More than 250 color and 50 black-and-white illustrations Compiled by one of North America's finest botanic gardens -- the Chicago Botanic Garden -- in consultation with five other great botanic gardens, here is the most complete and user-friendly guide to indoor gardening ever devised, a unique compendium of the best advice available for all types of houseplants. The information assembled by this unprecedented collaboration is presented in five chapters: I. Introduction: definitions, history, and botany; the basic gardening philosophies of the experts who have contributed to the book. II. Plant Selector: more than two hundred glorious, full-color photos of houseplants of every variety, with detailed captions describing size, coloration, and requirements...full descriptions of their cultivation and maintenance, including some dissenting information and opinions from the consultant gardeners...additional color illustrations of interior plantscaping, techniques particular to a specific plant, and its history in human affairs. III. Design: the principles of designing a garden that works in a living space -- a garden that is not only healthy and attractive, but creative as well -- with photographs of successful IV. Techniques: how-to information illustrated with black-and-white, step-by-step photos in minute detail; the experts' explanations of how they keep their own houseplants both beautiful and healthy using integrated pest management procedures. V. Special conditions: new methods for growing particular types of indoor plants such as herbs and orchids. The professional horticulturists at the great gardens of the United States and Canada are passionate about their endeavors -- studying every trend, refining every technique for making things grow and thrive. Now, for the first time, they have joined forces to share their love and expertise in a guide that no single individual or institution could have created. The American Garden Guides: Indoor Gardening is the indispensable handbook that will help your indoor garden prosper and grow.