Sink & Container Gardening: Using Dwarf Hardy Plants

Plants in pots embellish even the largest garden spaces, and an apartment dweller with no yard to cultivate might find an array of container specimens essential. The Wheelers' guide comes packed with plans for potting standard seasonal effects like cheerful spring bulbs or a diminutive maple for fall color, extending to a range of decorative succulents that thrive in troughs and handsome perennial combinations with the accent on foliage. Lovely illustrations, appealing design ideas, and practical advice for providing the appropriate soil, light requirements, and types of containers for given plantings should motivate green thumbs. Hardiness zones are not included in plant descriptions, so gardeners will need to look elsewhere for that information. Alice Joyce
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Part of the "Fine Gardening Design Guides" series, Gardening in Containers is a compilation of articles that originally appeared in Fine Gardening magazine. Illustrated with beautiful color photographs, the articles range in topic from designing container gardens and selecting containers to container garden culture. Packed with ideas and information, this title is suitable for both beginning and experienced gardeners. Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces (a sequel to Lasagna Gardening, Rodale, 1999) presents Lanza's system for growing gardens in small spaces and containers using raised beds but no digging, tilling, or weeding. She briefly explains how to create these beds and then discusses ways to make the most of a small garden area, including using containers. She also provides cultural information on various flowers, vegetables, herbs, fruits, berries, and rock garden plants and suggests specific varieties suitable for growing in small spaces and in containers. Clear, detailed information and an engaging style make this book a pleasure to read. While most container gardening books highlight annuals and perennials used as annuals in plantings, the Wheelers suggest growing dwarf hardy plants. They cover choosing and grouping containers as well as plant selection and design. They also give instructions for making hypertufa containers and for maintaining general container gardens. Their book concludes with ten detailed plans for planted containers and plant descriptions. This British import contains lovely photographs, but the plant descriptions do not include USDA hardiness zones and make virtually no mention of how to overwinter your creations in cold climates. Gardening in Containers and Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces are recommended for all libraries, while the Wheelers' book is recommended for experienced gardeners who don't mind searching out hardiness ratings and overwintering information. Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., IL
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