Happy Plant: A Beginner’s Guide to Cultivating Healthy Plant Care Habits

Sabharwal, co-owner of Brooklyn plant studio Horti Play, delivers an excellent guide to keeping plants alive and well. After a quick recap of the history of plants and a passionate plea that “plants are not objects—they are more like housemates who do not pay rent but pull their weight in countless other ways,” the author moves to practical matters such as plant care, how to repot, and recognizing plant illnesses. Perhaps the most useful advice is on choosing a plant to match one’s lifestyle, including five of the easiest plants to keep alive: there’s pothos, a climbing vine; the snake plant, which requires little watering; the baby rubber plant, with tall cream-colored spikes; the hardy, fast-growing spider plant; and the ZZ plant, an East African succulent. Sabharwal sprinkles in some amusing anecdotes—one friend of his was filled with pride after keeping a fern alive for two years, only to find out it was made of plastic—and the photos and hand-drawn illustrations are a plus. Even those with the least green of thumbs can be redeemed with these tips. (Apr.)