Container gardener's handbook Pots, techniques, and projects to transform any space

Container gardening is popular for its convenience, flexibility, and design potential. This guide to growing in containers features large color photos that provide inspiration as readers learn about techniques and plant varieties. Many types of containers are profiled, with tips and details about which plants go well in which settings. One chapter outlines the process of planting in a container with a balanced focus on both form and function. Forty projects with a definite emphasis on upcycling range from creating a planter out of a pallet or using a colander as a hanging basket to creating a living wall or a mini water feature in a metal trough. These Pinterest-ready projects, which range in difficulty and time required, each include a list of tools and materials, along with usually fewer than a dozen steps. A final chapter addresses maintenance, including watering, pruning, and repotting. Avid watchers of British garden TV shows may recognize engaging presenter and now author Tophill, whose conversational style translates well from the screen to the page.--Anne Heidemann Copyright 2010 Booklist

For plant lovers hampered by equally constrained budgets and living spaces, this lively offering from horticulturist Tophill, host of the BBC show Gardener's World, will be a boon. Combining economy, creativity, and plant knowledge, this practical guide highlights varied projects that enable even the most space-limited garden enthusiast to explore new possibilities in otherwise neglected nooks and crannies. A feature of the book's approach is the concept of "upcycling"-recycling well-worn cast-offs (such as old boots, suitcases, and even tires) and transforming them into accent pieces that serve as colorful decorative flourishes and showcase the willingness of plants to grow just about anywhere. "There is a knack to achieving the perfect container," Tophill notes, and her book abounds with help for realizing it. From choosing the type of container (a trough? a painted pot? glass? round? square? large? small?) to deciding on the number of containers to use in a given spot and determining where to place them, how to maintain them, and (when needed) how to transplant them, this creative, smart, and hopeful guide offers everything anyone needs to create a colorful and long-lasting container garden. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.