions given and my birthday gift is doing beautifully, three months later. Originally I checked out about six books on bonsais from the library to find the most helpful before I bought; this book covered everything I needed.



5. This was a gift for my wife who expressed a desire to start some Bonsai. She was impressed with this choice for a beginner!

No comments about The Kitchen Garden: Simple Projects For The Weekend Gardener.