Introduction

It's easy to say (and so it's said again and again) that growing house plants is simple, and that indoor gardening is a hobby anyone can be successful at. Well, both these statements are true but both have to be modified a little if we are going to be completely honest about it. Let's look at them, then, a little closer.

First: Is it easy to grow house plants? The answer to that is yes it's easy to grow house plants just as it's easy to build bird houses, or breed tropical fishes, or make your own clothes. It's easy if you are interested in what you're doing; and if you take the trouble to learn a few of the basic rules before you plunge in. If you enjoy watching the fruits of your handiwork turning out well, then growing house plants is going to be easy for you.

Second: Can anyone grow house plants successfully? The answer here is an even more unqualified yes. If you have the interest, and don't live in a basement with no light or in Greenland you can grow many, many plants successfully.

This book is not a "how-to-do-it" guide. It can't be because there are no set rules that every home gardener can follow that will assure him or her of specific results. That's one of the charms of indoor gardening the results you get are your own. Every room, every home, every plant presents its own problems, and when the home gardener grows a successful plant or a successful garden it is a credit to his own skill and ingenuity rather than his ability to follow someone else's plans. The New Era Modern Guide to House Plants is rather a guide book, a book that is written to save the beginner (and the experienced home gardener) from mistakes they otherwise might make. It has been written to pass on to the amateur secrets that it took professionals years of experience to learn. It has been written to provide its reader wherever possible with the background information that will best enable him to get the most out of his chosen hobby.

The first half of the book, as you will see, is concerned with the important basics of gardening: soils, pests, fertilizers, plant foods, equipment, propagation, etc. The last half takes up individual plants, their care and treatment. As will become obvious as you read this book, not all of it applies to every plant in all situations. The charts and tables in the book are put there as short-cut approaches to individual problems. Any gardener should find them useful. You will also notice when you look at the last half of the book that we have been selective in choosing the plants that are covered in detail. The selection is based on three considerations: 1) is the plant comparatively simple to grow; 2) is it easily available in most of the country; and 3) has it something to offer in the way of beauty.

We hope you find New Era Modern Guide to House Plants the useful tool it has been designed to be, and that it will be helpful in making your home garden a beautiful and satisfying addition to the charm of your home.

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