Kerstin P. Ouellet. Contain Yourself. Ball Publishing. 2002.

I wish this book had been around for my previous nineteen years of gardening! I love to garden in the ground but have always failed to create really spiffy looking container gardens. Do you have the same problem? Contain Yourself can turn everyone into an outstanding container gardener.

An introduction to container gardening, instructions on designing container gardens, planting container gardens, and caring for container gardens are covered in the four chapters in part 1 of this book. The next part contains plant information for each plant used in the planting recipes and ideas found in part 3. The author included information on the many newly introduced tender perennials found in our garden centers today. Many of these plants aren't even mentioned in older garden books.

The very heart of this book is part 3. This section provides the "recipe" for 100 container gardens. Each recipe starts with a symbol indicating how much sun the container garden needs, a photograph of a completed garden, a description of the plants used, a circular illustration showing exactly where to plant each variety and how many of each variety to use. The characteristics of the container used are mentioned. Some brief tips on taking care of the container garden ends the container garden recipe.

Book Recommendation

I've gardened and attempted containerized gardens for nineteen summers now. Although I seem to have a "green thumb", I could never get the container to look really artistically designed. This book will turn even a poor designer like me into someone who can easily create a professional looking containerized garden. I love the fact that the many new tender perennials (Bacopa, Lotus, Lysimachia and many others) are used in these designs.

Frankly, I won't attempt more container gardens without checking this book out and following one or more of its suggested recipes. I am tired of never feeling really satisfied with what I create because it just doesn't have the appearance of those sold in the garden stores at outrageous prices. I always thought I could do it myself - now I really can!

Unless you have a lot more design talent than I do, this is the best money you'll spend for a container garden book. You may even begin to create your own containerized garden gifts for Mother's day and other holidays following the designs in this book. I strongly believe this book will save you both money and frustration over your gardening career.