Create an indoor paradise of plants; WEEKEND: BOOKS.Byline: Sandra sandra (sänˑ·dr  ),adj Jury The House Plant Expert - Book Two, by Dr D G Hessayon (Transworld Publishers, pounds 6.99) IN ALL my married years there has hardly been a day when there hasn't been a pot-plant in our house. Often several. Some survived longer than others; a few for years. But all have been the better for my ministrations while I clutched my copy of Dr Hessayon's first House Plant Expert guide. Advice from Hessayon on watering and temperatures, position and problems is clear, simple to follow and beautifully illustrated. Spider plants are banished to the past, while my yuccas thrive and climb ever taller. Admittedly my lucky bamboo bamboo, plant of the family Gramineae (grass family), chiefly of warm or tropical regions, where it is sometimes an extremely important component of the vegetation. It is most abundant in the monsoon area of E Asia. (a gift, naturally) didn't do anywhere near as well, but then I didn't know it was called Dracaena Sanderiana (nor that it was not even a real bamboo) until I reached Page 119 of Book Two, and by then it was too late. Thankfully thank·ful adj. 1. Aware and appreciative of a benefit; grateful. 2. Expressive of gratitude: a thankful smile. , that's all history. Now I can look to a brighter future. I've made a list of some of the new indoor plants which Hessayon includes in Book Two; such as Cobaea and Correa, Metrosideros and Pachypodium, Tweedia and Wattakaka. Fabulous names, beautiful creatures. Welcome to a plant paradise. Welcome to Book Two! |
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