The Container Expert

The Expert Series

by D. G. Hessayon

The Container Expert is one of the books in the Expert series written by the world’s best-selling gardening author.

Containers are a basic part of the gardening scene, from the windowsills of small apartments to the terraces of millionaire mansions. In this book there are container suggestions for all types of situations - you will find tyres and troughs, hanging baskets and mini-ponds, flower pots and tubs, urns and bowls.

The bewildering range of containers is matched by the variety of plants which can be grown - alpines, annuals, trees and shrubs, fruits and vegetables, bulbs and roses ... so many types of container, so many different types of plants, how do you choose and how do you produce a great display?

That is the job of this book - in the drawings, photographs and no-nonsense Expert-style information you will find all the answers.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Plants, Horticulture

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1995

Reviews

[Shriya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet again another insight into gardening for a begginer like myself. I do enjoy how expert series reads like a magazine but very informative. The beautiful bright images also are a great bonus. I've recently a read several books that don't embrace nature visually in their books.

Highly recommend!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn’t until I decided to go through all of my gardening books to decide which were keepers and which weren’t (because the shelf space in my library is finite) that I truly appreciated Dr. Hessayon’s Expert gardening series. All of these books are packed with information that is thoughtfully laid out for easy reference, with accompanying photos.

There are only two main downsides. The first is that they tend to be dated, and you’ll catch glimpses of 1980s decor in some. However, As far as I could tell the information is current, because that hasn’t changed. There are no doubt new varieties of some plants, but that’s always true as hybridizers are always at work. The other is that they are British books, which for American readers mean that temperatures are in Celsius rather than the more familiar Fahrenheit, but more importantly some of the timing may need to be adapted (I live in the South, where it gets much hotter much sooner than the UK). Also notes about availability of some things may be off, But that’s an issue with American gardening books as well, as most gardeners have to rely on the inventory of local garden centers, regardless of how much they want a specific plant they saw in a book.

All that said, I checked this book out of the public library to see if it was worth adding to my personal library (counterproductive to my goal of reducing books, but why reduce if you’re not going to add?). It offers basic information on different types of containers and arranging plants in them. There are also profiles of good container plants organized into categories: bedding plants (annuals), hardy perennials, trees & shrubs & bonsai, rockery perennials, bulbs, roses, aquatic plants, vegetables, fruit and herbs.

If I owned this book I’d consider it a keeper, and I’m on the fence about whether it’s worth buying a copy to add to my library. I could probably find something on container gardening that’s more appropriate to where I live and more up to date, so I think I can do without this one, but it is a good book.

[Brock Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid coverage of outside containers and related plants. However, it's of limited use to the indoor or potential hydroponic gardener. In my copy the pictures seem dark, as though multiple printings have diminished its pop. I suppose most of this information is available online, but not necessarily so easily digested. Review of the 1997 edition.

[Linda]

Very helpful for small spaces. Well laid out, for ease of use.