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Small? Yes. A concrete slab populated solely with plastic chairs and an abandoned grill? Not anymore.
Chances are your balcony, porch, or patio could use a major makeover. Fern Richardson, charismatic creator of the blog Life on the Balcony, is here to walk you through the process of beautifying a small space — even when your budget is just as small.
This exciting guide layers practical gardening fundamentals with creative solutions that encourage thinking outside the pot. Maybe this means repurposing a shipping pallet to create a colorful vertical garden of nasturtiums and lobelia. Or simply seeing walls, rafters, railings, and everything in between as fair game. You'll also learn how to tackle unique challenges, like windy conditions when gardening several stories above street level, and how to care for plants and troubleshoot with the best of them.
From design basics to essential plant picks, Small-Space Container Gardens proves you don't need a yard to have a garden. For anyone who wants more green in their life, it's time to get out there and start growing.
AVIDREADERDA
Posted December 12, 2011
Great concept - I've been gardening for years but this book has some great and unique ideas that I love, i.e., use re-cycled coffee cans as plant containers. Book is well formatted and written and beautiful color pictures. Also many helpful hints about colors to incorporate into your garden. Wonderful for small spaces and could easily be expanded to use in larger spaces. A must read for anyone with a green thumb or even brown. Great LATE Christmas Gift too!!!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Berta31
Posted April 6, 2012
I'm an avid reader of Fern Richardson's blog, Life on the Balcony , and I have eagerly awaited her book. The pictures alone make the book worth buying, but there are also many great ideas for creating unique, fun and useful container gardens.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.As soon as the first frost hits here I am planning for next year’s plantings. Small-Space Container Gardens has already helped me start planning for our spring porch and deck. No matter what your available space, this book has something for you.
The first few chapters set the scene by choosing colors, containers settings, and location. Following that there is information on attracting wildlife and growing food plants in containers. There is a section on succulents and scents, and a chapter on privacy planting. You can learn to create a vertical garden, and battle pests. There is even a green thumb crash course. This is just a brief summary of what is in this information packed book.
The book helps with ideas for designing not just individual pots but, an entire patio or porch. There is something for the spacious areas for those who live in the country as well as those who have limited space in the city. Large or small, there are planting ideas for all.
There are several projects for inexpensive pot upgrades and very unique ideas using thrift shop or found items. My favorite project was the beautiful garden table that would be so simple to create with only a few materials.
AccidentalOlympian
Posted March 23, 2012
Part of it is my own fault, buying the book online and not checking out a look inside through Google or Amazon, but after hearing about the book through the publisher's newsletter I thought for sure it would be both informative AND beautiful because of Timber Press's reputation.
The trim size first threw me off, what a handful to hold! And once I opened the book I was horrified. It was as if the designer was bored. Huge fonts with gaps of white space for no reason. Pictures seemed to be dropped onto pages with no thought to flow. The author is clearly passionate about container gardening and very knowledgeable and I feel like she was cheated out of a book people would recommend to others.
With so many gardening books to choose from I feel like Timber Press got lazy.
I would no recommend this book to anyone. Visit the author's blog instead and save yourself the money.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Small? Yes. A concrete slab populated solely with plastic chairs and an abandoned grill? Not anymore.
Chances are your balcony, porch, or patio could use a major makeover. Fern Richardson, charismatic creator of the blog Life on the Balcony, is here to walk you through the process of beautifying a small space — even when your budget is just as small.
This exciting guide layers practical gardening fundamentals with creative solutions that ...