plantsbythebook is a field guide to two questions gardeners rarely get a straight answer to: what will actually grow where you live, and what actually fits the indoor garden you own. We answer both by the book: from the USDA hardiness map, cooperative-extension publications and manufacturers’ own documentation. Never from a sales page.
Who writes this
Every guide is published under the editorial byline Thomas Kwayne. That is a pen name for the site’s editorial process, not a fabricated expert: no invented credentials, no stock-photo author, and not a horticulturist. What we claim is what we do: read the sources, check each claim against them, and say plainly where the answer depends on where you live.
Our process
- Sources named on every guide. Hardiness zones come from the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Growing guidance is sourced to USDA and cooperative-extension material. Smart-garden compatibility and cost claims are checked against manufacturer documentation and named retailer listings. Each guide ends with the sources it used.
- A zone is a zone, and nothing more. A hardiness zone describes average winter cold only. It says nothing about sun, summer heat, rainfall or soil, and we say so wherever we use one.
- Fit scores are a guide, not a guarantee. The Plant Finder matches each plant’s sourced sun, water and hardiness-zone needs to the spot you describe. It cannot know your exact soil, your microclimate or a late frost.
- What fits, format first. For smart gardens we tell you which pod format your system takes and whether a generic refill fits it. Where only the maker’s own refill fits, we say that instead. Confirm your exact model before you buy.
- No pet-safety verdicts of our own. For pets we report what the ASPCA’s Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants database lists, animal by animal, and add no severity word it does not use.
- No plant identification, foraging, veterinary or medical advice. If a person or an animal may have eaten something harmful, contact a doctor, a vet, or your local poison control center.
The full version is in our editorial and sourcing policy.
How this site makes money
Some links on the indoor smart-garden pages and tools are affiliate links: as an Amazon Associate, plantsbythebook earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing and never changes what we say fits. The outdoor plant tools and the pet-safety guide carry no affiliate links at all. See the affiliate disclosure.
Start here
- Explore your yard: the Plant Finder. Enter your ZIP code and see what belongs there.
- Plant recommender: what to plant, by location and season.
- System & Pod Finder: which pods and nutrients fit your smart garden.
- Consumables Cost Calculator: what a year of pods and nutrients costs, maker’s own versus generic.
- All guides.
Questions and corrections are welcome: see the contact page.