Terrain: The Houseplant Book: An Insider’s Guide to Cultivating and Collecting the Most Sought-After Specimens

by Melissa Lowrie

A fresh approach to the houseplant category, featuring fabulous, unusual specimens and tours of growers, botanical gardens, and private collections around the world―from beloved gardening brand Terrain.“An informative and inspiring guide to collecting and growing plants at home.” ― Gardenista Terrain’s plant experts travel the world in search of the most unusual and interesting houseplants. In this inspiring and practical guide, they share their favorite exotic and eclectic ferns, like the skeleton fork, a primitive (and unfussy) predecessor to the family; new aroids to feed that monstera obsession; and adventurous trailing plants like dischidia, which is found cascading from tree branches in its native Thailand; plus succulents and cacti, indoor trees, the best low-care plants, and “rule breakers” like bamboo muhly grass that can make an unexpected move indoors. Along the way, Terrain introduces their favorite independent growers―passionate plant lovers who are creating new hybrids and bringing back old-school specimens to the market. And readers learn ?Terrain’s way of styling and overarching philosophy on the most important thing we can give our plants is our presence. “This book is a must-have!” ―Hilton Carter, author of Wild at Home , Wild Interiors , and Wild Creations

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[Paula]

I received a free copy from NetGalley. I couldn't wait to read this book since I'm a plant newbie mom. I loved the cover and wanted to learn more about some of more favorite plants like monstera, cactus, fiddle leaf fig, and asparagus fern.

I loved the book the first moment I opened it and couldn't put it down. All the information about my favorite plants in place. The book starts with information about potting soil, pots, light, water, repotting, etc. The rest is lear, concise. and information layed out in multiple ways through chapters devoted to one type family, pictures, introductory text, and text boxes that give you the basics you need to know. They're interviews/stories from people who are passionate about these plants as well. The pictures are gorgeous not only all of the plants themselves. but how people have displayed them in their homes. It was great to see all the variation of each type of plants and those plants that are hard to find and/or every expensive.

[Mary]

This book contains a wealth of information regarding the care and keeping of all manner of plants. For anyone looking for a book that “digs” deeply into every plant, this book has it. From nutrition to propagation, it’s in here. My concern is the lack of photographs. For those who are visual learners, this omission is very important and may be a deciding factor in whether or not to purchase this book. As far as it concerns a small, rural public library, having another plant encyclopedia may not be a necessary expense. This book is almost too detailed and better found in larger libraries.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley for free and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Eve (Also on StoryGraph: eve314)]

A delightful guide to the care and keeping of dozens of today’s most popular houseplants. It’s not comprehensive by any means, but it gets most of the greatest hits. It also includes profiles of several growers from around the country, which I found surprisingly informative. I learned a lot, including some stuff I’ve been doing wrong for a long time. (The pictorial guide to common pests is definitely handy.)

[Maddy Walock]

Good reference for my book! Beautiful visuals.

[Erin Hsu]

This reference book is put together so well. Not only is it informational, it leaves you dreaming of all the plants you need. I want all the Hoyas!