Keep Your Houseplants Alive and Thriving

Delighted is an understatement when it comes to my response to Nell Foster’s new book, Keep Your Houseplants Alive. For years I’ve preached that the key to growing healthy houseplants has nothing to do with possessing a lucky green thumb. If you choose plants that thrive indoors, don’t overwater them and put them in the right location, you will succeed as an indoor gardener.

Foster’s book masterfully covers all of these points—and then some. Keep Your Houseplants Alive features 27 plants that do well indoors. “Too many people believe that they can’t keep houseplants alive, but the plants in this book, if placed right and cared for properly, will be living, breathing additions to your home for years to come,” she says.

 All photos this article Lucy Ferriera

The author knows what she’s talking about. Foster has worked as an interiorscaper in Boston and San Francisco, maintaining plants in offices, banks, malls, hotels and building lobbies, as well as some residences.

“Commercial environments with their low light, high traffic and recycled air are tough on houseplants,” says Foster. “I’ve learned so much through education and mostly from hands-on experience, so I wrote the book to share that experience. The fact is that even if you’re a serial plant killer, my years in the trenches of interiorscaping can help you in your efforts to keep your plants alive and thriving.”

Knowing that indoor gardeners are sometimes faced with too many choices when it comes to houseplants, Foster narrowed down the field by featuring 27 easy-to-grow favorites in the book.

“In some books, magazines or on the internet, you’re presented with an overwhelming number of plants that you either can’t find, stay alive for only one to two months after you buy them, or you need to convert your home into the conservatory at Kew Gardens to keep them growing,” says Foster. “The plants in this book are the ones that have the best survival rates in commercial and residential spaces.”

Including plenty of fabulous photos by photographer Lucy Ferriera, the book covers what each plant needs, doesn’t like, potential pests, how to choose healthy specimens, and more.

Grab a copy of Foster’s book, which comes in e-book format, on Amazon. And learn more by viewing this book trailer.