NNFN2023: A Jungle in Your Living Room
‘A Jungle in Your Living Room’ is a beautifully illustrated, highly engaging book, sure to inspire everyone to transform their homes into lush, verdant space. Divided into three sections- All About Houseplants, The World of Houseplants and Houseplant Care -it offers excellent advice and guidance for anyone who wishes to create, and care for, their own indoor garden.
The first section starts by defining what is meant by a house plant and looks at how plants are classified before considering the best places to grow them. There is also plenty of fascinating background and historical information, including the creation of the ‘Wardian Case’, a portable greenhouse which allowed plants to be safely transported and the role this then played as ‘houseplant hunters’ travelled around the world to collect specimens, often causing damage to the local environment.
The section entitled ‘The World of Houseplants’ is the longest one, introducing a wonderful range of plants. Not only are explanations of the different types given, but care tips, historical facts, links to religions and traditional usages are also explored. These pages are interspersed with DIY ideas such as a desert garden, a macrame plant hanger and how to grow a bonsai tree. Perfect for engaging and challenging young and old alike, there are some really interesting and rewarding ideas, supported by clear instructions.
‘Houseplant Care’ is, as the title suggests, a very useful section concerned with making sure the plants are kept in top condition. Advice on what to look for when choosing a plant, pet safety and identifying problems is all given in clear, concise points, ensuring success. Propagation is also carefully explained with DIY projects on water propagation and making leaf cuttings. A guide is given to support readers in selecting plants appropriate to their level of experience and expertise and a comprehensive glossary explains many of the terms used in the book. Clear contents and index pages make the book easy to navigate and locate specific information- but this is a wonderful book for dipping in and out of and browsing to discover something new!
Although a very practical guide, there is much here which supports sections of the primary science curriculum and does much to enrich and enliven it. Colourful, playful illustrations add much to the book’s charm, making this a must have for home and school.
A Jungle in Your Living Room: A Guide to Creating Your Own Houseplant Collection
Michael Holland, illustrated by Philip Giordano
Flying Eye ISBN: 978-1838748630
Flying Eye produce many gorgeous information books. You can read my review of ‘Bonkers About Beetles’ here, which has links to reviews of ‘Passionate About Penguins’, ‘Fanatical About Frogs’, ‘Crazy About Cats’ and ‘Obsessive About Octopuses’. You can read my review of ‘Curious Creatures Talking Together’ here which has a link to ‘Curious Creatures Working With Tools’, ‘Please Don’t Bite Me’ here, ‘Scientists in the World: Galapagos’ here and ‘Earth’s Incredible Places: Amazon River’ here which has links to reviews of other books in the series.
