¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life: 30 Projects to Nurture Your Passion for Plants and Find Your Bliss

Curbelo-Santiago debuts with a fun compendium of plant-centric projects. The “night sky garden” involves planting a succulent in a pot covered in blue and green fluorescent paint, and the “living background for virtual meetings” is made by winding a silver satin pothos plant around a wire circle. Several activities emphasize customization, such as when Curbelo-Santiago encourages readers to create a potted plant tableau inspired by their 13-year-old self and shows how she combined caladium, wax begonia, and P. glaucophylla (a “fluffy” nettle that she finds reminiscent of the baggy pants and padded shoulders she wore as a teen) in a hot pink container. Curbelo-Santiago provides practical tips for taking care of the plants featured (she notes that Soleirolia soleiroii, used in the “wonder bowl garden” as a leafy bed for displaying “small natural things found while playing outside,” thrives in “humid shade” between 34 and 65 ºF). Unfortunately, a few of the projects feel like filler; for instance, the “garden-tainment box,” which consists of seed packets, chalk, paper bags, and other miscellany thrown into a plastic bin to create a crafting supply center, is more storage solution than actual project. Still, crafters with a green thumb will enjoy the more substantial activities. (Jan.)