Just because everyone at St. Lynn’s Press loves nature doesn’t mean we can spend all of—or even most of—our time outside (though we’d certainly love to!). Having a mutual love of books and nature means that we somehow have to compromise our yearning to be surrounded by green with staying in the office and getting work done. But how? Well, if you’ve ever seen the St. Lynn’s Press office, then you know the space is absolutely brimming with indoor plants.

With all the indoor plants we’ve got around the office, it should come as no surprise that we’re celebrating National Indoor Plant Week at St. Lynn’s Press! Indoor plants are a great way to bring the outside in and spice up any drab home décor or office space. Plus, according to Kylee Baumle and Jenny Peterson in their book, Indoor Plant Décor, house plants aren’t just fun and beautiful to have around—they also purify the air around us, too!

In addition to helpful tips like this, Indoor Plant Décor holds a wealth of fun and stylish décor tips for your home, so that you can bring the outdoors in too for National Indoor Plant Week—from Elegant to Zen to Eclectic, there’s a personal style for everyone in this book. In the spirit of bringing books and nature together in true St. Lynn’s fashion, here’s a fun and simple activity from Indoor Plant Décor to spice up your home: the Planted Book!

Be sure to pick up your copy of Indoor Plant Décor for more great houseplant activities like these—it’s available online on our website.

Happy National Indoor Plant Week!

 

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Planted Book

from Indoor Plant Décor by Kylee Baumle and Jenny Peterson

 

Materials

• Hardcover books, new or vintage, more than 1½” thick
• X-ACTO® knife
• Ruler
• Potting soil
• Small bits of decorative moss or gravel
• Small plants—succulents work well; the shorter and “flatter,” the better. Look for those in 4″ pots.
• Waxed paper or plastic bag

 

Instructions:

1. Decide where inside the book you want the planting hole to be; the title page is a good choice. Choose a page towards the beginning of the book so the book will lay flat when planted.
2. Using the ruler, measure out a square or a rectangle on that page.
3. With the X-ACTO® knife and the ruler as a guide, begin cutting out a few pages at a time from the book.
4. Continue cutting pages from the book until you have made a planting hole about 1½” deep. Line the planting hole with waxed paper or plastic; this will keep the rest of the book from being damaged when you water.
5. Add some potting soil in the hole and carefully place the plants in the hole. Tamp soil down around the plants to keep them settled in.
6. Add moss, decorative sand, or small gravel around the plants to cover the soil.
7. Water the plants sparingly, a few tablespoons at a time, every two weeks. An eyedropper works well for watering, too. If your book is fairly thick, you can make the planting hole deeper and add a bit of gravel at the bottom for drainage.

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