Nature Inside

Penny Sparke is professor of design history and director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre at Kingston University, London.

“Highly accessible and a thoroughly good read”—Katie Dutton, Gardens Illustrated“Sparke is at her best speculating about plants’ associations with femininity and the domestic…Here the author is in her happy place—the gendered domestic interior...It is an area of design history she grabbed early for herself and has never been afraid of defending.”—Jane Audas, World of Interiors2024 recipient of the Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Book Award, sponsored by Society of Architectural Historians  “At the heart of this beautifully produced and scholarly book is the exploration of our long, and often complex, relationship with indoor plants, from exotic specimens extravagantly displayed in specially commissioned buildings, to the tasteful touches of greenery adding background texture to domestic decor. I found it completely fascinating.”—Monty Don, author of American Gardens