Grow Your Own in Pots: With 30 Step-By-Step Projects Using Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs

Container gardening is a popular option for novice and small-space gardeners. Maguire's first book offers an adequate introduction to the topic, with sections on growing the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers that thrive in containers. A section on tips and techniques provides an overview on this kind of gardening generally and aims to troubleshoot problems that gardeners may encounter. Maguire includes project details for growing specific plants in specific kinds of containers; for each, she includes a list of materials and tasks involved, a thoroughness that's lacking in other aspects of the title. There is no hardiness map, which would be useful for new gardeners to consult, and the plants covered are not arranged in alphabetical order within each section. As the author is based in the U.K., some of the plant varieties she recommends may be difficult to find in the States, and one fruit she includes—black currant—is banned in several New England states.