How Not To Kill Your Plants

The book was a very good read, it was very informative, and I just loved it! I wish it had more pictures in it.

Whether you are brand new to house plants or a seasoned gardener, you will benefit from this book. Mr. Southern presents information on plants, their care and how to style and place them in your home in a fresh, accessible way. I highly recommend this book for everyone!

The author clearly knows a lot about house plants and her enthusiasm shines through. Unfortunately in this book she adopts a very jovial and jokey style of writing that makes it difficult to get to the facts easily. It's ordered a bit oddly, jumping from section to section, the names of which are ambiguous and don't clearly indicate their contents - "Back to the roots", "Starting a plant family", "Pot luck", "How not to kill your plants".The book is littered with puns and double entendre that make it ridiculously difficult to figure out what you're about to read, and sometimes what the author is talking about - for example, the cactus section is called "don't let the pricks intimidate you", succulents "Mondays succ!", Fittonia "Fit-tonia", the bit about pots "confessions of a pot head". And those are just the titles, the content is similar and it quickly becomes very tiresome and a difficult read.I picked it up the other day for the first time in a while as I needed to look up how often to water some of my plants over winter (a dieffenbachia and a cast iron plant so nothing obscure). The advice was too general - think about the habitat your plant originally came from as a guide to how much water it needs, then look it up in the specific plant guide. Neither plant is in the book unfortunately.The photos are lovely though so if you are looking for inspiration on plant display then this is a good shout.If you are looking for a comprehensive reference book with easily accessible practical advice this is not it.

...she writes in an engaging and inspiring way , her love and enthusiasm for her subject shines through.The quirky illustrations perfectly compliment the writing style and the photos gave me serious plant envy. On a practical point I love the fact that the book is compact and portable unlike many similar books. My window sills and shelves will soon be full of greenery and friends can expect this book as a gift !

Really helpful and inspiring. Confirmed my knowledge and helped me develop my own ideas and decor !

Bought as a Christmas gift sadly it's a bit scratched and marked which isn't great for a gift!

Well writren. Funny and informative.