Rating: 
Summary: Great, informative
Review: An excellent, simple book about how you can improve the air your breathe, identifying 50 houseplants that can help (both by description and by good color photos), how well they do it with respect to certain common chemicals, and an accessible description of the science behind the findings.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, simplistic lay-out!
Review: B.C. Wolverton presents a wonderful lay-out even for all of the non-scientists out there to comprehend. Wolverton provides clarity with his houseplants test results and wonderful color photographs for ease of plant identification. I highly recommend this book to anyone that uses commercial paint in their home, has carpeting, uses paper napkins/towels, has particleboard cabinets. etc. This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone with a family with young children.
Rating:
Summary: Clearly written jargon-free guide to growing helpful plants
Review: I have been evaluated by a specialist in environmental issues.
He suggested that I buy a few houseplants and even gave me a list. However, as a person with absolutely NO indoor plants before this, I needed more info. This book is absolutely the one I needed. It gives more than enough data about taking care of wonderful houseplants - complete with pictures. I highly
suggest this book for anyone, especially those with environmental problems. BUY!!!
Rating:
Summary: . . . exactly what I wanted! . .
Review: I have been looking for information on purifying plants for a while now. Through Amazon, I discovered this book and have added it to my library. As a country girl, living in a 30-yr. old apartment in an industrial city has caused my asthmatic/allergy-prone lungs to struggle a little. This book spells out the sources of dangerous chemical vapors, and specifies plants and plant species which not only reduce these toxins, but beautify your home. My apartment is small, so this book helped me tremendously in choosing plants that are purifying & humidifying, while advising me on ease-of-care and pest control. Strongly recommended for those with environmental concerns. Few Houseplant books refer to this element of indoor gardening.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing book; a must for asthma sufferers
Review: Superb easy to read book with lots of colorful photos. Written by a highly respected scientist who was in charge of keeping the air clean in space capsules for NASA until his retirement. Dr. Wolverton also is founder of Houseplants for clean air society. He explains in easy to read fashion the dangerous air polutants in your house: where they come from, and best yet, how to get rid of them. His many years research into the subject give the reader this easy to understand handbook on making the air in your house healthy. I, of course, have benefitted from the book; but so have many of my patients. Those benefitting the most are asthma patients and patients with chronic sinus problems. What a wonderful book!
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully designed and very informative.
Review: The book is laid out beautifully. The 50 plants are listed by rank based on removal of chemical vapors, ease of maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, and transpiration rate. Each plant gets a two-page spread; one page discusses the plant's ideal environment, sunlight conditions, care, and general information about the plant along with a full photo of it. The next page has a zoomed-in full-page photo of the leaves and/or flowers so the reader gets a feel for what the plant looks like and how it will fit with their decor.The book begins by discussing the research about the air purification qualities of houseplants. The initial chapters explain how air contaminates enter our homes, the adverse effects these toxins have on humans, and how plants remove the contaminates from the air. I was surprised to learn that common household items such as blankets, toys, gas stoves, computers, and carpets can lead to allergies, asthma, even cancer, and that they might contribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Once I read how certain plants can remove these dangerous microbes from the air, my husband and I immediately discussed adding these plants to our home. The author explains in great detail how to care for the plants, which I found very helpful as a novice indoor gardener. The author also details the specific toxins that different plants remove, and indicates whether the plants transpire at night (which is good for a bedroom) or during the day.
Rating:
Summary: Save the world by having a few plants, that too much trouble
Review: This book is brillian't I have bought some of the plants reccomended by this book for my nephew and his Asthma has cleared up. Just by growing a plant you can improve the air quality in your house and also having plants teaches you patience and how to care for something. In an age where the rainforests are being cut down at an exponential rate we can at least try and do something about it. By this book it'll improve your health, your home and your air.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book!
Review: This book not only gives concise, quantitative data about which substances each plants removes from the air, but combines this data with other factors like ease of care and pest resistance to give one overall ranking to each plant. The introduction is fascinating, especially the part about his eco-house which uses plants to clean his water waste as well as the air. However, what I like best about the book is the gorgeous pictures. I have never seen a plant book with such large, glossy pictures of such perfect plants matched with the ideal pot. It's beautiful!
Rating:
Summary: A lovely book with a unique view.
Review: This is a beautifully put-together book focusing on a unique aspect of plant ownership. Entries include both a full-on picture of a healthy, attractively potted specimen, plus a close-up detail of leaves &/or flowers. Descriptions of plant care are concise, well organized and accompanied by a more generalized description of the plant and particulars. Each plant is rated on four characteristics (removal of chemical vapors, ease of growth & maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, & transpiration rate), using an easy to read bar chart which appears on the same page as the description & picture. This book is an excellent addition to an avid collector's plant library, both for its curiosity value & beautiful coverage of basic houseplants, and doubtless of interest to people concerned about air quality as well. It also provides enough basic information on each plant to be a useful reference for beginning enthusiast, but I would qualify that by saying that newbies will probably want a more broadly based work as their first home reference guide. For people looking for gift books, the pictures & layout are lovely.
Rating:
Summary: A lovely book with a unique view.
Review: This is a beautifully put-together book focusing on a unique aspect of plant ownership. Entries include both a full-on picture of a healthy, attractively potted specimen, plus a close-up detail of leaves &/or flowers. Descriptions of plant care are concise, well organized and accompanied by a more generalized description of the plant and particulars. Each plant is rated on four characteristics (removal of chemical vapors, ease of growth & maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, & transpiration rate), using an easy to read bar chart which appears on the same page as the description & picture. This book is an excellent addition to an avid collector's plant library, both for its curiosity value & beautiful coverage of basic houseplants, and doubtless of interest to people concerned about air quality as well. It also provides enough basic information on each plant to be a useful reference for beginning enthusiast, but I would qualify that by saying that newbies will probably want a more broadly based work as their first home reference guide. For people looking for gift books, the pictures & layout are lovely.
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