Container Gardening

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY OCT 23, 2000

Citing lifestyle trends like "smaller yards, longer commutes, less time for gardening, and a keener appreciation of plants as an artistic medium," Wilson (former host of The Victory Garden on PBS) offers a thoughtfully balanced workbook with a range of information on container gardening that will meet gardeners' needs without straining their attention spans. Far from a coffee-table book, this slender volume is jammed full of practical information, from the proper proportion of plant to pot, to soilless mixes and fertilizers. At the same time, the book, like Wilson's television show, reveals bits of personality. While some gardeners continue to plant geraniums in "retired work boots," he says, his own weakness is Malaysian pottery glazed a delicious cobalt blue and teal, because they "look so good against green foliage." He devotes an entire chapter to "hypertufas," lightweight containers with the durability of concrete and the ability to take on an attractive patina. He even includes a recipe and instructions for creating your own hypertufa trough. The book's second half contains a condensed encyclopedia of container-friendly plants. Organized according to plant habits (such as low growing and trailing, mounded, or tall and slender) and climates, this palette of plants will empower both novice and master gardener to combine flower, foliage, texture and color for contrast or complement. Wilson's personal favorites, abutilon ("set the pots up on posts so you can look up at the dangling blossoms") and the wishbone flower ("a good `story' flower for children"), are rounded out with lists of container plants preferred by public gardens representing every clime of the U.S. Color photos not seen by PW.