Winter 2024 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Written by psychologist and online plant shop owner Dr Katie Cooper, from The UK. In this book we discover the impact of plants on our mental health. Published 2020.
A gorgeously presented book. I particularly enjoyed the tactile nature of the hardcover featuring a raised image of a trailing Devil's Ivy wrapped around a white cross with a raised title and "How an indoor green oasis can improve your mental and emotional wellbeing" and a stunning image of on of my favourite Philodendrons on the back cover.
The beautiful imagery continues throughout the book and the text is broken up using different coloured pages, boxes and columns allowing the reader to revisit ideas and topics with ease.
Broken down into 5 chapters -The Human-Nature Relationship, Plants and Health, Plants and People, Living with Plants and Plant Directory. Plant Therapy is fill of interesting, easy to digest psychological studies with lots of references and further reading notes if you want to dive deeper.
In the chapter The Human to Nature Relationship Dr Cooper hypothesis that many mental health issues are a direct result of the lack of the natural world in our day to day life and dwellings.
In Plants and Health we look at how to improve those connections between ourselves and plants and therefore our own wellbeing.
In Plants and People is Dr Cooper's Top Tips for Creating a Restorative Environment at Home you'll find 3 CTA's including a little exercise to help you create a special plant filled haven with your wellbeing at the core of your plant choices.
Plant Directory features 30 common indoor plants, it contains good, basic plant care advice, just remember that there are a couple of Northern Hemisphere points that would need to be flipped here in Australia (references to months, rather than seasons and notes on south windows / north windows).
I found this book an easy read that I will revisit from time to time. We stock this title and many other planty books here. Recommended for anyone wanting to better understand our intrinsic need for a biophilic existence and the link between it and our mental health. The Mirror Mirror exercise is also worth mentioning pg 147.
Have you read Plant Therapy? What did you think?
Happy reading.
Tam 🌱
