Book Review: Houseplant Party
Lisa Eldred Steinkopf is known as the Houseplant Guru on the internet, where she hosts a blog of the same name and frequently writes for home and garden magazines and websites. Her latest book, Houseplant Party, is geared to less experienced houseplant lovers and those with a crafty bent. It would be a great gift for any budding “plant parent,” new homeowner or someone who enjoys decorating with plants.
Bring on the Projects
The rest of the book covers 15 fun projects involving houseplants, including making a plant hanger from a T-shirt or macrame, creating a trellis for your indoor climbing plants and grafting two kinds of cacti together. Some are very easy (see below), while others are complicated enough to be interesting to experienced plant people or crafters, such as making a kokedama or creating shadow boxes for air plants.
Creating a Project
After checking out the instructions, I went in search of a shallow planter, some succulents and decorative sand. While my little planter is not quite what the author suggests (shallow plant pots are harder to find than you’d guess and I went with aloe and echevaria instead of hawthoriopsis), I think the combination of succulents with a sand topping that she can “rake” will be fun.
The book is beautifully illustrated, and all the instructions are easy to follow. Many of the projects include step-by-step illustrated instructions, making the projects even easier.