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Beautifully designed and very informative. Mar 4, 2002 (209 of 212 found this helpful)
The book is laid out beautifully. The 50 plants are listed by rank based on removal of chemical vapors, ease of maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, and transpiration rate. Each plant gets a two-page spread; one page discusses the plant's ideal environment, sunlight conditions, care, and general information about the plant along with a full photo of it. The next page has a zoomed-in full-page photo of the leaves and/or flowers so the reader gets a feel for what the plant looks like and how it will fit with their decor.
The book begins by discussing the research about the air purification qualities of houseplants. The initial chapters explain how air contaminates enter our homes, the adverse effects these toxins have on humans, and how plants remove the contaminates from the air. I was surprised to learn that common household items such as blankets, toys, gas stoves, computers, and carpets can lead to allergies, asthma, even cancer, and that they might contribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Once I read how certain plants can remove these dangerous microbes from the air, my husband and I immediately discussed adding these plants to our home.
The author explains in great detail how to care for the plants, which I found very helpful as a novice indoor gardener. The author also details the specific toxins that different plants remove, and indicates whether the plants transpire at night (which is good for a bedroom) or during the day.
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A lovely book with a unique view. Jan 27, 2001 (95 of 96 found this helpful)
This is a beautifully put-together book focusing on a unique aspect of plant ownership. Entries include both a full-on picture of a healthy, attractively potted specimen, plus a close-up detail of leaves &/or flowers. Descriptions of plant care are concise, well organized and accompanied by a more generalized description of the plant and particulars. Each plant is rated on four characteristics (removal of chemical vapors, ease of growth & maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, & transpiration rate), using an easy to read bar chart which appears on the same page as the description & picture.
This book is an excellent addition to an avid collector's plant library, both for its curiosity value & beautiful coverage of basic houseplants, and doubtless of interest to people concerned about air quality as well. It also provides enough basic information on each plant to be a useful reference for beginning enthusiast, but I would qualify that by saying that newbies will probably want a more broadly based work as their first home reference guide. For people looking for gift books, the pictures & layout are lovely.
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A Wonderful Resource for Everyone! Aug 25, 1999 (81 of 81 found this helpful)
We all live in houses/apts (at least most of us do!) & thus are all exposed to indoor pollutants. This book starts out w/ an overview of what NASA has found out about indoor air pollution & how to combat it... with plants. Plants not only beautify the home, & bring the outdoors in, but they can also provide a big plus to our health. My husband & I got some new windows installed last fall & have done some painting in a couple of the downstairs room. I have kept peace lilies in the kitchen ever since, as well as a spider plant and have had a rubber plant in the living room. All of which are good at absorbing toxins from the air & are good in low light (which is what we have in those rooms).
In addition to being informative, this book has beautiful photos of all the plants & is very attractive. Makes great housewarming gift!
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A beautiful book! Oct 26, 2003 (56 of 57 found this helpful)
This book not only gives concise, quantitative data about which substances each plants removes from the air, but combines this data with other factors like ease of care and pest resistance to give one overall ranking to each plant. The introduction is fascinating, especially the part about his eco-house which uses plants to clean his water waste as well as the air. However, what I like best about the book is the gorgeous pictures. I have never seen a plant book with such large, glossy pictures of such perfect plants matched with the ideal pot. It's beautiful!
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. . . exactly what I wanted! . . Jul 18, 2001 (32 of 33 found this helpful)
I have been looking for information on purifying plants for a while now. Through Amazon, I discovered this book and have added it to my library. As a country girl, living in a 30-yr. old apartment in an industrial city has caused my asthmatic/allergy-prone lungs to struggle a little. This book spells out the sources of dangerous chemical vapors, and specifies plants and plant species which not only reduce these toxins, but beautify your home. My apartment is small, so this book helped me tremendously in choosing plants that are purifying & humidifying, while advising me on ease-of-care and pest control. Strongly recommended for those with environmental concerns. Few Houseplant books refer to this element of indoor gardening.