How not to kill your plant by Magda Garulakova and Lenka Chytilova. Illus. by Hannah Abbo

How Not to Kill Your Plant is a well presented book full of information about house plants. It will provide interesting reading for lovers of indoor plants as well as introducing basic plant terminology, facts about a variety of house plants plus step-by-step instructions for planting and care.

Beginning with clearly set out content pages, the first section is Basics of Care which includes ‘Getting to know: house plants’, the glossary and simple facts about all you need to know to grow your own plants. The second section, Encyclopedia of house plants, introduces 16 different plants that may be familiar such as the Peace Lily, Monstera, Jade, Cactus and Umbrella plant. These pages are outlined with a green border strip on the edge. The third and final section is Cultivation practice where consideration is given to buying, transplanting, trimming, propagation, expectation, reality and problems.

Throughout the book are text boxes highlighted in yellow that share basic facts. There are circled numbers which link readers to further information on other pages about the same topic. Illustrations are on every page and in the Encyclopedia of house plants section, there is a handy key with circular images showing a watering guide, light monitor, care level e.g. expert, advanced and beginners, flowers, unsuitable for pets and dewdrop moistening which then appear on each plant page.

The authors have thoughtfully made this text accessible for a variety of readers with well-spaced writing, lots of visual clues, simple procedures and clearly labelled tables on information. The spelling is American English.

Themes: House plants, Care, Plant terminology, Problems, Instructions.

Kathryn Beilby