The Unexpected Houseplant
By Tovah Martin with photographs by Kindra Clineff.
Timber Press, 2012
I have to admit that I had just about written off the growing and care of house plants as an endeavor I should simply leave to others with greener thumbs than mine. I have never been accused of outright premeditated botanicide but, on the other hand, my friends know that, through a combination of stupidity and negligence, I'm perfectly capable of inflicting great injury on even the hardiest and most street-smart of indoor potted plants. Friends and family abandoned the idea of bringing me gifts of indoor plants long ago as a hopeless cause. And, I never get any house-sitting requests from friends who need a little plant care while they're away on vacation. They never call. And for good reason. Because I've never been able to master even the simple basics of nurturing a houseplant, like the whole overwatering--underwatering thing, they know that the plants would probably have a greater chance at survival if they grew legs and went searching for food and water on their own.
But now, there's this great new book by Tovah Martin that gives me hope that, with just a little intervention, even a serial begonia killer like me might once again hold his head high among indoor gardening society.
