Gardening in Containers: Creative Ideas from America's Best Gardeners (Fine Gardening Design Guides)
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., ILCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.