If you’re looking for a book for young and beginning gardeners, House Jungle: Turn Your Home Into a Plant-Filled Paradise is the perfect choice. This well-illustrated, 103-page book provides the basics in a fun, easy-to-understand way.
The author, Annie Dornan-Smith, is an illustrator by trade. The result is an eye-catching little book that gets right to the matter at hand—successfully growing houseplants in your indoor garden. This fun book covers why you want to keep houseplants. Some reasons include the fact that plants need tender loving care like puppies. “If you can’t keep a plant alive, you’re not ready for a dog!” states Dornan-Smith. Plants also clean the air, and they decorate your home. You’ll get a mini lesson on containers in House Jungle. This includes the fact that houseplants need containers with drainage holes, so they don’t become waterlogged. Dornan-Smith notes that plastic and glazed ceramic pots keep the soil wetter longer. So if you’re growing succulents and cactus that are susceptible to root rot, opt for terra-cotta. The latter pots are made from a porous material that dries out more quickly. The care section of the book covers the important lesson of light exposure in your home. Familiarize yourself with where your north, south, east and west facing windows are. East- and west-facing windows get shade at some point during the day, so this is something to consider if you want to grow plants in front of windows in these locations. In the northern hemisphere, south-facing windows can get some strong, bright sunlight and north-facing windows tend to feature low light. The book also gives sage advice on watering and fertilizing. And Dornan-Smith shares some advice on where to buy plants and how to make more for free by propagating them. This section includes drawings that illustrate how to propagate. Choose the best selections for your indoor gardener by perusing the “Types of House Plants” chapter. In this section, you’re introduced to the various plants that can be grown successfully indoors and their needs. For instance, there’s a section on cacti and succulents, bonsai, air plants, bamboo, herbs and some of the many jungle plants that thrive indoors. These include sansevieria, spider plant, peace lily, Monstera deliciosa, rubber tree, English ivy, ZZ plant, philodendron, pothos and wax plant. Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.