Product Description
Joyce presents simple instructions for designing container gardens, finding the perfect locations for them, choosing the best plants for any season, and providing proper care. Includes hundreds of ideas for complementary flower selections to create eye-pleasing mixes. 100 full-color photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Superb guide for all gardeners, new and experienced.a 10!
This book was given to me as a gift by a friend.I have yet to put it down.I am an experiencedgardener, but have used it for new ideas and inspiration constantly.I loaned it to another friend and had to fight to get it back, so I have ordered her her own copy.An exquisite book, especially if you admire the Europeans their container gardens. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

What are you doing after dinner?
Minding my own business gnawing on some litchi nuts I started to remember back to science class where you would grow things such as avocados in water.One always wonders why we are buying this if we can grow it.At least it would be fun to try.I did a pretty good job of maintaining a sweet potato vine for a while.

Well we are not alone "The After-Dinner Gardening Book" by Richard W. Langer Helps us from making the original mistakes and encourage us to experiment.So I turned to chapter 15 "The likeable Litchi from the Land of the Jade."There was an illustration as to what it should look like when finished and several pages of instruction.

There are 24 sections and a good index.This covers techniques and environments needed to grow several plants including bananas, coconuts, dates, loquats, litchis, papayas and many more.
So what are you doing after dinner?

What are you doing after dinner?
Minding my own business gnawing on some litchi nuts I started to remember back to science class where you would grow things such as avocados in water.One always wonders why we are buying this if we can grow it.At least it would be fun to try.I did a pretty good job of maintaining a sweet potato vine for a while.

Well we are not alone "The After-Dinner Gardening Book" by Richard W. Langer Helps us from making the original mistakes and encourage us to experiment.So I turned to chapter 15 "The likeable Litchi from the Land of the Jade."There was an illustration as to what it should look like when finished and several pages of instruction.

There are 24 sections and a good index.This covers techniques and environments needed to grow several plants including bananas, coconuts, dates, loquats, litchis, papayas and many more.
So what are you doing after dinner?

Fun things to do with pits and seeds
I had a copy of this book when it was originally published and enjoyed it very much.My daughter wanted to read it, but my copy was long gone.I purchased another one and she is having a great time reading it and learning what to do with the pits and seeds from fruit and vegetables.A classic!

What are you doing after dinner?
Minding my own business gnawing on some litchi nuts I started to remember back to science class where you would grow things such as avocados in water. One always wonders why we are buying this if we can grow it. At least it would be fun to try. I did a pretty good job of maintaining a sweet potato vine for a while.
Well we are not alone "The After-Dinner Gardening Book" by Richard W. Langer Helps us from making the original mistakes and encourage us to experiment. Therefore, I turned to chapter 15 "The likeable Litchi from the Land of the Jade." There was an illustration as to what it should look like when finished and several pages of instruction.

There are 24 sections and a good index. This covers techniques and environments needed to grow several plants including bananas, coconuts, dates, loquats, litchis, papayas and many more.
So what are you doing after dinner?

What are you doing after dinner?
Minding my own business gnawing on some litchi nuts I started to remember back to science class where you would grow things such as avocados in water. One always wonders why we are buying this if we can grow it. At least it would be fun to try. I did a pretty good job of maintaining a sweet potato vine for a while.
Well we are not alone "The After-Dinner Gardening Book" by Richard W. Langer Helps us from making the original mistakes and encourage us to experiment. Therefore, I turned to chapter 15 "The likeable Litchi from the Land of the Jade." There was an illustration as to what it should look like when finished and several pages of instruction.

There are 24 sections and a good index. This covers techniques and environments needed to grow several plants including bananas, coconuts, dates, loquats, litchis, papayas and many more.
So what are you doing after dinner?
... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Great Advice for Novice and Experienced Gardeners
I've been growing vegetables with some success for over 40 years but have recently moved to Florida with its non-fertile, quick-draining sand, baking sun, and mega-insects. We also have a "normal size" lot so I expected my crops would be limited to a couple of tomatoes and peppers. I was more than pleased at the variety and health of the gardens we have experienced using the techniques in this book. I'm inspired to double the size of my garden this year.

Very Biased
There were a few new tips, but for the most part, it was just very similar to Square Foot Gardening. On top of that, it seems to be very biased against organic gardening and any methods that aren't the ones he uses. He also seems to be fond of unsupported evidence and statements. They often start off with, "There is no scientific evidence to support this, but I believe..." It's as if he expects you to believe it JUST because he's written it in a book and that makes it true. I think I'll stick with Square Foot Gardening.

All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space!

Stick to Square Foot Gardening Bks
This book is not worth the money wanted. The same ideas, just better, are in the Square-Foot Gardening series of bks. I should have got this out of the library first but no library had it around me. I guess it would be ok if you're really just starting out reading about this type of gardening.

Practical gardening advice
This book does not have any NASA inspired ideas with expensive solutions or unattainable products.This is a good common sense book for gardening with practical solutions.

We don't know yet...
But, we are certainly going to enjoy finding out how good this book really is.

The explanations are clear and we are already planning the crops we will have in the four beds we intend to make according to the instructions.

We are going to retire to Kunming, in the South-western Chinese province of Yunnan. The weather is sort of Mediterranean, except we are about 2000 m above sea level. Old rich red volcanic soil.

We should be happy. Keep tabs, we'll post our progress for you to see. ... Read more

Product Description
A companion volume to "Creative Container Gardening", based on the same easy-to-follow recipe formula. It describes how to plant over 125 different containers, and how best to place them so that, throughout the year, they provide focal points in garden or conservatory, on balcony or on patio. Like a cookery book, each recipe gives a full list of ingredients - the plants used in each container, the soil, and the suggested container itself - and this is followed by the method of planting and advice on maintenance and aftercare. Seasonal recipes cover imaginative schemes for planting - from the wealth of bulbs available in the autumn through to the splendour of roses in summer. Of particular interest in this book are schemes for historical and edible plantings. Kathleen Brown is the co-author of "Creative Container Gardening", and author of "Create a Cottage Garden". ... Read more

Product Description
Illustrated Encyclopopedia of Gardening ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Nice, inexpensive and appropriate
The book, written by an elderly lady, is quite to the point and gives very practical advices. The photographs are not too glossy but give a good inpression what roof gardening is all about.

Four stars for text, two stars for photos.....
BALCONY, TERRACE AND PATIO GARDENING is a friendly little book filled with observations about the "change" in life, when one must, alas, abandon the larger garden and cultivate an appreciation of horticulture on a much smaller scale. Although Margaret Davis is writing from the perspective of one who has had much experience in larger areas and her target audience is the retired individual like herself who faces this prospect of downsizing, her discovery of the positive aspects of working in a reduced space such as a balcony or townhouse lot are relevant to younger folks who find themselves in similar circumstances with desire to grow favorite plants they knew as children.

Ms Davis understands that some of the most difficult aspects of balcony gardening will probably be wind control, equipment storage, and perhaps, if you are located within the 10 feet or so near the ground, pests. However, if you are fortunate enough to have some sunlight you can grow a variety of sun-lovers such as roses and various herbs. Bougainvilla might work if the climate is warm enough and Camillas will thrive in shade. Hanging baskets are a must, and vegetables are not outside the realm of possibility.Ms Davis is thrilled with citrus trees, but I have only managed to kill them. She also says walls have great potential for trellises that can act as plant supports.

The downside of this book is that it is not well illustrated. The text is dotted with very small black and white photos, and the publishers included a small section of color plates in the center of the book, but other than cryptic notes such as "window view" "Chrysanthemum bonsai in Tokyo" the pictures are not terribly well captioned. Some of them are beautiful, like the photo of the fuchia growing on a patio table.The best shot was placed onthe cover and shows an actual composition.Buy this book for Ms Davis narrative which is friendly and unassuming. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume reveals how the smallest of outdoor spaces can be transformed into a glorious, year-round display of flowers and foliage. Whatever the location, space, climate or aspect there is a container to fit the situation. There are step-by-step instructions and information for over 150 plants.Amazon.com Review
With glorious photography and practical text combining to make this bookboth beautiful and useful, Gardening Without a Garden is a wonderfultitle for anyone interested in container gardening. Featured plants rangefrom colorful easy-care annuals to sophisticated succulents, and author GaySearch shows her creativity in the selection of all kinds of unusualcontainers.Helpful for beginners, each plant grouping contains a plantingdiagram and list of products necessary to achieve the specific look. Allstyles and price ranges are well represented, and each finished displaycomes with suggestions regarding space and climate. The special chapter oncontainer care is quite useful, and step-by-step instructions are given forweather-proofing all kinds of baskets, barrels, and cans.

When it comes to plant care, the instructions are again mostworthwhile--from preparing hanging baskets to setting up an irrigationsystem, the information is presented clearly enough for everyone to feelconfident in tackling new projects. The pictures in the section on plantpropagation are more useful than any amount of text, as they demonstratebeautifully how to separate seedlings, root cuttings, and divide overgrownherbs. A great first-ever container-gardening book for novices, thisbook is sure to inspire more seasoned gardeners to experiment with untriedplant and pot combinations for a fresh new look. --Jill Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Good as a teaching tool
I was giving a class in container gardening and found this book to have lots of good information to use for novices.It is a very basic book and if you know plants you might not need it, but if you're teaching people who know nothing about container gardening, it helps to remind you of all the things you know but may have forgotten.

delicious recipes
I really like that this book gives you recipes for beautiful container arrangements. It's very inspiring, and the photos are great. The only thing that would have made this book better is if it had more specific info about the sun requirements of the plants - you have to go to another source to find out whether an arrangement will grow in your shady back yard or your sunny front yard or whatever you have to work with - as well as zone information. It's also kind of a bummer to see spectacular arrangements with beautiful plants, then get to the local nursery and not be able to find them to re-create the container yourself. But I still like digging through the book and getting ideas. I think I might try one or two of these arrangements (or, at least, a variation thereof) this spring!

Creative Ideas for the New Gardener
You can enliven an outdoor space with container gardening. Everything from planting a rooftop garden to placing buckets of flowers on your front steps is covered in detail.

The main sections include:

Walls, Stairs and Entrances
Small Spaces
Window Ledges
Creative Planting
Container and Plant Care
Planter's Guide

There are also ideas for various climates. The Dessert Box is quite creative. Various color schemes are explored or you can create your own arrangements.

The bonus sections in this book are where they show you how to make your own flower boxes, decorate containers with tile or a paint finish, selecting healthy plants and how to prepare for planting.

A small taste of gardening heaven.

~The Rebecca Review

Inspirational
Sometimes a book comes along that may be a little less technical but somehow manages to remind you why something is worthwhile. The stunning photographs in this beautiful book have revived my dormant interest in container gardening like an old tulip bulb. This book is a refreshing reminder of the artistry achievable in this most rewarding pursuit. Highly recommended.

Not for the advanced container gardener
I hate to give a less than stellar review but this book had nonew information for me.This is not the book for you if you've readother garden books or consider yourself an experienced gardener. Sometimes I just get one tidbit from a book that's useful, that's fine.This book was a real dud for me.END ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The free verse is peppered with exquisite moments of perception and insight
Container Gardening is an anthology of poetry by poet, playwright, and "The Boston Globe" literary columnist Ellen Steinbaum. The free verse is peppered with exquisite moments of perception and insight, at times recounting simple memories, at times exploring philosophical conundrums. A most enjoyable addition to poetry shelves. "The Question": You do not choose. This is the one you are / given, the one that will be yours always. This / will be the mote at the edge of your vision, / the lost puzzle piece, the rough tooth edge. / This is the question that will be the whisper / in your ear, the rhythm of your breathing. / The answer is in the locked drawer, the one / that has no key.

A mesmerizing evocation of our daily experiences
Container Gardening is a quietly moving and powerfully evocative follow-up to Ellen Steinbaum's first book of poetry Afterwords.That volume which limned the contours of loss and recovery finds its worthy successor in this work.Here Steinbaum nourishes the plants in her own container garden and causes them to flower into these entangling poems.She attends softly to detail, nuance, and delicate intimacy.These are poems of time, of growth, maturity, and decay.Ellen Steinbaum speaks with a knowing wisdom of chance encounters, of sadness, and return.This book gently entwines you in its full-hearted embrace.It is book to cherish and to give to others. ... Read more

Product Description
This guide presents container gardening in a logical seasonal progression through the year. The 12 chapters each provide an introduction to the month of the year, straightforward instructions and checklists for seasonal tasks, profiles of plants in bloom and a detailed practical project. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Month to Month Container Gardening that Works!
This book is perfect for anyone who doesn't have the space to grow flowers or vegetables.I am not a green thumb, however, I found the instructions for growing plants in containers each month fairly easy to understand andfollow.Thanks to Jackie Bennett I am now growing tomatoes for the firsttime from a container!I do have to mention that the book contains someterminology I am unfamiliar with, but then again, the book does not claimto be for beginners. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Has good ideas for container designs.
This book has lots of ideas for containers, both for sunny and shady areas. Lots of pictures, lots of info on plants with color picture. I had picked up a unusual plant at alocal nursey but did not really know anything about the plant and this book had a picture of the plant and care instructions for it.Has info on potting mix for window boxes, hanging planters,and containers,examples of window box designs and instructions, also examples of planted hanging baskets and window boxes, and containers. ... Read more

Product Description
Putting plants into containers adds an extra dimension to any garden or dwelling. This guide to containers shows how to create baskets and window boxes in an easy-to-follow illustrated format that includes more than 100 designs.' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

boxes, baskets, pots & planters
The book is great, it give lots of ideas and show in detail how to arrange all the flowers.I have look at this book several times and I am really glad I now have it in my collection.

Lots of pretty projects and ideas
I think this book is great.It has over 600 photographs, and gives step-by-step directions for each container arrangement.It gives you a list of what plants you will need and what materials to gather, then, step-by-step (with photos to guide you) it tells you what to do.It covers a variety of different types of containers that you can use and how to make it work, how often it will need watering and care, insecticide use, etc..
Everything from window boxes, to hanging plants, to tubs, wicker baskets, terra cota, wooden planters, etc.. is covered.The photos are inspiring, and by following the instructions for a certain project, it gives you more chance of knowing what yours will look like once it takes root.
This is a great book.

Just amazed at the first reviewers "opinion"
Take the sentence part that says "it shows innovative ways to use old or discarded items as planting containers" look at the subtitle of the book "A practical guide to 100 inspirational containers" looks like it matches to me. A good book on it's chosen subject.

boxes, baskets, pots & planters
With the exception of a few projects, ie. shade loving ferns and trug of winter pansies, the book fails to provide a wide selection of beautiful floral arrangements.At best, it shows innovative ways to use old ordiscarded items as planting containers. ... Read more

Product Description
Whether your garden is large or small, traditional or modern, "Quick and Easy Container Gardening" is packed with ideas and inspiration. As well as all the basic techniques you need for successful planting in pots, there are 20 step-by-step project ideas that are so simple to follow. If you wish to grow your own, a chapter on Crops in Pots shows how to grow fruit, herbs, and vegetables on a small scale. There are ideas for decorating the garden with pots for summer parties, and advice on choosing the right plants and pots for specific locations.• Includes gardening tips, techniques, and advice on caring for your pots, as well as fun and stylish ideas.• Stunning natural-light photography by Debbie Patterson. ... Read more

Product Description
You do not need a garden to grow delicious and decorative vegetables, fruit, herbs and edible flowers. A balcony will do, or a rooftop, windowsill, houseboat, or small backyard. All you require is some basic know-how. From design to harvest, this book provides everything you need to maximise your outdoor space and transform it into a colourful edible paradise.Amazon.com Review
It wouldn't matter whether or not a single strawberry or tomato raised in the pots pictured in this book ever made it to the table--they are beautiful ornamental plantings, worth growing just for their looks. But author and British permaculture expert Michael Guerra promises fresh-tasting, pesticide-free produce, and the chance to grow a luscious array of fruits and vegetables not available at the supermarket, all in small raised beds, pots, or window boxes. Whether you garden on the balcony of a condominium, the deck of a houseboat, or just choose to pack your garden with ornamentals rather than edibles, this book brings hope that you can easily harvest homegrown food, including herbs and edible flowers.

"Gardening is like learning to cook," writes Guerra. "Start with the basics and with practice your menu will increase." He starts out with clear instructions about the basics of raised bed construction, soil enrichment, and maintenance of edibles. The most useful and unique parts of the book are the chapters entitled "What Shall I Grow?" that suggest the best varieties of salad greens, berries, peas, and peppers, as well as a great many more, for smaller gardens. Enlivened by color photographs and featuring detailed lists to aid in plant choices, this is a fine introduction to urban food gardening on even the smallest property. --Valerie Easton ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Pretty but not useful
This book was not very helpful to me.

Most of the book is about making a container garden in a home with a small yard. It only had a very brief two page section about container gardening on a deck or balcony.

The information it does have is very poorly organized and jumbled. Trying to find specific information is very frustrating.

The photos in this book are beautiful, and if you're looking for a book of beautiful photos this book may be appealing to you. If you're actually trying to grow a container garden, I would suggest this useful book instead :McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers It's the only book on container gardening that you'll ever need.

Everything but the plants
"The Edible Container Garden" is a fine book if you have a little mechanical/design savoir faire. It illustrates several ways of constructing raised beds and other garden structures, and contains an especially helpful diagram of the author's own garden in his London rowhouse. The book also contains detailed discussions of composting and lists of plants appropriate for container gardening.

However, it has less detail on specific plants and basic gardening skills like pruning and fertilizing. And the construction sections assume a certain level of knowledge that many readers may lack.

It's a good idea book, but should be supplemented with another that gives more detailed instruction on the business of actually growing plants.

Great Reference Book
I was amazed when I got this book and read it.It was just full of so much informationa dn beautiful pictures.I am new to gardening so I found it to be extremly helpful fo me in that area.This is a keeper! I highly recommend it.

Not enough practical information
As a beginning gardener, I was looking for a book that would spell out, in a simple, organized fashion, exactly what I needed to do to start a vegetable garden on my rooftop patio.So, I went on Amazon and purchased this book, as well as "McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: A Container Garden of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers".Having read both, I would strongly recommend "Bountiful Container" over "Edible Container"."Edible Container" may seem more appealing because it is full of color photographs, but "Bountiful Container" is far more practical and a true reference book."Edible Container" is largely anecdotal and may inspire you, but is frustrating if you're looking to have basic questions answered such as "what dirt should I use", "how often should I water", "what varieties should I plant and when", "should I use fertilizer", etc. "Bountiful Container" is so well-organized and clearly and concisely written that you can literally read it cover to cover (I did) and then you will find yourself coming back to it time and time again as your garden begins to grow. Swearing by the "Bountiful Container", I now how a flourishing garden full of lettuce, beans, squash, tomatoes, and strawberries.

Great for folks with limited space
Wonderful insight, information, and photographs to help a beginning gardener with limited space start to paint her thumb green. Recycling suggestions and the use of the principles of perm culture principles in are included for those environmentally-concerned growers, and who among us isn't? At the end of this book are photos of the author's own urban lot, every inch burgeoning with plants to eat and those just for the sake of beauty.
This book deals more with space and soil, however, rather than the actual plants themselves.But for what it offers, it's great. ... Read more

Product Description
Nobody says “Container Gardening” like Miracle-Gro^(r)!

Creating an extraordinary container is easier than you thought. Just tuck this handy waterproof guide into your pocket before you go plant shopping, then refer to the “recipes” for gorgeous combinations and advice on which plants work well together. The durable, wipe-clean pages are dirtproof, so you can refer to this while you're planting.

... Read more

Product Description
Limited land--or even no land space at all--needn't be reason to deprive plant lovers of their gardens. Heitz shows how lavish gardens can be created on a balcony, patio or porch with the help of urns, tubs and flower boxes. She gives detailed directions for year-round care of all kinds of plants. 350 full-color photographs and 120 color drawings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Good for flowers and ornamentals
Every page covers two plants each with a large photo on top. They present very compact information, consistently covering when flowers bloom, heights, wind, sun, watering, overwintering, which will help plan a full year graden.

Largely the book is about flowers and ornamentals. Only 12 herbs and 7 vegetables are covered and insufficently. FOr the vegetables I was interested in found terms/instructions used not in the glossary and descriptions that diagrams would have helped more on. BOUNTIFUL CONTAINER for growing edibles in containers was by far better for that topic.

Simply the Best!
I found information on overwintering plumbagos that I couldn't find any place else. Focused on containering, no raised beds, no plant biology. It's informative, and the pictures make it entertaining to read, as well. Easy to read picture symbols let you know right away which plants need sun, and which need shade, how much water they need, and how much light they need. In the front there are seasonal suggestions for combining plants and how to make their suggestions. Yes, roses and hydrangeas grow in a tub! There's information on how to make chemical-free potions for your plants to take care of fungal infections, aphids, and mildew. And for the brave, you can start your patio collection from seed...helpful instructions show how. I've done them and trust me, if I can do it, anybody can!

I can't say enough about this book. I consider this book my container garden bible, and has been very useful for me in creating a garden environment on my 7x10 apartment patio in the Oklahoma City area! This is simply the best book I've seen on container gardening.

Very Helpful Overwintering Reference Sections
This makes book 4 in a row in my quest to learn the wonders of container gardening, and it does a pretty good job.The first third of this work follows the lead of the previous, it shows the four seasons and a decent number of example containers along with the dimensions and what it would take at the nursery to put it together.The final two thirds though is where it shines, the author provides a compact encyclopedia of container plants arranged by scientific name.The plus here is that they include information for each and every one on overwintering.Starting my garden in November in Zone 8 I found this information extremely useful when picking out my next project.Overall a very good offering, especially for the reference information contained therein. For further reading, I suggest Hillier's book [for great ideas/examples], and David Joyce's for classification based on color.

Great Book!
This is absolutely the best book on container plants.There are so many plants that I would never think of planting in a pot, but Heitz will try anything.This book has been the greatest influence on my container garden(which you can see in Fine Gardening Magazine March/April 2000). Get thisbook if you are serious about container gardening.

Great resource for gardeners with small spaces!
This is an excellent book that I use constantly as a resource. Not only did it offer valuable tips about plant care and different appropriate plants for containers, it also had nice examples of container gardens forall seasons.I find the plant index in the back the most helpful.Recommended for beginners and those with apartment balconies or patios! ... Read more

Product Description
With today's emphasis on casual but elegant entertaining, an inviting patio has never been more essential than it is now. Whatever your personal style and demands, everything you need to know to create the patio of your dreams can be found in this practical, comprehensive gardening and design tool. Not only does it provide detailed and inspirational guidance on all aspects of construction and design--from making a layout to laying paving, building walls, and lighting and furnishing your patio--it also includes actual plans for a wide range of patio styles, shapes, and sizes. Add instruction on how to build and incorporate barbeques, pools, and other decorative features; superb color photographs and informative drawings and diagrams; and of course a wide variety of imaginative planting schemes and down-to-earth gardening advice, and this becomes the only book you'll ever need to make your patio dreams come true. A Selection of Garden Book Club.
... Read more

Product Description

With the skill, flair, and ingenuity that so delighted readers of The Book of Fresh Flowers and The Book of Dried Flowers, Malcolm Hillier has created the ultimate guide to growing garden plants in window boxes, barrels and tubs, pots, urns, and hanging baskets.

Drawing on a glorious profusion of plants for all seasons, he imaginatively combines flowers, foliage, and berries to come up with eye-catching schemes that complement containers of all shapes and sizes. He explains the principles of designing a scheme and planting it, then provides a wealth of advice on the care and attention needed to keep the plants in their very best condition and ensure a healthy, long-lasting display.

Large color photographs of sunbaked roof terraces, shady court-yards, and wind-swept balconies demonstrate how containers can be arranged to enhance a garden or decorate the individual features in it: brick walls and wooden fences, flights of steps and fire escapes, porches and pergolas.

Lavishly illustrated with color photographs and supplemented with all the practical know-how needed to ensure success, The Book of Container Gardening is a rich source of inspiration for all who wish to enhance a garden, balcony, or window-sill with decorative containers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Lavishly Illustrated
The double-page color photos feature different planters bursting with blooms.With each one, there's a brief note of soil requirements, site, watering and plants to duplicate the example.
I like the labels for the photo which helps you see which plants are which.The first section divides the projects by type of container (window boxes, pots, low bowls, urns/jars, barrels/tubs, sinks/troughs, hanging baskets).The next section shows plantings by site (sunny positions, semi-shade, shady, exposed positions, and varied locations like arbors, steps, etc.).
A really useful section covers:
*planting a basket
*converting a chimney pot (or pipe)
*disguising a sink (converting a porcelain sink to look like an old stone sink)
*planting in old buckets
*making a wooden window box & decorating those
*evergreen topiary
*constructing a herb tower
*training standards
*support for the plants
The final eight pages cover pests and diseases, planting and repotting tips, watering, pruning and deadheading, and propagation.
A useful book for anyone wanting to start container gardening.

For beginners....
Last year, I bought both Hillier's BOOK OF CONTAINER GARDENING and David Joyce's book THE COMPLETE CONTAINER GARDEN. Joyce's book is a Reader's Digest book. RD distills a lot of information in a small space (i.e. the Time-Warner of gardening), however, RD books are never as well developed or thorough as those by Rodale. Joyce and Hillier both hit the high points, although Joyce's book contains over 500 color photographs, many dealing with color arrangements which I found visually appealing. Joyce's book is practical and could serve as a coffe table book. Hillier's book is funtional and not as visually appealing to me.

Both books contain discussions of containers, plant stock and construction methods. Neither book provides enough information about the pitfalls of container gardening including the synergistic effects of plants.Other pitfalls include moisture requirements--what happens when moisture loving stock are mixed with plants that can withstand a bit of neglect. Light requirements are also an issue--petunias don't do well in the same locations as impatients.Joyce provides a climate-zone growing information and a short section on overwintering.Neither provides a great deal of information about what will survive which conditions. Joyce includes some information about annuals, but deals with perennial stock more than Hillier.

Hillier's book is a less complex and will appeal to those just beginning to make container arrangements for balconies and other small areas. I gave Hillier's book to my daughter who is beginning her gardening career, and kept Joyce's book for my self as I am ready to experiment a bit with longer term arrangements (cacti/succulent, topiary, bulbs).

Beautiful photography, creative ideas, step-by-step how-tos
Malcom Hillier's book is lovely to look at, full of creative ideas...and best of all, is a step-by-step guide to duplicating his creations! For each container garden illustrated, Hillier addresses its needs relative to soil,light and water.He also gives detailed information about each plant used,and tells how many of each plant was used in the arrangement.He leavesnothing to chance for the beginner!

A must-have for both the seasonedcontainer gardner and the total novice. ... Read more

Product Description
Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life. ... Read more

Product Description
Provides instructions for growing plants in containers, including how to create a flower-filled pot for your balcony and a window box with fruits and vegetables. ... Read more