House Plants explores the economics, science, and cultural significance of houseplants. The author shares the stories behind the plants we bring home and how they were transformed from wild plants into members of our households. With many illustrations, the book covers both botanical history and cultural impact, from song, literature, and cinema to fashion, design, and painting. - Michigan GardenerMany have realized that bringing plants into one’s home is not only fun and interesting, but also pleasant and relaxing. The time is perfect for the launch of this new book that may be enjoyed by anyone who likes plants, including botanists and professional horticulturalists . . . I have found this book easy to read and relaxed but compelling, as each turn of the page reveals unknown connections and histories of familiar plants that (I must admit) I have always taken for granted . . . Knowing more about many common house plants makes them all the more fascinating, and I think that people reading this book will come away with a deep appreciation for the origins and original habitats of these domesticated beings. - Plant Science BulletinA wonderful treatise that weaves science, conservation and history into a highly readable narrative, this book is a timely reminder of our long association with house plants and the numerous benefits they bring to our households. - Tim Upson, Director of Horticulture, Education and Communities at the Royal Horticultural SocietyBefore reading House Plants by Mike Maunder I thought that there was no such thing as a "house plant": There were just plants — some of which had been brought from the wild into the home. How wrong was I? Very wrong, as Maunder makes abundantly clear in his superb book . . . Intelligently and well-written, it’s an important read — a "must-read" even [not too soon to begin a Christmas reading list . . ?] — for any and all who have an interest in people’s relationships with plants in the home environment. - Botany OnePresents a fascinating (horti)cultural history of indoor plant collecting. Maunder examines the house plant in a variety of contexts, including travel, science, art, technology, and climate change, and argues for a compromise between keeping plants in domestic spaces and preserving their species in the wild. - Jane Desmarais, Professor of English, Goldsmiths, University of London, and author of 'Monsters under Glass: A Cultural History of Hothouse Flowers from 1850 to the Present' (2018)If you have a gentle affinity for houseplants now, you will love and be inspired by them after reading this book. Mike Maunder brings our unassuming, green live-in companions to dazzling life. Who knew we were sharing our homes with characters that belong in a rip-roaring adventure novel? Plant blindness has been cured by this book! - Paul Smith, Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation InternationalThis is quite simply a masterpiece of a book and certainly the finest on house plants I have ever come across. Mike Maunder uses the canvas of our obsession to have plants in the home to write a hugely thought-provoking essay on the science of an industry, the vagaries of fashion [and] the impact on artistic movements from wallpaper to installations to the huge landscape designs of Roberto Burle Marx . . . All this set against the febrile kleptocracy of plant hunting from around the world and the increasing evolution of house plants as an almost neurological quest to return to the wild . . . You will return to it time and again. - Sir Tim Smit KBE, co-founder of the Eden ProjectA welcome addition to the Botanical series. House Plants is a valuable contribution to the plant humanities focused on the plants that shape the indoor biome. These affordable books, which emphasize brevity and accessibility in prose paired with high-quality color images, are all beautifully designed, hardcover gems with gorgeously printed color illustrations . . . Not only is the book a delightful read and resource, but it is one I am bound to return to . . . without question one of the best books on house plants I have ever had the pleasure to read. - David Marx, H-Environment
