I’m not much of a gardener. I grew up with a garden in the back yard, but I think that because that was all in a very different climate than where I now live, that I no longer have a good grasp on the details of how to work with what when etc. I have managed a few things though, including several pots around my front steps. That’s why I was hoping that Container Theme Gardens would be something I could use in a the next month or so. Turns out not so much.
There are a lot of lovely pictures of plants in this book, both together in single containers as well as individual close-ups. There is information about alternate names, and general adjustments for timing depending on region. There is also general care information. However, I don’t think much of this will work for me. Firstly, I don’t have access to a specialist nursery, and I know I’ve never seen a high percentage of the plants used here in the local hardware stores. Second, many of the suggested combinations seem to require a single larger container, and that’s not what I have. Could I use a series of smaller separate plants? Probably, but that still leaves me with things I don’t know, like which plants are perennials and which annuals? It also bothers me that, even if I had the single larger container suggested for many of the combinations, there is little instruction for how to arrange or actually set up the initial planting. It seems mostly like you assume “Stick in the dirt any which way”, but is that right? I don’t know and the book doesn’t really say.
Some of the suggestions really do sound interesting though, like for example stevia (stevia rebaudiana), German chamomile (matricaria recutita), Lemongrass (cymbopogon citratus), Spearmint (menthe spicata), and variegated peppermint (menthe x piperita ‘Variegata’) in a set-up titled “A Pot of Tea”. That’s probably my biggest issue, that I’d like to try some of these things, but it’s just not realistic given my knowledge and available resources.