The Plant Recipe Book: 100 Living Arrangements for Any Home in Any Season

by Baylor Chapman

Overview

A follow-up to the widely popular Flower Recipe Book, The Plant Recipe Book is the next great thing in interior plant design, providing simple steps showing anyone how to create stunning living plant decor. Each one of the 100 “recipes” specifies the type and quantity of plants needed; clearly numbered instructions detail each step; and 400 photographs show how to place every stem. Traditional pots and plant containers are used, but so are less conventional vehicles and methods, like shutters and planting under glass. A basic how-to chapter provides planting techniques, a tools and materials list, sourcing and plant care information, and expert advice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781579655518
Publisher:	Artisan
Publication date:	04/08/2014
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	290,967
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Baylor Chapman is the author of Decorating with Plants and The Plant Recipe Book and founder of Lila B. Design, a San Francisco–based plant design studio. She has been a guest on PBS’s Growing a Greener World, and her work has appeared in Good Housekeeping and Better Homes & Gardens. When not in her studio, she’s scouring plant nurseries and leading workshops to help plant lovers of all skill levels feel confident that they can make their spaces feel like home with just a little bit of green. Check out her tutorials on Sunset.com and Houzz.com, and follow her on Instagram at @lilabdesign.
 
 

Editorial Reviews

03/17/2014
For those who like their gardens small, contained, restrained, and delicate, Chapman’s new book will be cause for celebration. Container gardening has gained an enthusiastic following, but this book takes it to a micro level: tabletop containers. The book’s generous number of color photos (400) indicate in detail, right down to the roots, what horticultural ingredients combine effectively to create a sustainable and stunning tabletop display. The book also offers clear direction on where to position plants within the container for greatest effect. Beyond the plethora of plant choices that fill the pages, the grittier elements are also included in the “recipes,” such as container dimensions and soil amendments. The horticulture is daring and innovative: for example, in Lichen Recipe 3, two types of orchid, a variety of air plants, and a large lichen-covered branch, are all displayed in a “container” of squares of sheet moss. This is a great addition to the library of any gardener; those whose tastes incline toward the small will find this book positively transformative. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

An ingredient-by-ingredient approach to gardening—container gardening, in this case. . . . Seeing the spare, elegant results, it nearly made our mouth water.” —New York Times

“Chapman’s new book will be cause for celebration. . . . The horticulture is daring and innovative. . . . A great addition to the library of any gardener; those whose tastes incline toward the small will find this book positively transformative.” —Publishers Weekly

“Chapman is a master at creating living plant arrangements. She professes that mini-container gardens rival cut arrangements not only in beauty, but also in their longevity and ability to be repurposed. And, her creations prove it. . . . A feast of information and images, The Plant Recipe Book offers 100 of Chapman's recipes for creating living arrangements at home. Each recipe contains a plant and material ingredient list and easy to follow step-by-step assembly instructions illustrated with stunning images. Accessible to the brown and green thumb alike, the recipes range from a single plant ("on its own") to special occasion arrangements that require a bit more time and several ingredients." —Gardenista

“An ingredient-by-ingredient approach to gardening—container gardening, in this case. . . . Seeing the spare, elegant results, it nearly made our mouth water.” —New York Times

“Chapman’s new book will be cause for celebration. . . . The horticulture is daring and innovative. . . . A great addition to the library of any gardener; those whose tastes incline toward the small will find this book positively transformative.” —Publishers Weekly

“Chapman is a master at creating living plant arrangements. She professes that mini-container gardens rival cut arrangements not only in beauty, but also in their longevity and ability to be repurposed. And, her creations prove it. . . . A feast of information and images, The Plant Recipe Book offers 100 of Chapman's recipes for creating living arrangements at home. Each recipe contains a plant and material ingredient list and easy to follow step-by-step assembly instructions illustrated with stunning images. Accessible to the brown and green thumb alike, the recipes range from a single plant ("on its own") to special occasion arrangements that require a bit more time and several ingredients." —Gardenista

From the Publisher

“An ingredient-by-ingredient approach to gardening—container gardening, in this case. . . . Seeing the spare, elegant results, it nearly made our mouth water.”—New York Times

“Chapman’s new book will be cause for celebration. . . . The horticulture is daring and innovative. . . . A great addition to the library of any gardener; those whose tastes incline toward the small will find this book positively transformative.”—Publishers Weekly

“Chapman is a master at creating living plant arrangements. She professes that mini-container gardens rival cut arrangements not only in beauty, but also in their longevity and ability to be repurposed. And, her creations prove it. . . .A feast of information and images,The Plant Recipe Bookoffers 100 of Chapman's recipes for creating living arrangements at home. Each recipe contains a plant and material ingredient list and easy to follow step-by-step assembly instructions illustrated with stunning images. Accessible to the brown and green thumb alike, the recipes range from a single plant ("on its own") to special occasion arrangements that require a bit more time and several ingredients."—Gardenista

Various

05/15/2014
Whether your botanic tastes run to formal with straight lines or wispy and loose with a woodland feel, there is something that will appeal to you in this groundbreaking collection. Chapman (founder, Lila B. Design) arranges the book in two sections—a general overview of living arrangements and "how-to": selecting containers, preparing vessels, and installing the plants. This latter section features 100 "recipes" with accompanying photographs by Green. A helpful ingredient chart will enable the novice to understand better the patterns behind the designs featured and allow for the development of individual designs. The book would have benefited from a resources section to help the beginner navigate the small-plant marketplace and have some clue as to how to find the materials that make the beautiful arrangements throughout. VERDICT Recommended as an inspiration for both the gorgeous photographs and accompanying descriptions of these 100 floral combinations.—Kendra Auberry, Indian River State Coll. Lib., Port St. Lucie, FL

Library Journal