Wild at Home: How to style and care for beautiful plants

by Hilton Carter

Make your home a healthier and more beautiful place to be with Hilton Carter’s inspirational ideas.

Take a tour through Hilton’s own apartment and other lush spaces, filled with a huge array of thriving plants, and learn all you need to know to create your own urban jungle. As the owner of over 200 plants, Hilton feels strongly about the role of plants in one’s home—not just for the beauty they add, but for health benefits as well: ‘having plants in your home not only adds life, but changes the airflow throughout. It’s also a key design element when styling your place. For me, it wasn’t about just having greenery, but having the right variety of greenery. I like to see the different textures of foliage all grouped together. You take a fiddle leaf fig and sandwich it between a birds of paradise and a monstera and…. yes!’ You will be armed with the know-how you need to care for your plants, where to place them, how to propagate, how to find the right pot, and much more, and most importantly, how to arrange them so that they look their best. Combine sizes and leaf shapes to stunning effect, grow your own succulents from leaf cuttings, create your own air plant display, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Plants, Nature, Design, Interior Design, Reference

144 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2019

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars for style. Photos and styling are very very pretty but not much variation. Great for folks looking to get into house plants as info is pretty basic.

[Donna Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five HUGE stars for this amazing book by Hilton Carter. Mr. Carter combines plant care with home design in this gorgeous book filled with heavyweight paper and enchanting photography. My house is already somewhat of a jungle. I devoured the book, and now I cannot WAIT to try his easy methods for getting a design look when I decorate with plants.
The quite personal writing in this book really contributed to the book’s appeal. It is impeccably written, but with a quirky sense of humor that lends the writing a real nerd appeal. I loved it. I also feel very inspired by it.
2nd reading: Mr. Carter is a favorite of mine! His books lose nothing in a second reading. I really enjoyed reinforcing the knowledge I’d gained from him. I’d forgotten to look for a couple of his favorite plants. I’ll have to add them, since I’m thoroughly enjoying the ones that I have added: fiddle leaf fig and monstera.
This is the final book that I’ve managed to read in my goal of re-reading my five-star nonfiction reads. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I plan to continue in 2026.

[Kristine Nellenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book full of tips and pointers on having plants in your home. I had so many “a-ha” moments while reading this and know that I will be going back to this book time and again. Living in a Baltimore rowhome myself, I feel more confident in creating a plant jungle in my home after seeing Hilton’s own success.

[Nathan Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Wish I would've found it before I killed my share of plants. I feel a lot more confident about growing plants indoors after reading this book. It's a quick and fun read with lots of pictures. Highly recommend for anyone interested in growing plants indoors.

[Nadia Rodzinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is filled with beautiful images and styled interior spaces. It focuses on styling your home with plants, rather then in depth information. If plant fashion is what you're after then this is a great book for you, although the author repeats the same few methods many times in the book. I found the author to speak quite arrogantly at times about himself and his abilities, which are rather quite simple in my opinion, and focuses on a select few types of plants that are again repeated throughout the book. It would have been excellent to have many more examples of different plants in spaces rather than the same 5 plants over and over again. Great imagery, mediocre and repetitive information, not my kind of tone and self-absorbed writing style.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilton Carter has written a book that invites the reader to dive head first into the abundant plant keeper style. His friendly, encouraging tone coupled with gorgeous photos and informative text spreads plant love everywhere. Reading this makes a plant lover smile.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to step up my green thumb plant game for awhile, so I decided to turn to a book. I know there's a lot of info out on the Internet, but sometimes that just feels overwhelming. The content of this book is pretty basic and general, but that helped make it approachable for a beginner like me and I did learn a few helpful tips. I enjoyed Carter's personal and casual tone of writing. I do not strive (or have the time) for as many plants as he has, but the pictures are beautiful and his passion for plants is infectious. I now have a list of ideas for new plants to bring home and some good tips for keeping the ones I already own alive. The book is very hipster and I didn't care so much about "plant thrones" or the "plant styling" sections, but I can live with it for the wealth of pretty pictures.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the information in this title to be redundant. While the styling beautiful, photographs were repeated and it lacked in optimal layout. I do enjoy any book that helps educate and inspire people to work with plants but some plants were incorrectly labeled or some were labeled with shared common names making it more difficult for a reader to inquire about each specific plant. My rating of two stars resulted from this.

[IE · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t love the tone this was written in. A lot of short sentences! It was quite repetitive in terms of text, and it only seemed to cover about 10 plants, even though it says he owns 300 or so, it would have been nice to see more variety, not just the stars of the show. The write ups on the house tours seemed a little dull. But if you’re just looking for ideas on fashionable plants then this book could be helpful.

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

На мой вкус начинающего любителя растений, приятное чтиво с минимумом необходимой информации по уходу. Это не энциклопедия по всем растениям, скорее личный опыт автора с оооочень красивыми фотографиями в комплекте.

[Gay Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

General information on greening your home, stying with plants and living with plants make this book unique. There is a small section at the end about plant essentials.

[Bess Teague · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish there was more information about plant care

[Trang Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're new to the plant indoors care like me, you'll find Hilton Carter's book quite pleasant to read. First off, the pictures and photography are just beautiful, the style is a very modern take with plants framing the apartment. He also included step-by-step details of repotting, water conditions, what to do with your first plant, what kind of lights they need, and of course taking care of specific plants and also a way to style the plant around your interior design. 

The writing style is very personal and familiar. If you expect some shakespearian explaining you how to take care of your plants, then you will be in for a real surprise. The book is simply a conversation you are having with a very passionate human being and that's why I loved it. It's like someone you can totally hang out with, who will just tell you al the tips and tricks about plants. 

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My indoor plant collection is currently only three, but not for lack of desire. This book was really perfect for me.
1) I was able to finish it in one day.
2) It gave me some great tips for my one plant that isn't thriving (peace lily).
3) I am inspired from the easy text and lush photography to add some more plants to our home!
4) I have a much better idea of which plants to choose based on our light, space, and the amount of time/mental energy I am able to give them.

[Brenda Shirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is absolutely beautiful to look at. The kind I would leave on the coffee table for guests to browse. As a very amateur plant lover, I found this book insightful and helpful as I navigate what plants to bring into my space.
The writing style is like a very chill conversation. But my one complaint is the amount of repetition. For instance, he refers numerous times to his special gardening tools with the exact same wording. Often throughout the book, I was thinking, "haven't I read that exact thing several times already?"

[Emilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inspirational, but a bit lightweight on the details. Gorgeous photos. I want to visit these homes! Good starter book because it’s friendly and introduces you to a bigger world, but I was constantly wanting more depth. I think my favorite use for this book though is to assuage my wife’s misgivings about my plants. “Trust me, I’m not plant crazy. Get a load of this!”

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilton Carter lives in an indoor jungle and wants to help you accomplish the same. The styling is lovely, and there are some good, straightforward house plant tips. Nothing terribly new or radical here, but it’s a charming book for the eyes.

[Claudia Vannucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Belle fotografie da cui prendere qualche spunto interessante per l'interior design.
Per il resto l'ho trovato ripetitivo: dopo un po' sono sempre le stesse piante con gli stessi consigli generici che tanto vanno bene per tutte le piante (tanta luce ma non diretta, occhio alle innaffiature, scegli vasi col buco... ma va!) e un po' di aria fritt.. hem ricordi personali dell'autore per fare volume.
Hilton Carter è un bel tipo, la sua casa e il suo studio sono fantastici, ma nei suoi video su youtube così come nel suo libro, alla fine c'è poca sostanza.

[Karlee Gezella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautiful! I actually have it out now as a decorative book in our living room 😍. I love the images and how passionate the author is about plants. Learned some good tips and the info was decently basic, but a good starting point for me personally.

[Brittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, and a good start for a beginner like me.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book for beginning plant lovers. The pictures are gorgeous and it gave me some good ideas of how to start.

[Natalie HH · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a budding plant parent, this book is a wonderful foray into plant parenthood! The esthetic is gorgeous and the information incredibly helpful. A keeper!

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little wordy for me but loved the pictures and the design ideas. Also appreciated the multitude of various tips he gave from how to shop for a plant to how to stage a plant to how to care for different types of plants.

Easy and quick read. Worth looking at if you’re interested in having plants in your house or if you’re already a plant owner.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book about styling your house with plants with some 101 houseplant information. I don't think I learned anything, but the photos were eye-catching.

[Broken Lifeboat · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a coffee table inspiration book than a reference guide.

The pictures are lovely but are repetitive like the text

[Heather O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilton Carter is an Instagram personality that I started following because he is known as the "Plant Doctor" and had lots of good tips for keeping plants. His home and studio (Jungle By the Falls) are absolutely breathtaking with all of the plants that he has.

The book is eye candy for those that are into plants. The first part of the book is about how he got into taking care of plants, how to pick plants, and what tools you need. Then the second part is how to style the plants in your home so that they are aesthetically appealing and so that plants get the correct light. The last part of the book is all about plant care: potting, watering, light, feeding, propagation, pest control, and what plants he recommends. I was able to read the whole book in a little over an hour (with some interruptions). I found the information very useful and some of it was new information to me. I do wish that he had more information on taking care of plants, especially FLFs, but I can go to his Instagram page and get all of that information. This would be a great coffee table book to have.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and charming.

The photography is gorgeous, and just what I would expect based on being an avid follower of Hilton Carter's on instagram. His feed is seriously dreamy and I'm green with envy (ha, get it? Because plants). This book is an extension of that.

The text doesn't try too hard and the pictures do most of the speaking, but there are helpful hints, anecdotes that are every bit as charming as he is (as there is no better word to describe him -- just watch the Plant Doctor series on Apartment Therapy's Youtube channel with him and you'll see what I mean). His personality translates well to this format, which I appreciate. While none of the advice is groundbreaking for anyone who follows him on social media or Youtube, (it's not a how-to guide for each particular plant), it's a great resource for those starting out. It includes a few plants for various light conditions and an explanation of each light exposure (direct, bright, medium, etc.), which is one of the hardest things to fully grasp as you start shopping for plants, so that is crazy helpful. There are also a few cute DIY projects, and obviously advice for styling plants (layering, creating nooks, etc.).

If you like plants and pretty photography, totally check it out.

[Anastasiia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite basic info about plant care. I didn't like the approach to put the looks of a plant in the first place. The looks changes and that's totally normal, no need to stress oneself over perfection. The better approach was presented in The New Plant Parent: Develop Your Green Thumb and Care for Your House-Plant Family and is much more healthy.

I bought this book because of styling tips and there are some very helpful tips, though I'd prefer to have more details and more photo examples.

I didn't like the polished look of the photos, they don't look real, especially when there are people in them.

In general, quite a nice coffee table book.

[Hanna Griffis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn’t a great source for education, but was wonderful for inspiration.

The final 25% has good takeaways and recommendations for plants which is really what I appreciated the most.

The first 75% is pretty straightforward but it was nice to see the author’s passion and how much he cared about his plants. While he has way more than I could ever handle taking care of (3-4 hours a week watering?!?), it gave me some good ideas and insights in how to incorporate more greenery into my living space, which is why I picked up the book to start with.

I also appreciate that it was broken up into short sections and super quick to get through with lots of pictures… would debate buying a copy just to have as decor/a coffee table book.