Here, at last, for everyone who has ever wanted to

row beautiful houseplants is a book that dispels

forever the tiresume myth of the green thumb and shows

you exactly what to do--winter, summer, spring, and

fall to make your potted phmts, window boxes, and

hanging plants flourish and give delight.

Thalassa Cruso, the famous "plant lady" of eduea-

tional television, has put into this book the straightfor-

ward, down-to-earth approach to plants that has won an

adoring audience across the country for her weekly

"Making Things Grow" programs.

Her highly personal, intensely practical guide starts

with basic care--and she gives you the why behind every

what-to-do so clearly that you begin to have a feel for the

way plants work and what they need from you. She tells

How to solve tile watering problem when and how

often; why too much is nmre dangerous than too little;

wily there is a catch to watering plants from below;

learning to know your plants as thirsty individuals

How to tell a practical pot from a status symbol, why

never to cover pots with foil, when and how to repot

your plant with dash, courage, and efficiency--to save

its life or simply to make it grow more beautifully

Soil how to understand, buy, find, improve it

How to train, prune, pinch, divide, control your plants

and keep them from becoming a j ungle

What questions to ask when you buy a plant, bow to

grow plants from seeds and cuttings, how to cope with

pests, what tools you need and how to use them

How to know when your plant is not dead but dormant;

why plants need and nmst be given--sleep

From the ice-cube treatment for hanging plants to the

whole question of light and warmth (including a special

section on growing plants under artificial lights)

Thalassa Cruso provides direct solutions to eountless

gardening problems.

From easy bulbs and succulents to rain-forest plants,

she gives you season-by-season instructions on a wonder-