A good look at houseplants and how best to keep them happy and healthy. Lots of big, beautiful images and I even got some good ideas from it!

This is a great book for those of us who want to grow plants in low-light. This book has the usual tips on watering light, nutrients, pest control and re-potting. What sets it apart are the clever tips to make the most of low-light settings, such as using mirrors to reflect light and keeping reflective surfaces and windows clean. I appreciated the large list of plant profiles and descriptions that tolerate low-light settings. Five stars.

Recently, I’ve been exploring the amazing ability of plants to purify the air and absorb humidity. Bringing plants indoors has been a habit I have resisted believing it to be a huge effort to keep them healthy. However, the need to prevent damp and remove allergens has made it worth investigating. Light is crucial and spots which are damp aren’t often equally light and so Grow in the Dark by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf seemed to be the logical book to read!

Beginning with the principles of indoor plant benefits and care, the book progresses through accessing the area in which the plants will be living and onto the plants which will best suit the environment. Lisa celebrates the good news that “one houseplant placed every 100 square feet will remove [paint, furniture, carpeting and electronic] chemicals” as well as “if there is enough light in your room to read a book, you have enough to sustain a low-light plant.” She shares how to identify from the deceptive plant label which plants are low-light ones as well as which direction of sun is best for each and watering options.

The book ends with 50 plants that are suited to indoor, low-light living and highlights the level of moisture required as well as if the plant is pet friendly. None of them are floral, they are leafy and that perhaps was my only disappointment in the book. I had hoped for more than greenness indoors and, fortunately, living in medium rather than low light, I should get away with a few flowers indoors!

Practical and easy-to-follow, it is a four out of five on the en-JOY-ment scale! If you are considering indoor plants, this is one to read!

Grow.in the Dark is a informative and interesting book on plants. It gives valuable information and can help people with less lightening in their homes.

Grow In the Dark by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf is a book about choosing and growing the best plants for a low-light environment.


First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Quarto Publishing Group – Cool Springs Press, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:
This plant guide provides detailed information on lighting, watering, fertilizing, and temperature considerations as well as maintenance issues like re-potting and pest control, before even looking at the many different houseplants suitable for low and medium lighting conditions.

When the actual plants appear in the book, each one shows the common, botanical and cultivar names, as well as light and watering requirements, propagation techniques, and whether they are safe for pets.


My Opinions:
Really good information for the novice and experienced plant lover.

For all of us who have at least some areas where we could use a low-light loving plant, this is a really good guide. I love how the index allows you to search for either the common or the botanical name.

The pictures are beautiful, and this would make an excellent gift.

Grow in the Dark is a tutorial for maximizing the use of plants in the home whilst helping them to thrive at less than ideal light levels. There are a number of classic and popular houseplants which can tolerate low lighting. Author Lisa Eldred Steinkopf is a horticulture blogger and plant expert who has turned her authorial attentions to choosing and maintaining low light plants suited to the home.

Due out 7th May 2019 from Quarto on their Cool Springs imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in hardcover format. The book's introduction covers definitions and moves into a discussion of siting and light levels. There's a clever list of ways to maximize the usefulness of available light and redirect it toward your plants (reflective surfaces such as mirrors), keeping windows clean, etc. There are some really good tips included which I hadn't thought about.

The second and third chapters cover plant nutrients and diseases. The photography throughout the book is good, the troubleshooting photos especially showing different diseases and nutrient deficiencies were very clear and explanatory.

The last section of the book is an alphabetical list of specific plant profiles. The profiles are listed by common name with thumbnails, however the Latin names are included in each listing to avoid confusion. There's a cross-referenced index at the end of the book (with Latin names included) to make specific plants easier to find. The listings are comprehensive and include a color photograph, icons for light and water needs as well as a very useful toxicity listing (for pets/small humans), along with a description of propagation techniques, mature plant size, and other info.

The book is mostly slanted to the urban indoor gardener. For people looking to expand their houseplant horizon past spider plants (Chlorophytum sp.) and snake plants (Sansevieria sp.), this book includes a number of lesser known but worthy plants from which to choose.

It's unclear from the pre-publication information available whether the book will be available in electronic format, but the eARC which was provided for review includes a handy interactive table of contents.

Four stars.

This is "to the author/publisher" feedback, not a review. I will post that later on goodreads/amazon.

This book was great! It's so useful.

I don't buy the nonfiction stuff for our library, and, admittedly, we don't buy a lot of stuff like this because it's relatively easy to get at a standard library, but I am recommending at least one physical copy, and a digital copy if we can get one, to the buyer who covers that area. Being LGBTQ in OK frequently means leaving home earlier, and with less support. It can mean limited housing or roommate options. It may just mean a greater impetus to strike out on your own and have control over your space . . . which frequently means shitty apartments. Plants are therapeutic. Shitty apartments have little sun. Plants that don't need sun . . . OMG! This book is amazing!

You're going to have an uphill battle against free info on the web- but this book is well curated, has detailed instructions, and acts almost as a coffee table book itself. It's easy to navigate and understand. If it's at a good price point and you put it in urban markets with the right marketing, it should go far. Maybe get some bloggers to mention it.

Good luck!

This book is so useful for anyone wanting to add plant life to their home but have concerns. It gives solutions to basic problems and identifies the best plants for individual lifestyles.
What I love most of all is the regular summary the book provides and the photos to illustrate points made.