8 Beautiful Coffee Table Books That Show Your Plant Pride

There are seemingly endless ways to display your love for plants. Of course, you can always get a new houseplant — what’s one more, right? — but there other options, too, like plant-themed framed artwork or teeny, tiny paper sculptures. Perhaps one of the most subtle yet functional and aesthetically pleasing ways to show off your plant pride, though, is by investing in a beautiful, hardcover coffee table book filled with pages of greenery.

Not only is a plant book something you can enjoy while sipping on your morning cup of coffee — or flip through when you’re figuring out what your next plant baby should be — but it’s something that can fill out an empty surface space and serve as entertainment for visiting guests. Here are eight plant-themed books to add to your coffee table, featuring inspirational photography and storytelling, plus helpful tips, too.

Created by the Pennsylvania-based garden and home store Terrain, this coffee table book is a “seasonal guide to styling the spaces in and around the home with nature,” according to the product description. “Terrain: Ideas and Inspiration for Decorating the Home and Garden” does this through highlighting various decor statement pieces — from wreaths to contained plantings and arrangements — for all four seasons of the year. Filled with all sorts of how-tos, tips, and tricks, this book is equally beautiful in presentation as it is functional.

Hilton Carter, also known as the Plant Doctor, penned his first book titled “Wild at Home” in 2019. It’s filled with tips for every stage of the plant parenting process — from where to go shopping, to planters and pots for your plant, and the best way to co-exist with your new green baby, plus all the answers to your survival questions. Not to mention there are some plant-filled house tours featured in the book, too, in case you need the extra inspo.

In his second book, Carter goes beyond how to incorporate plants into your home and gives readers an inside look at other plant-filled spaces around the globe. The pages feature people who Carter has encountered in the green-loving community, sharing their stories and photographs of plants that they’ve brought into their homes that are meant to inspire others to do the same.

The founders of Ro Co, a U.K.-based biophilic design and installation studio, created this guide to the best plants for urban spaces, highlighting all sorts of succulents, cacti, and air plants due to their hardy nature. Not only does “House of Plants” give readers a rundown on the most popular desert plants, but it also gives instructions on how to take cuttings (hello, birthday presents 2021).

This hardcover book introduces you to a cast of characters who discover and display plants within various interiors — from the owners of a terrarium shop in São Paulo, Brazil, to storytellers who stumble upon a majestic botanical garden in Birmingham, U.K. Through photos and detailed descriptions, these stories of how plants transform spaces can serve as visual art as well as inspiration to add some to your own home.

If a botanical museum could be transformed into a book, this would be the end result. “Botacium” is designed like a museum experience, with its pages filled of educational art and descriptions. The journey starts at Gallery I named “The First Plants” — which gives readers a bit of a history lesson — followed by Gallery II “Trees,” Gallery III “Palms and Cycads,” and so on.

Taking a (quick) break from houseplants, this coffee table book focuses on beautiful floral arrangements. “Forged Flora” is 272-page photography book is filled with blooms that are inspirational to look at and possibly create. You might suddenly find yourself motivated to add more fresh blooms into your space after giving this a look.

If you’re looking for something that’s heavy on the plant service, “Leaf Supply” is your book. This plant guide gives thorough yet easy-to-follow instructions on how to take care of 100 different plant species, so you can browse and take your time finding the houseplant that’s right for you. There’s also advice on interior styling, utilizing your space, and pet-friendly plant options, among other topics.

Apartment Therapy’s Styling with Plants vertical was written and edited independently by the Apartment Therapy editorial team and generously underwritten by Greendigs.