The last book I read was very different from the previous books and left me with mixed feelings. Called Outdoor Design and Build Container Gardening, this was very much a design book. It was a large book, with beautiful, full-page pictures as part of almost every two-page spread. One of the biggest negatives to this book was that the plants in each picture often weren't identified. I also liked the organization less, as the authors alternated between practical gardening advice and design advice sections. They did do a very thorough job of providing design advice and included a much better recipe section than Contain Yourself, with larger pictures of the arrangements and single pictures identifying each plant. Sadly, the general advice was less good and overall this book felt way too light on practical information to meet the needs of a beginning container gardener. It may, however, be a book I return to later for design inspiration.

Read more reviews of my reviews of gardening books here. ( )

As the cover says, this is about "design ideas for rooftops, balconies, terraces, and more." I was hoping for something specific to western US climates, since it's published by Sunset, but it's actually fairly generic. So far the Western Garden Book is still my go-to. I'm still experimenting with what will grow in my difficult light conditions and is safe for cats. ( )

Had some good ideas. ( )