Container Gardening for Dummies [Paperback]

Bill Marken (Author), The Editors of the National Gardening Association (Author)

Book Description

Series: For Dummies (Computer/Tech) | Publication Date: January 27, 1998

“Packed with planting and design ideas that will transform even the humblest of pots into a flower festival.”
—Doug Jimerson, Editor in Chief, Garden Escape, www.garden.com

“Who better to turn to for everything you need to know about container culture than a guy who has ‘been there, done that’ for a careerful of years?”
—Joseph F. Williamson, Former Garden Editor and Managing Editor, Sunset Magazine

While historical reports of container gardening go back thousands of years, over the last half-century, this unique form of husbandry has blossomed into a pastime enjoyed by hobbyists worldwide. Millions have discovered the immense satisfaction to be found in growing something beautiful, in creating interesting combinations of plants, experimenting with new plants, and getting to know plants more intimately than they ever could with plants in the ground.

Written by leading gardening journalist Bill Marken and the experts of the National Gardening Association, Container Gardening For Dummies is the ultimate guide to cultivating charming gardens in everything from a redwood window box to a hanging basket to an old pair of cowboy boots. It fills you in on how to:

• Grow almost anything in a container
• Make greens flourish on roofs, balconies, and windowsills
• Create a one-of-a-kind garden using classic and offbeat containers
• Use the best fertilizing and watering techniques for your climate
• Grow exotic and low-maintenance cacti and succulents
• Prevent insects, pests, and diseases from invading your containers

Featuring clear, concise, step-by-step instructions and sixteen pages of stunning color photos, Container Gardening For Dummies covers all the bases, including:

• Opportunities and limitations of different climates
• Ready-made versus homemade soil mixes, starting plants from seeds, and other fundamentals
• Choosing, planting and caring for flowers, ferns, succulents, fruits, and vegetables
• Expressing your sense of style with color, form, texture, proportion, and other design elements
• Adding special effects to your container garden

Container Gardening For Dummies is a fun, informative guide for inexperienced city slickers and savvy country cousins alike.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Packed with planting and design ideas that will transform even the humblest of pots into a flower festival." — Doug Jimerson, Editor-in-Chief, Garden Escape, www.garden.com "Who better to turn to for everything you need to know about container culture than a guy who has ‘been there, done that’ for a careerful of years?" — Joseph F. Williamson, Former Garden Editor and Managing Editor of Sunset Magazine

16 Pages of Colorful Photos!

Where Does Your Garden Grow? Find out how you can cultivate a charming garden in a redwood window box, a hanging basket, or a pair of old cowboy boots with Container Gardening For Dummies^® Grow colorful plants, flowers, trees, and vegetables that will turn any gardener's thumb green with envy. Whether you're an inexperienced city dweller or his savvy country cousin, you'll love the down-to-earth tips and easy-to-follow directions for creating gorgeous container gardens in any climate. Sprout a Very Green Thumb

• Unearth winning approaches for growing almost anything in a container
• Discover how experts make greens flourish on roofs, balconies, and windowsills
• Create your own one-of-a-kind garden by using classic and offbeat containers
• Uncover the best fertilizing and watering techniques for your climate
• Grow exotic and low-maintenance cactus and succulents
• Prevent insects, pests, and diseases from invading your containers
• Find out which ten tools are ideal for working in container gardens

About the Author

About the Authors Bill Marken, former Editor-in-Chief of Sunset magazine, is the Editor of Rebecca's Garden magazine and California Editor of Garden Escape (www.garden.com). He is also the recipient of the American Horticultural Society's prestigious Horticultural Communication Award. The National Gardening Association is recognized for its bimonthly National Gardening magazine and extensive work in science education for children. The Association is also the coauthor of Annuals For Dummies??, Gardening For Dummies??, Roses For Dummies??, Perennials For Dummies??, and Lawn Care For Dummies??.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (January 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764550578
• ISBN-13: 978-0764550577
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,182,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful!, August 30, 2001

By 

Safiyya N. "Mother of four" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Container Gardening for Dummies (Paperback)

I originally checked this book out from the library, and after renewing three times and being told I couldn't renew it any more, I broke down and bought my own copy. It is VERY helpful in explaining the types of plants that do well in containers, and how to take care of them, how to deal with pests, how to "winter over," and so on. There is an entire section on what you can put plants in (be creative!), what the different types of soils are and what that means to you, and what plants do well in whichever type of light you have. I keep my copy of this book handy, and refer to it often. It's the single best reference book I've found on the subject of Container Gardening. Herb Gardening for Dummies is also good, but not QUITE as good as this one.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Basic Starter Book, April 11, 2005

By 

Spaceycat - See all my reviews

This review is from: Container Gardening for Dummies (Paperback)

I found lots of very useful information from pot sizes and soil (and soil-less) mixes as well as useful info on lots of plants, needs, watering etc. As container gardening is quite different than planting in the ground, I found this book VERY useful and different from all the other normal gardening books. I am a beginner, but love to research stuff to death and I find this book does give you a very good foundation to get started and do well.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Container Gardening for Dummies, February 18, 2006

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Container Gardening for Dummies (Paperback)

As someone with a "black thumb" (I can generally kill a plant within 24 hours!) I found this book to be very helpful. Even though there are huge amounts of real and applicable information here, the author manages to keep it fun and very readable. The best part is that since reading this book and putting it to use I haven't lost one plant! In fact, they seem to be thriving.

The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is the layout. I feel more thought could have been put into the way the chapters are put together. Specifically, the fact that I had to skip past all the design ideas to get to the care information in the back. Even with this one minor flaw, I still highly recommend this book to anyone interested in starting their own container garden.