Read Any Good (Gardening) Books Lately?

I've read several, and here they are. 

First up:  Small Space Container Gardens by Fern Richardson.  If you thought you didn't have space for a garden, you need only see the ideas that Fern presents in this terrific book. Full disclosure:  She included a profile my garden.  Fern shows you how you can optimize the space you have and offers lots of beautiful pictures, garden plans, project ideas, and plant color combinations. She proves that a container garden can be every bit as lush and serene as any landscape garden.

Gayla Trail has a couple of books that I really enjoyed:  Grow Great Grub (fabulous title, no?) and Easy Growing.  Neither are written strictly for container gardeners but both are focused on small spaces so the projects can easily be adapted to containers.  The first offers a complete rundown of food (vegetables, fruits, herbs) that can be grown in small spaces including growing spuds in (clean) trash cans--who knew?!  The second book is cool because Gayla rates projects on a difficulty scale so you can figure out what sort of commitment is required.  And there are plenty of easy projects for novices or those who are short on time.  Both books toss in some great recipes and craft projects for good measure--like making hot pepper ristras.

I found Apartment Gardening by Amy Pennington be to a delightful read with tons of information.  There are no glossy photos, but don't let that deter you.  She has lots of hand drawings which I find a charming addition to the text.  Amy tells you all about home composting, building a worm bin, and designing hanging planters.  Plus she has plenty of recipes so you can get the most out of your harvest. 

Finally, there's Grow the Good Life by Michele Owens. The secondary title is, "Why a Vegetable Garden Will Make You Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise."  That pretty much says it all.  This book is not necessarily focused on container gardening but it presents a wonderful case of why growing your own food is an endeavor worth undertaking.  Michele just makes you want to immediately go out and plant something...anything.

Now's the perfect time to check out these books.  They definitely inspired me to try out a few new things in my garden.