Container theme gardens 42 combinations, each using 5 perfectly matched plants

Garden writer (The Perennial Gardener's Design Primer) and blogger (hayefield.com) Ondra has written a detailed, beautiful guide to creating lush, stylish container gardens. Complemented by Cardillo's stunning color photographs, the title highlights 42 container gardens, each using five plants. Themes include color, location, mini meadow, scented gardens, edibles, and many more. Each entry begins with a full-page image of the mature garden, site and container information, and a list of the five plants. The plant palette pages share a close-up of each plant, a general description of the plant's type, and a list of alternate plants/cultivars that would also work in the garden, making it easy to substitute one choice for another. Next are descriptions of the garden as it matures from spring through fall, specific seasonal information on caring for the garden, and dismantling instructions for the fall—what to keep and how to keep it and what to put in the compost pile. Tips and tricks round out each entry. VERDICT Gardeners will enjoy browsing this lovely book and will be easily able to create and maintain myriad variations of Ondra's container gardens using the wide range of plants she suggests.—Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., IL [Page 100]. (c) Copyright 2015 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The latest from Ondra (Five-Plant Gardens) is a practical and planter-friendly guide to gardening—no garden required. Focusing on pots instead of plots, Ondra demonstrates the appeal of growing plants in containers with 42 original designs. Each design uses a five-plant palette of plants that complement each other and the pot they're displayed in. For example, a terra cotta container holds fuchsia, coleus, spurge, sweet potato vine, and heuchera, their colors keyed to the clay pot's. For each design, Ondra teases the bouquet apart with descriptions of each plant, then offers "Tidbits, Tips, and Tricks" plus commentary on the plants' behavior through four seasons. She helpfully adds substitutes: if Arizona apricot blanket flower is not available for the mini-meadow design, she suggests mesa peach or "another mounded annual... with daisy-form flowers." Rob Cardillo's photographs accentuate Ondra's seductive designs in this comprehensive, easy-to-use book. This is not an armchair gardener's book—anyone can do it! (Dec.) [Page ]. Copyright 2015 PWxyz LLC

Demonstrates how to create designer container gardens using groups of plants selected to be ideal growing companions, sharing recommendations for various preferences from a simple salad garden to a combination for attracting hummingbirds.

Demonstrates how to create designer container gardens using groups of five readily available plants carefully selected to be ideal growing companions, sharing recommendations for various preferences from a simple salad garden to a combination for attracting hummingbirds. Original.

Simple and foolproof! Enjoy beautiful container plantings with no stress or fuss. Container Theme Gardens offers 42 plans for container arrangements, each using just five specific plants that you can find at your local garden center. There's something here for every setting and every style, including a meadow in a box, a pond in a pot, a simple salad garden, and a combination that will attract hummingbirds. Each plan includes photographs of what the full planting will look like, as well as a handy shopping list so you know exactly what you need.

Simple and foolproof! Enjoy beautiful container plantings with no stress or fuss. Container Theme Gardens offers 42 plans for container arrangements, each using just five specific plants that you can find at your local garden center. There’s something here for every setting and every style, including a meadow in a box, a pond in a pot, a simple salad garden, and a combination that will attract hummingbirds. Each plan includes photographs of what the full planting will look like, as well as a handy shopping list so you know exactly what you need.

With professional gardener Nancy J. Ondra as the guide, anyone (green thumb or not) can plant designer container gardens using just five plants carefully selected to be perfect partners. From elegant whites to rich reds and stunning succulents to wonderful window boxes, these 42 designs offer the perfect combination for every home style, container, and taste.