Healthy, happy houseplants don’t have to be a hassle. Just ask the founders of online House Plant Club, Erin Harding and Morgan Doane, whose can-do, no-fuss approach to creating an indoor jungle, one plant at a time, has attracted 450,000 Instagram followers.
Their new book, “How to Raise a Plant And Make It Love You Back” ($16.99), continues the goal of guiding novices, with limited time and money, on ways to bring lush greenery inside.
On the go all the time? No worries. You’ll find clever ways to care for your potted treasures while you’re away. An upside-down recycled beverage bottle can slowly drip water into soil or you can let a piece of yarn be the link between a water jar and roots. Better yet, decorate with care- and dirt-free air plants.
With the right space and light, anyone can keep houseplants alive, says Harding.
A few years ago, Harding, who lives in Beaverton, Ore., was posting photos of her completed projects on Instagram’s cleverbloom when she discovered Doane’s houseplant images on plantingpink.
Doane lives in Tampa, Fla., and soon the two were shipping cuttings across the country to each other.
They sought out widely available houseplants that thrive in different climates and, with enthusiasm to spare, they launched houseplantclub where they showcase decor inspirations as well as the success stories of their followers.
Thankfully, in their book, they don’t overload readers with more information than is needed to simply enjoy creating an indoor oasis, whether that’s one plant or 100, at home or an office cubicle.
You may not know every plant’s Latin name — Monstera deliciosa (aka Swiss cheese plant) — but you will recognize Doane’s and Harding’s favorites since magazine photo stylists and design bloggers also love these plants for their pleasing shapes and colors.
Flip through the fetching, photo-laden, 112-page book until a waxy-leaf Hoya or chunky necklace-like Sedum morganianum catches your eye. Then read the straight-forward advice on the easiest way to care for them.
Quickly, you’ll learn not to drown a fiddle-leaf fig or pile fertilizer onto cacti, and that divided purple shamrock bulbs can be grown in new containers to keep or give away.
Don’t miss the pages on conversation-starting containers, from a toy dinosaur to a disco ball. Harding’s two sons make planters out of Legos.
