Herbal Houseplants

a pleasant introduction to herb growing though a traditional take that assumes excellent natural light.

This book is extremely useful for herb gardeners, both beginners and intermediates. I like the breakdown of various herbs and all the information about them, including propagating, harvesting, uses, and floral meanings. There is also a section in the back with recipes for cooking and making various healthcare items such as balms and massage oils. The author also includes information on different types of propagation as well as common bests and the signs, symptoms, and cures for them. I find this to be a very handy reference book for herb gardens and likely to be on my shelf for frequent use.

Herbal Houseplants is an and adorable and beneficial book. It is full of information that has anything to do with herbal plants. I enjoyed the design of the book, and I think the photos are lovely! It would make an excellent gift for anyone interested in herbs.

A beautiful book with a lot of pictures.
I'm looking forward to being able to grow some herbs myself (but we will have to finish the house first).
The information on all the different herbs is great and I want to try out the recipes.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this gardening guide. I am a fan of hobbyist gardening and cooking, and I try often to grow my own herbs, some of which are successful and some of which never amount to anything. After reading through this guide, I was made more aware of the gardening tips and knowledge that I would need to properly grow herbs indoors, specifically from seeds. I am looking forward to trying out some of these tips as soon as tomorrow.

As for suggesting an audience for this book, I believe the content ranges from beginner to novice/middle in terms of skill set. If you’re already skilled or knowledgeable in growing herbal houseplants then you would be better off reading this as a filler for gaps in your info or as a part of your gardening aficionado collection

Herbal Houseplants is a guidebook for growing a selection of herbs indoors. A lot of information about each selected herb is given including their uses, harvesting, growing, and propagation. The photographs are beautiful and add a lot of appeal to the book. I would say it is suitable for beginners and those with a bit more experience as a reference book, The section with recipes and healthcare uses is a great bonus and also makes this a great gift book, Overall a very appealing and useful book,

"My purpose in writing about the herbs I love is to promote the peace and tranquillity found in growing and loving them."

Wow, this is a beautiful guide to growing herbs indoors. I could feel Susan Betz's knowledge and passion for the subject throughout, and I found it inspiring!

There is SO much covered in this relatively small guide: detailed information on different herbs, herb health, and some very charming recipes (food, cosmetics, and decorative)!

As someone with a keen interest in plants and nature, this is my dream guide for all things herb!

Herbal Houseplants: Grow beautiful herbs – indoors! For flavor, fragrance, and fun
Susan Betz
I love to cook with fresh herbs, but I rarely have success growing them indoors. I have tried growing them under special grow lights to no avail. When I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. Maybe with the help of author Susan Betz I will have fresh herbs all year around.
Susan Betz assures readers they do not need special equipment, just a sunny windowsill. Not all herbs grow well indoors, MS Betz provides information on which herbs make the best houseplants. There is also information on watering, fertilizing and harvesting your herbs.
So why grow herbs? My first thoughts when I hear the word herbs is delicious foods, but herbs have so many other uses: make your own herbal teas, use them for cleaning, make your home smell wonderful and for crafting.
The information in Herbal Houseplants covers: care of your indoor herbs, safeguarding them from pests, keeping your plants useful, selecting herbs for your home, utilizing your herbs and growing exotic herbs.
I have tried raising basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme indoors, as I stated previously…with little success, I plan to give it another try. Oh, to have fresh basil and rosemary thriving on my windowsill. Author Susan Betz makes it seem so easy. She writes in a clear and concise manner. Whether you are a novice or expert at growing herbs you will enjoy Herbal Houseplants. The photographs are beautiful and the information invaluable.

I really enjoyed this herbal houseplant book and found it to be helpful and inspiring. I now want to try far more herbs inside as houseplants, at least during the cold season. I already grow some of the plants profiled but she includes a huge range of options, from stevia to scented geraniums to cilantro to herbal topiaries. Each one has detailed information, stock photos, growing information, harvest information and how to propagate it. There were a lot of entries that gave me the info I needed to be successful now where I didn't have the right info before. For instance, I've tried taking cuttings of my friend's giant indoor stevia plant but they always died. Now I know you need to propagate it by root cuttings (not stem) or seed. And plants like cilantro are annuals so you need to keep reseeding even as houseplants, whereas some other herbs will live indoors for years. Highly recommended.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

This is a great book detailing how to grow indoor herbs and how to preserve them. I really enjoyed how they separate the book by various herbs with a great deal of detail about all of them. It details pests that the gardener may deal with and has a nice selection of recipes at the end too.

I enjoy growing herbs, but I haven't had much success keeping them indoors. The humidity seems to be too low, or the sunlight is too weak, or maybe I've over or underwatering. Susan Betz's book, Herbal Houseplants, gives helpful tips on using basil, oregano, mint and other flavorful herbs as houseplants.

If you have other books on herbs, you'll find some of this information is already familiar. Nevertheless, the book is a fun, easy read that will inspire you with its advice and attractive images.

Herbal Houseplants is the perfect book for the Covid era in which people are trying to master growth of common herbs and houseplant to enhance cooking and the environment. This book has gorgeous illustrations and many suggestions to help our plants thrive and multiply. I found this to be exceptionally useful and suitable to a wide variety of ages and skill levels.

I've been trying to grow herbs as house plants this year so it seemed fated that this book came out at a similar time. I love the fragrances and colours that they work perfectly as houseplants.

This book is beautifully illustrated and full of photographs, where you can see the author is very knowledgable in this field, it's growing at home in action! It covers growing and care and recommends applications for herbs as houseplants, be it in the kitchen, as part of a home apothecary or for fragrance. Finally it covers some recipes and ideas for using these useful plants in your cosmetics.

It is a rounded well researched book, with plenty of resources for suppliers, however these are all American centric. Other suppliers from the UK could be found through google.

The book would make a great gift, or as a handy reference book to help your herb houseplants thrive in your home.

Herbal Houseplants is a tutorial and culture guide for herbal plants to grow (for use) indoors written by Susan Betz. Due out 13th April 2021 from Quarto on their Cool Springs Press imprint, it's 176 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

The first thing that struck me about this book is how positive and upbeat and encouraging the author's voice is. It's a really happy book full of healthy vibrant useful plants. I love herbs and always have pots of herbs in my kitchen windows and greenhouse to bring inside to use during the winter... but this book goes a lot further with decorating and culture ideas for plants, some quite exotic.

The layout is easy to read and follow as well as graphically appealing. It's well illustrated with lots of relevant color photos. The author covers choosing plants to fit decor needs as well as the culture needs of the plants themselves. There are good illustrations of each of the concepts she introduces (what _is_ indirect light, how can plants be situated to make the most of light without getting burned by having too much of it, what's humidity, how much is enough, when and how much to water, propagation, etc). There are some simple tables included to help readers with culture and troubleshooting.

The author has included a good overview of tools and supplies also: choosing pots, drainage, materials, soils (one of the best treatments I've seen in a home/hobby book), potting tutorials, watering, pruning, fertilizing, cleaning, propagation, and solving problems. The second half of the book contains a good herbal with a surprisingly broad choice of plants including eucalyptus, tea tree, patchouli, and lots more. They're arranged roughly thematically: culinary herbs, herbs for fun and fragrance, scented geraniums, and "temporary" indoor guests such as topiaries.

The final chapter includes some recipes for harvesting and use. The book also includes a useful list of resources and suppliers as well as a cross referenced index.

Well written and nicely photographed. Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book is a great introduction to growing herbs, as well as a source for information for intermediate herb gardeners. With lots of information about the plants, as well as uses for them -- this really is a great book for all who want to grow herbs inside.

If you ever wanted to learn about herbs and how you can have them in your home, then this book is for you. The book does a wonderful job in talking about all of the different kinds of herbs there are!! It also goes into the different reasons that you would have each kind!! The photographs of all of the herbs make you realize what all of it will look like in your house. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to begin to learn to about herbs.

This was a simple and easy guide but sadly, most of the herbs can be grown in homes with low light conditions.

Such a glorious book, just in time for spring inspiration! The author packs spades of useful information into this book along with bright and airy photographs (those dogs!) and illustrations. She defines herbs and includes the history and background. For example, the Romans believed eating mint would increase intelligence. She includes a "recipe" for a balanced indoor soil mix, information on repotting and when, container choices (my favourite is definitely clay), pruning, troubleshooting, propagation, pests, fungicides, preserving, growing conditions and so on.

Though I am a master gardener on two very different continents (bitterly cold Canada and hot Mediterranean) there is always much to learn and aspire to. Many of my favourite herbs are included in this book and I am itching to plow ahead! One of my favourite aspects of this book is the floral meanings of the herbs. Who wouldn't want to plant cilantro which says, "your closeness is welcome", patchouli which means "passion" or sage "I will suffer all for you"?!

Beautiful as that is, herbs are also loaded with practical uses and the author highlights them (culinary, household, mental health, fragrance...) and includes recipes which sound sublime such as mint bubble bath, lavender and rosemary laundry rinse, pesto cheesecake, scented geranium salad dressing and massage oil. Such wondrous and creative ideas! I really look forward to trying them. One of my favourite simple things to do is to infuse honey with various dried herbs such as sage, rosemary and lavender.

Most herbs included are those which are beloved and familiar such as chives, rosemary, thyme, basil and lavender but also mentioned are the more obscure cardamom, sea onion (I need to try that one!) and spicy citrus plectranthus. Also discussed are topiaries, hanging herbs to dry and freezing methods. There is even a helpful section on what herb goes best with foods such as lamb, pork, fish and spinach.

So. If you are looking for inspiration and easy-to-follow tips and instructions on growing indoor herbs, do read this lovely, lovely book and put it to good use. I already plan to buy the hard copy for myself, mom and both sisters.

My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Cool Springs Press and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this wonderful early e-ARC.

I love fresh herbs but always struggle with which can thrive inside and when to harvest the plants. This book answered all my questions and provided me with herbs I didn’t even know I needed. There’s also ideas on what you can use the herbs for. Super helpful book!

This is a beautiful compilation of herbs to grow indoors.
It details how to care, grow and what to do with almost any of the herbs.
From fragant and healing to seasoning and cooking.
This could make a great gift for any garden enthusiast.

I've tried growing herbs indoors with various degrees of success, mostly on the "unsuccessful" end of the spectrum, so I appreciated this book's look at the specific indoor growing conditions and common problems of a variety of herbs. Informative and inspiring.

I am a herbal gardener with little to no knowledge of growing and maintaining my herbs, until now. This is the best herbal houseplants reference book I have ever seen. I found some of the best advice on watering, fertilizing, and harvesting indoor Herbal Houseplants.

Herbal Houseplants; Grow beautiful herbs - indoors! For flavor, fragrance, and fun by Susan Betz has lots of lovely photos, and information on what kind of herbs you want to grow for certain things!

It has recipes for using the herbs that you can grow such as salad dressing and tea, making herbal topiaries and suggestions for how to dry herbs.

This is a great book if you're interested in growing herbs at home as it has lots of information and pictures.

 Herbal Houseplants  was published on 27th April 2021, and is available to buy from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Quarto .

This would make a really lovely coffee table reference book. It provides an in-depth overview of caring for, housing, and using herbs. I appreciated the explanation of how pots will affect the herbs, I've always loved plain terracotta pots, but I won't be surprised to find myself gravitating to terracotta exclusively after the foresight provided in Herbal Houseplants. The repotting and seasonal herb placement information was especially helpful, these are things you gain a basic understanding of as a casual gardener and it was nice to see I had some things right, and where I could improve. In addition, Herbal Houseplants has great insight on using the herbs yielded. I wasn't aware herbs could be manipulated into topiary, now I'm itching to try! I would recommend this to anyone particularly interested in herb growth.

Herbal Houseplants: Grow beautiful herbs - indoors! For flavor, fragrance, and fun by Susan Betz
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group – Cool Springs Press
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden
Release Date: April 27, 2021

Herbal Houseplants by Susan Betz is a great resource for growing herbs at home.

The photos are beautiful and the information is great! The chapters are broken down into the follow: 1. An Herbal Primer; 2. Herbs for the Kitchen and Beyond; 3. Herbs for Fun and Fragrance; 4. Scented-Leaf Geraniums; 5. Temporary House Guests and Herbal Topiaries; 6. Preserving Your Herbal Harvest. There are also addition resources at the end.

I'm so grateful to Susan Betz, Quarto Publishing Group – Cool Springs Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I live in an area of the country (zone 5) where herbs can't be overwintered outside. The information will help me in growing a few herbs for year round use in my kitchen. I will definitely purchase a copy of this when it is published

Susan Betz’s Herbal Houseplants successfully slices off a gorgeous, fragrant, inspirational piece of herbal garden heaven for inside our homes. The author covers everything a reader would want to know about growing herbs in the home, from soil and pot selection to sun and water needs, fertilizing, dealing with bugs, propagating and preserving your herbs. Ms. Betz provides all the information in detail, but without it being overwhelming, and the text is very balanced with contemporary, beautiful color pictures starting from the cover and throughout the whole book. I loved how she referred to herbs as “companions” to humans, and talked about how herbs like “company,” so be sure to put two or three together. She is a true plant person, which is backed up by her bio! The book also includes how to preserve herbs by drying or freezing, and many recipes for foods, creams and oils, which are very accessible to a typical reader. A great read that would also make a nice gift. #HerbalHouseplants #NetGalley

Herbs would not have been the first candidate I would think of as decorative houseplants but I certainly have changed my mind after going through this book. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only can these plants grace any part of your dwelling place with their delicate pretty leaves, they can also be made into gorgeous topiaries. I was also amazed to find out that there are herbs like geraniums that give off various smells! Decorative, edible, fragrant. If that’s not a perfect houseplant, I don’t know what is.

Herbal houseplants is a beautiful book with all the basic information you would need for their care and usage. A great introduction to the world of keeping and using herbs in the house. As more and more people grow green fingers during the pandemic, this would make a wonderful gift.

I love plants. I have as many plants as *reasonably allowable* in my house without, you know, preventing people from moving about and, well, being able to put a book or a plate on a side table or whatnot. Herbal Houseplants has so many beautiful pictures and creative ideas that, well, putting books or plates down is highly overrated in one's own home. Right?

Herbal Houseplants provides basic indoor plant basics, a primer on herbal plants from the typical to the exotic, lighting requirements and ideas, potting soil preparations, watering recommendations, and so much more. I mentioned the pictures, right? Because they were gorgeous. And, if you weren't already sold on that, the author provides fun recipes for your very own indoor herb houseplant bounty. Seriously, there are some good ones in there.

I absolutely recommend this for fellow lovers of plants that can also help make your house smell delicious AND up your culinary game!

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

When I was young, I dreamt of my own herb garden. I pictured myself going outside, harvesting what I needed from my recipes. However, as I grew older, I realized that my garden should be populated with native flora and my dream evolved to a pollinator garden made up of local wildflowers.

This book offered a way for both of my dreams to come true: my herbs can grow indoors! I can already picture how fragrant my house will be once I start planting. :-)

Great book for anyone interested in growing herbs indoors, very good reference book, great pictures and is full of tips and helpful guides, easy to read and follow, would recommend

This was very useful - I am trying to incorporate more herbs into my life whilst working from home have started having houseplants. So this ticks both boxes.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

Herbal Houseplants by Susan Betz is a commonsense book on keeping herbal plants inside of your home. I found the reading easy to follow, with tips I knew and some new ones too. The photographs included close ups so that the leaves of the plants would be easy to distinguish when looking to buy. One plant entry, lavender, which has given me trouble growing outside gave plain speaking tips to follow. Perhaps inside my home will be the key to my growing this plant. Another helpful chapter is on harvesting and preserving the herbs. Perhaps I could have found this on the internet but it was great to have it all together in this book. Then there are recipes to try too.

I especially found the quotes from various written works to be a delight to read. They were not necessary to learning about the growing of herbal houseplants but make the reading more entertaining. All in all an informational enjoyable read.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.

What a privilege to receive an advance copy of Herbal Houseplants from Netgalley! Cool Spring Press & Susan Betz have compiled a very detailed, fact-filled, reference to growing herbs indoors, something I've never had any luck with. I'm fortunate to live where I can grow herbs outdoors up to 9 months of the year, but fail repeatedly indoors. Once you grow your own herbs, you'll never eat the cardboard dust out of a jar again!
This beautifully illustrated book includes historical, mythology, lore, uses, facts, insect problems, even recipes & uses aside from cooking. The recipes range from simple herb butters & vinegar to luscious cakes. I can't wait to try many of them.
I own many hardcopy herbal gardening & cookbooks, but this is much more comprehensive & useful than any I've read. The ideas for pots, placement, light needs & medicinal uses are lovely.
I would highly recommend to both beginner & master gardeners for a wealth of herbal knowledge.

What a handy book to own. I’ve grown herbs from time to time but never had much luck. Bought basil in the spring and it was dead by fall. Now I see I had it I. The wrong soil. Thanks to the wonderful information in this book, I may try to grow not just the basil but also aloe vera and perhaps lemon grass.
Besides all the growing, propagation instructions, there are recipes for flavored tea, desserts, and how to fit them into your daily life. If you’re like me and have a mediocre green thumb, this book will give you a leg up on growing herbs inside your home.
I received an advanced reader copy for free from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

A very cool book! I've wanted to try my hand at having some of these plants and with this book as a resource I now feel comfortable giving it a go!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for a honest review!

Herbal Houseplants by Susan Betz is full of helpful information from herbal newbies to seasoned growers. Clear, detailed information is given for a variety of common and not so common herbs. I found the book to be insightful, and it taught me several things. While I tend to grow herbs outdoors in the garden, this is an excellent resource for people with limited growing space.

Synopsis:

From soil to herbs to plant, caring for them to harvesting them, and even a few recipes, this book is a useful guide for anyone who is looking to add some greenery to their home.

Review:

I love that there is so much information here. I am going to have to try the pesto cheesecake. It sounds different and I am curious how well I will enjoy it.

If you are interested in starting to grow your own herbs this would be a great guide for whose in an apartment or looking to grow them indoors. I have been interested in gardening since I was small. I am not the best of gardeners and would love to finally stay in one spot long enough to see the fruits of my labor. This book is good for me because I can still grow some of my own groceries without the full garden while getting some nice plants around my home.

I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in growing your own herbs and learning how to care for them. If gardening is your jam than this would be one to add to your list. For those with more experience than I have in this, I would love to hear your thoughts on how useful you find this book. Are there any things you would add to this guide? I would love to know.

This book was given in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.