The Complete Container Garden

Container gardening offers myriad possibilities for growing things in restricted spaces, for adding color to problem planting areas and for providing dramatic focal points to landscaping. British garden writer Joyce concentrates primarily on floral gardening here, demonstrating how to combine color schemes for shady or sunny exposures and how to use foliage plants as a primary focus. More than 400 color photos illustrate the steps involved in selecting and transforming an assortment of containers, from large and costly pottery tubs to recycled coffee cans, into contained gardens. Soil selection and planting methods, the use of liners, hanging baskets, window boxes, pruning and propagation are considered; there are sections on container rock and water gardens. An extensive chapter on individual plants is organized by color of bloom and/or foliage and includes reference to U.S. hardiness zones. ""Model Plantings,"" with lists of ingredients and positioning diagrams, depicts arrangements that seem most likely to thrive in areas of the U.S. that enjoy maritime climates comparable to those in Great Britain. Lackluster, jerky prose and the failure to address organic means of pest and disease control further narrow the overall value for U.S. gardeners. (May)