Pflanzenliebe: Warum uns ein grünes Zuhause glücklich macht

by Summer Rayne Oakes, Imke Brodersen (Translator)

Potted plants aren't mere decoration; they offer a rare opportunity to find joy by caring for another living being.

Summer Rayne Oakes keeps over 750 live houseplants spanning 400 species in her Brooklyn apartment. She's an environmental scientist, an entrepreneur, and (according to a New York Times profile) the icon of wellness-minded millennials who want to bring nature indoors. She even installed a sub-irrigation system and helpful watering hacks, such as a 150-foot expandable hose that connects to pipes under her kitchen sink, so she only has to spend about a half-hour a day tending to her plants--an activity that she describes as a "moving meditation."

This isn't an interior design book about hanging ivy on your window sills. It's about the real reasons that it's good for you to bring plants inside. Most people think that the common potted plant is just a decorative object, but there's also a strong psychological benefit to taking care of plants as a path to mindfulness. Taking care of other living beings is a basic human need. Urban Millennials with weaker community networks than previous generations just don't have the chance to do that.

This book ties together all the known benefits of taking care of plants (lower blood pressure, lower stress, cleaner air) with a bigger, less obvious benefit: Taking care of plants makes you a more life-giving person. Through colorful vignettes that draw us into the mysteries and hidden stories of our plants, Summer Rayne shows how our chlorophyllous friends can serve as a gateway to a greater life.

Who doesn't want to cultivate beauty, care for the natural world, and live mindfully in these crazy times? Summer Rayne Oakes shows us the way.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Plants, Nature, Adult, Audiobook, Environment

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2020

About the author

Summer Rayne Oakes (born June 1984) is an American fashion model, environmental activist, author, and entrepreneur, known as the world's first "eco-model".

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the people who gave this book 1 Star and are whining about the lack of how to make my plant grow information.... I think they’re missing the whole point of this book. This book is more in line with how she wanted to share how getting into plants changed her outlook on life. How its brought her closer to people by using plants in a place where you wouldn’t even think they would thrive like Brooklyn. It also expresses how plants are involved in most all aspects of our daily lives even if we don’t grow them ourselves. I think she wants you to look at a tree and see more than a brown log with green leaves. See it producing the oxygen you’re breathing at that exact moment or filtering out the toxic particles in the air.
For people looking for a this is how you do it book , this is not it. She has videos and online courses for all that. This takes you to the heart of plants and how to bring them into your heart.
I think you will like it and enjoy it if you really love your plants.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closing out my home gardening trifecta with the most woo-woo of the bunch. It's less a book about caring for your new houseplant and more a way to readjust your thinking of our chlorophyllic compatriots. There are the heartfelt testimonials of plant owners pulled from the depths of depression and overcoming personal challenges with the help of plants. And each chapter ends with a mindful practice, perhaps consider how your attitude towards plants has changed as you've matured. And I expected what exactly from an author named Summer Rayne Oakes?

Dammit Summer, I just want to know if I'm overwatering my pilea peperomioides! She does get points for being published under Simon Sinek's imprint and getting the one and only OG botanical-bro Wade Davis to provide the intro. I enjoyed her investigation of the greening of Singapore, the long and ancient history of indoor gardening and identifying geosmin, the smell of earth. Less so the references to her Masterclass I should take to get the answers I was looking for in the first place. But hell, you gotta hustle out here when it comes to houseplants I guess.

[T.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite lines in this book is "Do you want a life or a lifestyle?" The author, Summer Rayne Oakes, encourages her readers to take a more contemplative approach to plants rather than filling up their windowsills because it's the trendy thing to do. If you are looking for specifics on how to care for particular plants, there are likely more informative books out there. And I do wish she had used common names in addition to the Latin names (which are lost on me). But overall, this is a great book for someone like myself who is slowly getting into plants. One part meditation, one part plant-raising 101, with lots of inspirational quotes and beautiful spot color.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really more about the wonder of plants and the important role they play in the health of ecosystems and society than about growing plants as individuals. The title was a little misleading but it’s definitely a worthwhile read.

[Rebekah Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not sure how this book got good reviews. I’m wondering in the author bribed people?
This book is 90% fluff and testimonials from people about why they like plants. There’s maybe 5 full pages of actual information about plants and they’re mostly obvious (make sure you have the right light per plant etc)

I feel like I wasted so much money on this book because of the positive reviews. Sorry Summer Rayne Oakes , you’re cute but this book is boring

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should have been titled How To Make You Love Plants, instead of the other way around, but still an excellent read.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re looking to find out how to make a houseplant love you, I’ll save you the time of reading this book (which has very little to say on that topic) and let you know that the author has a masterclass online devoted to the topic. Imagine my disappointment, reading through until the last two chapters of the book where Oakes actually has this quote, “..leaves turn yellow when they have a magnesium deficiency. No magnesium, no green—a subject more for my Houseplant Masterclass than for this book.” Houseplant masterclass you say? Don’t tell me I’ve been reading an advertisement for a $179 class all along!

Sadly, I cannot imagine why this book was titled “How to make a houseplant love you: cultivate green space in your home and heart” if it is intended as anything more than a drawn out advertisement for this class. It is full of information on why plants are wonderful, why you want them in your life, why millennials are amazing and can’t live without them, why you need plants to cure depression, and on and on. There are even testimonials to how amazing plants are. And then, when she should be getting to the good stuff (Yes! Yes! How do I make this amazing place for plants in my life?!). She tells you about this GD masterclass. What. A. Waste. Of. Time.

Two stars because it was well researched and there’s a ton of information (albeit information I wasn’t looking for from a book with this title).. but other than that, I’m just really annoyed. I still want to know how to make a houseplant love me and I don’t want to shell out almost $200 to find out.. onto another book for that I suppose. Recommendations anyone?

[Dianelys · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this but I can’t. The book only talk about why people need to have plants and like 95% of the people already knows all of that so the information is nothing new. And the title is not accurate with the book. Very disappointing.

[Kelly Eeckhaut · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dit is geen how-to-boek, dus de titel is nogal misleidend. Het is een boek over plantenliefde en hoe planten je leven kunnen veranderen en bla bla bla. Fan van een deeltje van de boodschap, maar niet van de schrijfstijl noch van de langdradigheid en het zweefgehalte.

[Shirley Noffke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book needs a different name.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book felt as light and airy as a breezy summer day. Though it doesn’t feel like a must read from my perspective, I generally enjoyed engaging with Summer Rayne Oakes and her words on nature, how we can more actively coexist with it, some history behind our relationship with it, and reminders of the wonders and beauty of its existence. I also LOVED the foreword by Wade Davis and should do some googling to see if he’s written anything else that will pique my interest. His writing was thoughtful in a way that was different than the tone for the rest of the book (which is not to say that Oakes is not thoughtful!), making it an interesting but still intriguing choice to start with.

If you’re seeking a “how to” book as the name suggests, like many others stated, this is not the book for you. I do wish the title was what comes after the colon alone because this book is really about cultivating green space in your home, heart, and mind more than it is about what to do to make a plant love you. Nonetheless, it was an easy read.

I could’ve done without the abundance of testimonies that followed her thoughts on each of the topics discussed. I’m sure the intention was to demonstrate that Oakes isn’t the only party that feels as she does, but it didn’t add much for me as a reader and I found myself skimming them as I got closer to the end of the book.

[Rebe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I recognized the author from an apartment tour I’d seen on YouTube. She seems like a cool person, but I was underwhelmed with her book. There are some interesting facts, but mostly this was a mix of rambling mini-essays on various nature- and conservation-related topics and quotes from people about how much they love plants. There’s very little in here that’s actually about how to pick out and care for houseplants, so the title is pretty misleading. The main focus of the book seems to be the author trying to encourage her readers to love plants more and reflecting on her own love, but if you’re reading this book, presumably you already appreciate plants and nature. To me this book was mostly a waste of time.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for a biophile like me. I love the idea that re-examining and exploring our understanding of plants can influence how we treat other people and create communities, how we engage in self-care and connect with the world at large, how we approach economics and political issues, and how we understand different world views, cultures and languages.

I’m not sure what it’s like in the physical text version, but in the audiobook I found the random additions of blurbs from other people’s experiences with plants to make the text feel quite disjointed and it took away from what was otherwise a wonderful read!

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiration for someone who's black thumb has been turning a slightly more shade of green over the past 4 years. Makes me want to incorporate more life in our home. Also reinforced ways our family intentionally reconnects with nature and appreciates what it provides: hiking, yoga at park, visiting the conservatory,visiting sugar shacks (maple syrup) during the March Maple Madness, planting a small vegetable garden in the back yard, appreciating varied flavors of honey due to vegetation bees in particular areas collect nectar from.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh this book was terrible! So pretentious. Name dropping plant people names as though lay people should know who they are, tooting her own horn about basically everything, continuously using scientific plant names so anyone just learning has no idea what the heck she’s talking about. This book is not for someone who wants to learn more about plants. It also doesn’t teach how to get a plant to love you. It was boring and long and eye rolling.

[Simona Simeonova · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is not accurate with the book. Huge part of the book is filled with useless messages from Summer Rayne's followers. Maybe i was mislead by the title, but kinda wanted to read more plant care oriented information or horticultural psychology stuff. I think she intentionally skipped plant care info so you could enroll her masterclass. Love this lady;s channel but the book was disappointing

[Dee Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the kind of gardening or houseplant coffee table book. This book is more than that.

The book talks about plants in a more deeper perspective. It is about how we should see plants beyond their beauty at home. It is about knowing the nature of plants and their relationship to our ecosystem.

I'm thankful for the author. This is actually an opportunity for me to understand plants not just in the way I care for them but in embracing the wonderful creation of nature and taking care of them because they give a lot to us and it is just but rightful to give back to them through showing our care and appreciation. By not destroying the mother nature. By being mindful of our actions because just like us, plants are living. They're alive and we are sharing one habitat and so, we should learn how to preserve them. We need them to survive. They provide us:
1. Oxygen
2. Water
3. Food
4. Shelter

Which are considered the basic needs of humans to survive.

Highly recommend for plant enthusiasts if you want to step up your skills in caring for your plants. Not by action per se but by broadening your knowledge about the importance of plants in our lives.

[Stefanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know how this will make a plant love me back. Really was hoping for a book on how to grow plants and not kill them, which is what I thought the title meant. I’ll stick to watching her YouTube videos.

[Tiffany McFarland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t love this one and ended up skimming much of the end, except the quotes from other plant parents (I throughly enjoyed them). Despite a paragraph here or there that intrigued me, the content and tone of this book just didn’t work for me.

[AnnMarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is okay. I like the concept and some of the "to-dos" are interesting. She is trying hard to push an agenda that having plants cures depression. Basically every single outside quote is about this and it gets boring. She uses the scientific names for plants so I think that keeps some readers (like myself) at an arm's length.

[Phoebe era by Là · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel that the author took a bunch of Instagram captions and turned them into a book. There were only a couple chapters about how to actually care for plants and I could easily Google the information.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7

[Bong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book filled with information on how to care for plants or a particular kind of houseplants (her masterclass can teach you that); but a book on how we can appreciate and love the plants we bring into our homes. This book is more meditative. Reading the quotes in the book gave me a sense of peace and understanding of how influential plants affect our mind and soul.

[LuluRockets · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the folks who gave this book a low rating may have totally missed the point. So sad for them!

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much a passionate book. If you want a book on specific care for plants, this isn't for you, but this book will teach you how to appreciate and respect the plants near you. A very good read, changed the way I view my walks.

[Rita Malaquias · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book a better review, but I feel like the title doesn't reflect the content shown. "How plants make you happy" would be a more accurate title. Also I don't understand the need of using at least 5 quotes to get a point across, when 1 or 2 is all it needed. I thought this book would be something about Summer's personal life with plants and stuff about her work, but not much to read about that other than bunch of quotes and something else. The only good part of the book were the last 2 chapters, where she actually tells you how to make a plant love you. I also feel like this book was a bit rushed. Don't get me wrong, I love what she does, but this book just doesn't reflect her work. At the end of the book I just skipped the quotes, because they basically said the same thing. Also I thought it was funny how she said that her book used a certain percentage of recycled paper, but proceeded to use pages and pages of quotes instead of using that to write something better. I recommend this book ONLY if you know about Summer's work and if you watch her YouTube videos. Other than that, don't read this book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I own a copy of this book but I highly recommend the Audible version! Great insight! Really enjoyed meeting her on her book tour — if you have houseplants, her YouTube channel is an incredible resource!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, uplifting ready about the positive effects of caring for plants.

[Quietschedingsens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr schöne Illustration und viele "Ja, mir geht es genauso"- Momente

[Naraya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Als die Autorin Summer Rayne Oakes in die Großstadt New York zog, fehlte ihr zunehmend die Natur. Also begann sie, sich Zimmerpflanzen für ihr Apartement anzuschaffen und diese eigenhändig zu vermehren. Heute besitzt sie einen YouTube-Kanal mit knapp 200.000 Abonennten, veranstaltet Kurse für Pflanzenliebhaber und hat in ihrer Wohnung einen mehr als 1000 Pflanzen umfassenden Dschungel herangezogen. In "Pflanzenliebe" nähert sie sich nun der Frage, welchen Mehrwert Pflanzen für unser Leben haben und was wir tun können, damit diese sich bei uns wohlfühlen.

Eins vorneweg: Das Buch ist kein handelsüblicher Ratgeber zum richtigen Umgang mit Zimmerpflanzen. Zwar gibt die Autorin zum Ende des Buches hin auch Tipps, wie man die Pflege der eigenen Pflanzen verbessern kann und welche Arten den ein oder anderen Fehler verzeihen, dennoch geht es eher um biologische und vor allem psychologische Aspekte der Pflanzenhaltung. In acht Kapiteln, deren Anfänge stets kleine Pflanzenillustrationen beinhalten, teilt Summer Rayne Oakes ihre Geschichte mit uns. Sie berichtet von dem Beginn ihrer Leidenschaft, von einem Nachbarschaftsgarten, den sie in New York betreut und streut Anekdoten aus ihren Seminaren ein. Wir erfahren jedoch auch, dass Pflanzen Musik lieben, besonders Mozart, dass sie Partnerschaften untereinander eingehen und depressiven Menschen bei einer Therapie helfen können. Am Ende jedes Kapitels folgen schließlich "Wachstumsübungen", in welchen der Leser sich mit dem Thema Pflanzen eingehender beschäftigen soll.

"Pflanzenliebe" leistet durchaus einiges. Das Buch macht deutlich, dass Pflanzen Lebewesen sind, die wir nur ins Haus holen sollten, wenn wir ihnen gerecht werden können. Ebenso positiv ist anzumerken, dass die Autorin stets die botanischen Namen nutzt - ein echter Pflanzenfreund wird mit den reinen Verkaufsnamen auf Dauer nicht viel anfangen können. Und gerade da liegt auch der Schwachpunkt des Buches: Anfänger können hier kaum brauchbare Tipps zur Pflanzenpflege finden - es scheint daher eher für Menschen geeignet zu sein, die bereits Vorkenntnisse haben und ist hier auch durchaus als nettes Geschenk geeignet. Ich persönlich hätte mir zudem noch einige Fotoseiten gewünscht, denn wer im Internet die Pflanzensammlung der Autorin entdeckt, kommt aus dem Staunen nicht mehr heraus. Schade, dass diese nicht in "Pflanzenliebe" gezeigt wird; so bleibt das Geschriebene zuweilen etwas trocken und abstrakt.

Fazit: Ein schönes Geschenk für Pflanzenfans, für Anfänger eher uninteressant