A review by thepoptimist
How to Make a Plant Love You: Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart by Summer Rayne Oakes

3.0

Closing out my home gardening trifecta with the most woo-woo of the bunch. It's less a book about caring for your new houseplant and more a way to readjust your thinking of our chlorophyllic compatriots. There are the heartfelt testimonials of plant owners pulled from the depths of depression and overcoming personal challenges with the help of plants. And each chapter ends with a mindful practice, perhaps consider how your attitude towards plants has changed as you've matured. And I expected what exactly from an author named Summer Rayne Oakes?

Dammit Summer, I just want to know if I'm overwatering my pilea peperomioides! She does get points for being published under Simon Sinek's imprint and getting the one and only OG botanical-bro Wade Davis to provide the intro. I enjoyed her investigation of the greening of Singapore, the long and ancient history of indoor gardening and identifying geosmin, the smell of earth. Less so the references to her Masterclass I should take to get the answers I was looking for in the first place. But hell, you gotta hustle out here when it comes to houseplants I guess.