Monday, February 20, 2012

Garden Book Review: Crops & Pots

I recently read Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell.  As you know, I do most of my gardening in containers and I've never really felt like my garden is visually interesting. I've been trying to think of ways to be more creative this year. I mainly grow vegetables for food, but this book showed me ways to make growing flowers, herbs, and veggies in pots more interesting.


The book is organized in a very cute way--by "Starters," "Main Courses," and "Desserts," with the idea being that you can combine things into a single pot that can then turn into a dish. This is a crabapple/gooseberry combo, which intersted me because I just ordered a packet of ground cherry seeds.


Each page also contains a recipe. This one is for Strawberry Lemonade. You can grow strawberries, mint, and edible flowers in a single container, and then the book shows you how you can take those ingredients and make them into a dish.


I didn't realize you can grow grapes in containers? Apparently you can.

The book isn't just about vegetable and herb combos. There are a few sections on combining flowers in pots for variety in color and height. There's also a list of edible flowers, which is something I'm interested in learning more about. I now have some ideas for what I want to do with  my few flower pots this year.


I've been thinking of growing a tea garden, and seeing the pages on herb combinations has made me want to go out and buy some chamomile and mint right now. I don't need a lot of space--I can grow a couple of herbs together, and here's another convenient recipe and instructions for making a relaxing chamomile tea with herbs found in one single pot.
I like the book. There are some combinations that are pretty common, in the sense that everyone knows tomatoes and basil go nicely together when companion planting. But I got some very good ideas about how to combine flowers and vegetables for visual interest, and not just for a functional kitchen garden.

If you're looking for other interesting gardening reading, head over to Roses and Other Garden Joys and check out other bloggers' book reviews.

9 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great book and something I might be interested in given my penchant for experimenting.

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  2. Sounds fascinating. I love combining herbs, flowers and food plants in containers...although I can always use some fresher ideas.

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  3. What a fabulous book! I'll have to pass this on to my daughter who wants to grow some veggies in pots. Can't wait to see how you utilize the info you read!

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  4. This seems like such a great book! I've been trying to convince my daughter to grow some vegetables in pots, and have been thinking of doing a little of that myself. This book sounds like something we both need! I like that he shows combinations in pots - I think it would make the pot much more interesting and beautiful, and that he also talks about edible flowers. Thanks so much for joining in!

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  5. What a delightful book! I have to give a short talk on small space gardening at our local plant give & take take in a few weeks and that would be a great resource!
    Thanks for sharing it!

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  6. I did not know you could grow grapes in containers either. Books are always teaching me something. I like the idea of having all of those recipes as well.

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  7. It looks like the book is visually appealing as well as very informative. I want some of that strawberry lemonade!

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  8. My first job was as a coffee barista. We used to serve chamomile and peppermint iced tea. It would be fun to grow your own.

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