Top 5 Container Gardening Books

Container gardening is one of the easiest ways to perk up your patio, porch and balcony, or give your garden a fresh infusion of color and beauty. Even better, if you don't like how a particular container plant is performing, you can quickly replace it with something else. Container gardening also allows you to move your plants around to find the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement - just try doing that with plants you've already put into the ground, and you'll fast become a fan of gardening in containers.

Container gardening books abound, but here are my top five picks worthy of being on a gardener's bookshelf.

P. Allen Smith's Container Gardens: 60 Container Recipes to Accent Your Garden Home (2005)

With two television shows, a bestselling first book and numerous workshops nationwide, P.Allen Smith is a well-known name among gardeners. He's one of my favorite gardening gurus as well, primarily because he imparts his innovative design ideas in a way that's accessible to beginners yet equally valuable to veterans. This beautiful book presents container gardening in a creative recipe-style format with ingredient lists, step-by-step planting instructions and display tips for eye-catching container gardens. The designs range from casual to sophisticated, and include recipes for every season.

You Grow Girl (Paperback, 2005)

Gayla Trail's hip, humorous tome is a far cry from the more straight-laced container gardening books of yesteryear. The cheeky but information-packed text guides aspiring gardeners in growing flowers, vegetables and herbs in containers, as well as in the ground. Divided into five accessible sections (Plan, Plant, Grow, Bounty and Chill), You Grow Girl covers the entire gardening experience. The book even includes lots of fun things to make with your bountiful harvest, like bath and beauty products, and herbal tea.

Easy Container Gardens (2008)

This comprehensive container gardening book by Pamela Crawford should be read by anyone who's ever killed a plant (which pretty much includes every gardener, doesn't it?). Clearly written and beautifully photographed, the informative book includes step-by-step instructions for creating foolproof container gardens. It also has wonderful profiles of 48 plants that are the easiest to grow. Red ribbon container plants need some grooming now and then, while blue ribbon picks require little or no care for their entire growing season!

Bountiful Container: How to Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers (2002).

Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey's delightful container gardening book is chock-full of practical knowledge that everyone from novice gardeners to green-thumb experts will appreciate. Nicely organized and pleasant to read, the book includes detailed information on choosing containers and plants, soil needs, watering, fertilizing, potential pests and diseases, tips for succession planting, harvesting, and craft projects.

Kids Container Gardening: Year-Round Projects for Inside and Out (2005)

Introduce children to the fun of gardening with this colorful, project-oriented book by Cindy Krezel. Creative, kid-friendly projects include succulent gardens, vegetable hanging baskets, butterfly gardens and amaryllis pots, each accompanied by a handy materials list, easy to follow directions and lively photos of young gardeners in action.

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