Available from Amazon.com at $13.99 List price - $19.99 (Canada, $29.99) Also at your local Barnes & Noble at list price. Have you always wanted to find and read a book on African Violets and their care? Here is the one for you. I found it to be the most beautiful resource I have seen on African violets, and I loved reading it. “Very few houseplants have quite the appeal of the African violet. Its delicate flowers are generously offered in a beautiful range of colours, and it asks nothing more than the simplest of care to thrive.” The author, Tony Clements, is the founder of the African Violet Centre, Norfolk, England and gold medal winner at the Royal Horticultural Society’s prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London. At the show and also in this book he shows how to nurture, propagate and enjoy delightful plants. Many beautiful colored photos of named African violets and also black and white sketches are included. The origins of the plants in Tanzania, Africa from the foothills up to 7,000 feet are described. The plants thrived exceedingly well under the canopies of trees. The conditions there are also found in our homes. Saintpaulia has found in our homes “a real home-from-home”. One bit of advise that hit me was “be patient with your plants”. This is particularly appropriate for persons like me who are anxious to see their first leaf growing and their first plant blooming. You will find instructions on watering, light, humidity, temperatures, feeding your plants. The author’s advise on fertilizing is: “…once you have discovered by trial and error, the brand of fertilizer which gives best results in your own particular conditions, then you are well on the way to successful violet growing.” He also describes in detail how to grow your own plants from leaves. His methods are not to put each leaf in an individual small container, but to put a group of them in a larger pot. He also describes how to rejuvenate a stalky plant and separating plants with multiple crowns. Another section describes the process of growing plants from seeds and hybridizing. One subject I found missing is the wicking of plants. He does suggest bottom watering, but rather setting them in a pan of water for 30 minutes. The most interesting and also helpful section describes how to care for the plants you display in your home – grooming them, arranging them and also talking to our plants like pets. “That we talk to our plants is a sign of how much we care about them. They are our friends, they depend on us totally for their life and health, and our love for them is expressed in our attention to their needs.” The author concludes his book with a list of questions he answers and a list of suppliers with web addresses, too. HAPPY AFRICAN VIOLET READING!! Erma One reviewer said in part: I have just gotten into the "Violet" hobby, and presently share my home with 26 of them (and growing!). I'm a novice but not necessarily a beginner. There was a lot of great information there, if you are growing your first AV. There was a nice section on creating your own hybrids. If you need all of the basic information this could be a good jumping off point for you. One bit of advise that hit me was “be patient with your plants”. This is particularly appropriate for persons like me who are anxious to see their first leaf growing and their first plant blooming.

this report by  Erma Calhoun