Container Gardening [Hardcover]

Paul Williams (Author), Nigel Marven (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2004

Taking a new approach to containers for "real gardeners," Container Gardening features more imaginative plants than most books on the subject and looks at the latest designs and new materials for containers. Offering practical advice on planting and year-round maintenance, as well as looking at inspirational ideas for today's more style-conscious gardener, the emphasis is always on the plants themselves with expert practical advice on how to grow and maintain them through the year.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For would-be gardeners with thin pocketbooks or limited outdoor space, this book is a delightful guide to raising plants in pots. Like skillful flower arranging, container planting starts with an artistic vision of complementary colors, shapes and textures. British gardener Williams’s volume blossoms with striking creations, but he also shares practical advice on recreating the "container portraits" pictured. Like a chef, Williams lists necessary "ingredients," and offers detailed instructions on plant care and container size, shape and material for each of the 44 displays. Williams (The Garden Color Book; Digging Deeper) also covers critical gardening principles for picking healthy plants, rich potting mixtures and attractive containers. For readers who want to experiment beyond his arrangements, Williams provides a detailed directory of 300 plants that thrive in containers, including staples like impatiens and begonias, as well as unusual suspects like the soft, silver-leafed plectranthus argentatus, which he calls "a textural delight." The full-color photos are also sure to inspire.
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Review

"The pictures are so mouth-wateringly beautiful that there can be few people who'd fail to be inspired to try out some of the planting! A joy of a book." Birmingham Post Kim Wilde in Bella 06/04/04 "Container Gardening by Paul Williams is a must have" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (March 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756603722
• ISBN-13: 978-0756603724
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,011,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Flowers for a New Home, July 6, 2004

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Container Gardening (Hardcover)

Although I've read a number of gardening books, I seem to have been having terrible luck with one container garden. Finally, I tossed all the soil and read this book. After realizing the draining system was not in place, not to mention I was using the wrong soil and the root system was in a tangle, I finally was able to create a fushia and violet themed flower garden complete with Daddy Blue Petunias, Easter Bonnet Violet Alyssum and pink Bearded tongue. The Columbine flowers are mixed in someplace and I think I have to rescue them from the petunias that are now taking over the planter.

Page 135 shows how to drill holes in the base of the planter, which was very needed. Then, while at the store, I accidentally dropped a clay pot, which was just perfect because you use the broken pot pieces to ensure free passage of water through the potting mix. The Miracle Grow potting mix now also has some water-retaining crystals mentioned on page 151.

By reading this one book you can learn everything you need to know to set up your own container garden in short order.

Features:

- Paul Williams original arrangements with close-up shots of every plant featured.
- An A-Z plant directory
- Detailed sections on how to water, choose pots, move heavy pots and design arrangements.
- Information on "when to repot" plants
- Interesting arrangements with "ingredients, planting details and container details."
- How to Clean Containers
- Choosing the right potting mix
- Interesting "capillary" watering method. Might work
if you travel a lot.

The arrangements all have themes. You might want a low-maintenance pink arrangement filled with Osteospermum jucundum (delicate pink daisy-style flowers) or create a lively arrangement bursting with golden stars (Bidens ferufolia). Many of the arrangements also help to set dreamy moods, like the Purple Haze with the fuzzy lotus hirsutus meandering with blue trailing petunias.

Paul Williams was trained at one of the UK's top horticultural colleges and is a regular contributor to horticultural magazines. His ideas are practical and inspiring.

I was so happy to read this book! Now I can look out of my bedroom window and see a beautiful, long-lasting arrangement inspired by Paul Williams.

~The Rebecca Review

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to Lovely Planters, April 4, 2005

By 

Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Container Gardening (Hardcover)

I wanted ideas for good-looking container gardens for my screened lanai. This books really delivers what I needed:
*large photos showing handsome pots and lush plantings
*exact instructions for number & names of plants to reproduce the 44 pictured container gardens
*info on sun/shade requirements, plant care and lifespan of the plants
The last 30 pages is an encyclopedic listing of suitable plants accompanied by color photos.
The book also has sections on choosing a container, drainage, potting mix, plant maintenance, color, scale and proportion. Really a very useful guide!

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air, March 10, 2004

By 

John Preistfield (U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Container Gardening (Hardcover)

Container Gardening is a breath of fresh air. Paul Williams enthusiastic and energetic writing style,when combined with such fantastic photographs is truly inspiring. Having read all of his books, you understand Paul Williams is a man who really loves plants and understands how to make a garden work. He has an amazing ability to pass on his knowledge in an informative and motivating style. As a young gardener, Container Gardening is one of the best purchases i have ever made and is a cracking book.