The Art of Caring for Plants

He who wants flowering plants in his living room must l o v e them into bloom.’ So wrote the gardener Stephan Nyeland in 1890, calling for ‘love, care and consideration’ in one’s dealings with houseplants. Houseplants became widespread in the nineteenth century, and the care Nyeland advocated can be seen echoed in many artists’ depictions of them, not least in the works of Christen Købke, Johan Th. Lundbye, Hans Smidth and Anna Ancher. The chapter explores their portrayals of two of the era’s most popular houseplants – ivy and pelargonium/geraniums – in order to examine the multivalent care for plants that infused the period’s art and botany.