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A Year Full of Pots: Container Flowers for All Seasons
Pots are everywhere in Sarah Raven's garden at Perch Hill. Every corner comes to life with their colour and vibrancy.
A Year Full of Pots overbrims with year-round inspiration, planting ideas and expert advice from Sarah Raven, the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Year Full of Flowers and A Year Full of Veg .
Accessible and rewarding, growing flowers in pots is a simple and enjoyable way to enhance any space, from small city plots to huge gardens. Get the pots right and your garden will take on a cheerful energy of its own. They are the bubbles in the champagne, the cherries on the cake; the final flourish in making a garden beautiful.
And with pots, there is one iron more is more.
Discover practical design tips that will really enhance your containers. Use ingenious tricks when combining flower colours such as choosing a BRIDE (the star of the show), a BRIDESMAID (similar to the bride but smaller and less conspicuous) and a GATECRASHER (the colour contrast, which brings the whole thing to life).
Learn all about the types of forms and plant structures – THRILLER, FILLER, PILLAR and SPILLER – and how to put them to best use. And take on the simplest of ideas, such as raising flower pots on to a wall or table so you see more of them, for instant impact.
Following the seasons, A Year Full of Pots shows you how to make your own evolving tapestry of colour through long-lasting container combinations. All the flowers and planting schemes Sarah has tried and tested over the decades are in here, plus the design principles that will work for you at any scale, whether you have one pot or a garden full of them.
A Year Full of Pots overbrims with year-round inspiration, planting ideas and expert advice from Sarah Raven, the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Year Full of Flowers and A Year Full of Veg .
Accessible and rewarding, growing flowers in pots is a simple and enjoyable way to enhance any space, from small city plots to huge gardens. Get the pots right and your garden will take on a cheerful energy of its own. They are the bubbles in the champagne, the cherries on the cake; the final flourish in making a garden beautiful.
And with pots, there is one iron more is more.
Discover practical design tips that will really enhance your containers. Use ingenious tricks when combining flower colours such as choosing a BRIDE (the star of the show), a BRIDESMAID (similar to the bride but smaller and less conspicuous) and a GATECRASHER (the colour contrast, which brings the whole thing to life).
Learn all about the types of forms and plant structures – THRILLER, FILLER, PILLAR and SPILLER – and how to put them to best use. And take on the simplest of ideas, such as raising flower pots on to a wall or table so you see more of them, for instant impact.
Following the seasons, A Year Full of Pots shows you how to make your own evolving tapestry of colour through long-lasting container combinations. All the flowers and planting schemes Sarah has tried and tested over the decades are in here, plus the design principles that will work for you at any scale, whether you have one pot or a garden full of them.
- GenresGardeningNonfiction
416 pages, Hardcover
Published April 9, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 12, 2024
I loved reading this book. I am also growing mostly in container pots, and this was a great resource. I especially loved how she divided the book by month and what we have to do in this month to get read for maximum flowering shows. You will have to take some of what she says with a grain of salt if you live in different climates, i.e, I live in Texas zone 9b and she is in England. We have very different issues. Her heat waves and droughts are very different to ours. Also, she did have lots of favorites, which I lost count after awhile.
If you are looking to up your game in creating a beautiful garden even just using containers, this is the book for you. It's easy to understand, beautiful flowers, and also great tips. I honestly learned so much, so much I might have been doing wrong. You won't go wrong with this book just make sure that you know some of her flowers won't grow for you and vice versa.
If you are looking to up your game in creating a beautiful garden even just using containers, this is the book for you. It's easy to understand, beautiful flowers, and also great tips. I honestly learned so much, so much I might have been doing wrong. You won't go wrong with this book just make sure that you know some of her flowers won't grow for you and vice versa.
June 4, 2025
I read this book last month hoping for a bit of inspiration on gardening through the year based on zones, but I feel like this was more about the author’s favourite colours and vibes and varieties of different flowers based on her climate alone. Also a lot of inspo pics of large areas of pots…if you have so much space, why fill it with pots? Felt a little strange sometimes. I didn’t feel like I got much out of this, unfortunately.
February 11, 2024
A Year Full of Pots by Sarah Raven – Filled with Helpful Garden Design Ideas, Information and Spectacular Photographs
I listen and learn from Sarah Raven’s podcast and was eager to read her newest book A Year Full of Pots. What a tremendous resource this book is for gardeners.
Sarah specifically focuses on plants in pots throughout the year, month by month. She starts out by giving some rules of thumb for designing combinations of plants that work well together.
Then month by month, Sarah shares what plants she puts in containers. January and February bring color into the new year. In March and transition from winter to spring and using bulbs. In April learning to do a bulb lasagna and how to do it. May is working with tender perennials. June, summer begins with making plant supports and fertilizer. July the garden flourishes. August looks at flowering plants. September when tender perennial climbers are at their peak performance. As autumn comes having perennials and those plants that will perform late into the season. In November and December there are still some hardy flowering plants to take center stage as wells as bulbs. Worked into each chapter are tasks that need to be done.
I appreciated the helpful information and details about different varieties that Sarah uses in her garden pots, what she likes about the different plants. The book is chock full of pictures, gorgeous photos that you will want to look back on for design ideas for your own garden, in pots or perhaps worked into landscape.
Even though I live in a very different area than Sarah, I can take the ideas and designs work them into our home garden. I loved this book and was on sensory overload looking at the spectacular photographs. So many beautiful photos, ideas and information to enjoy and learn from.
I highly recommend A Year Full of Pots by Sarah Raven. I plan on purchasing a copy of this book when it is published on April 9, 2024. I want to use it as a reference guide filled with helpful information and design inspiration.
I would like to thank Bloomsbury USA Publishers and NetGalley for an opportunity to read a complimentary copy of A Year Full of Pots by Sarah Raven. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.
I listen and learn from Sarah Raven’s podcast and was eager to read her newest book A Year Full of Pots. What a tremendous resource this book is for gardeners.
Sarah specifically focuses on plants in pots throughout the year, month by month. She starts out by giving some rules of thumb for designing combinations of plants that work well together.
Then month by month, Sarah shares what plants she puts in containers. January and February bring color into the new year. In March and transition from winter to spring and using bulbs. In April learning to do a bulb lasagna and how to do it. May is working with tender perennials. June, summer begins with making plant supports and fertilizer. July the garden flourishes. August looks at flowering plants. September when tender perennial climbers are at their peak performance. As autumn comes having perennials and those plants that will perform late into the season. In November and December there are still some hardy flowering plants to take center stage as wells as bulbs. Worked into each chapter are tasks that need to be done.
I appreciated the helpful information and details about different varieties that Sarah uses in her garden pots, what she likes about the different plants. The book is chock full of pictures, gorgeous photos that you will want to look back on for design ideas for your own garden, in pots or perhaps worked into landscape.
Even though I live in a very different area than Sarah, I can take the ideas and designs work them into our home garden. I loved this book and was on sensory overload looking at the spectacular photographs. So many beautiful photos, ideas and information to enjoy and learn from.
I highly recommend A Year Full of Pots by Sarah Raven. I plan on purchasing a copy of this book when it is published on April 9, 2024. I want to use it as a reference guide filled with helpful information and design inspiration.
I would like to thank Bloomsbury USA Publishers and NetGalley for an opportunity to read a complimentary copy of A Year Full of Pots by Sarah Raven. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.
March 4, 2024
This is a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous book that features the container garden of Sarah Raven at Perch Hill, a container garden, I might add, that contains over 300 pots. I have about 16 pots, and I have trouble keeping up with them. Yes, Sarah has help, but she has an incredible knowledge of flowers, their pairings, their care, and a wonderful eye for color, and the arrangements of types, and textures.
Many of us have heard that when filling a container we need a thriller, a filler, and a spiller. Sarah takes that one step further by telling us that we need to choose a BRIDE (the star of the show), a BRIDESMAID (similar to the bride but smaller and less conspicuous), and a GATECRASHER (the color contrast, which brings the whole thing to life). I don’t think I will ever go to a garden center again without having this in mind.
There is so much to love about this book. I was so captivated by the photos, that I barely had time to read the text. One of the wonderful aspects of this is that, following her instruction, you can have a beautiful container garden that will bloom nonstop from spring until fall. For those of us with limited space, her suggestion of mounting flowerpots on walls, or elevating them to the table in order to put them on display, is a good one. I cannot say enough about this book. This is going to be my Bible this summer.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for allowing me an advanced look at this beautiful, volume in exchange for an honest review.
Many of us have heard that when filling a container we need a thriller, a filler, and a spiller. Sarah takes that one step further by telling us that we need to choose a BRIDE (the star of the show), a BRIDESMAID (similar to the bride but smaller and less conspicuous), and a GATECRASHER (the color contrast, which brings the whole thing to life). I don’t think I will ever go to a garden center again without having this in mind.
There is so much to love about this book. I was so captivated by the photos, that I barely had time to read the text. One of the wonderful aspects of this is that, following her instruction, you can have a beautiful container garden that will bloom nonstop from spring until fall. For those of us with limited space, her suggestion of mounting flowerpots on walls, or elevating them to the table in order to put them on display, is a good one. I cannot say enough about this book. This is going to be my Bible this summer.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for allowing me an advanced look at this beautiful, volume in exchange for an honest review.
January 8, 2024
This is a fantastic book for its audience, even though I personally didn’t enjoy reading it. The book is huge, brimming with beautiful photos, and packed with information.
That said, I personally had to make myself read it as is not useful to me for several reasons. Firstly, the author seems to spend thousands of dollars on her hundreds of pots every single year. Most of these plants must be replaced every year, and she plants monthly so it’s an enormous continual expense. Not only is that out of reach for many of us, but it’s not very sustainable or environmentally friendly either. These are (mostly) not native plants that help wildlife. These are mass grown hybrids shipped out from far away and grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, this seems to be all she does with most of her time, as she is sewing seeds, placing orders, planting bulbs, replanting pots, etc every month of the year. That’s not really realistic for most of us either.
All of that aside, it is a beautiful book and her knowledge of these plants is extensive. Most gardeners will love this book for the eye candy alone.
I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.
That said, I personally had to make myself read it as is not useful to me for several reasons. Firstly, the author seems to spend thousands of dollars on her hundreds of pots every single year. Most of these plants must be replaced every year, and she plants monthly so it’s an enormous continual expense. Not only is that out of reach for many of us, but it’s not very sustainable or environmentally friendly either. These are (mostly) not native plants that help wildlife. These are mass grown hybrids shipped out from far away and grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, this seems to be all she does with most of her time, as she is sewing seeds, placing orders, planting bulbs, replanting pots, etc every month of the year. That’s not really realistic for most of us either.
All of that aside, it is a beautiful book and her knowledge of these plants is extensive. Most gardeners will love this book for the eye candy alone.
I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.
January 17, 2024
I loved the photos and the descriptions of the plants the author used in her container gardens. Sarah Raven’s gardens at Perch Hill contained over 300 pots. I was overwhelmed last summer, in the drought, watering the seventeen containers I had in my garden.
Understandably, the author has a head gardener and most likely more folks on staff to plan and carry out the gorgeous gardens she has.
This book is a wealth of gardening information. It is organized month by month in describing tasks and goals for producing a fantastic garden of potted plants in containers. It is important to note that because this garden is in Britain and makes use of flowers, seeds, and plant materials from the UK and the Netherlands, gardeners in the U.S. might not be able to acquire the same varieties.
Most gardeners would enjoy adding this volume to their library. On a cold winter day like this, it is great to kick back and look at flower/garden photos!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of
this book.
Understandably, the author has a head gardener and most likely more folks on staff to plan and carry out the gorgeous gardens she has.
This book is a wealth of gardening information. It is organized month by month in describing tasks and goals for producing a fantastic garden of potted plants in containers. It is important to note that because this garden is in Britain and makes use of flowers, seeds, and plant materials from the UK and the Netherlands, gardeners in the U.S. might not be able to acquire the same varieties.
Most gardeners would enjoy adding this volume to their library. On a cold winter day like this, it is great to kick back and look at flower/garden photos!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of
this book.
April 19, 2024
This book is every container gardener’s dream! Packed full of information that’s easily organized by each growing month of the year, author Sarah Raven goes into detail about a plethora of fantastic options for any size container, no matter what your taste is flowers is! The photographs were absolutely beautiful, and I found myself adding to my personal plant wish list in no time (complete with photographs, because those included in this book are gorgeous!). I will admit, I want every viola and pansy mentioned in the special
I also absolutely loved that this book also had featured sections on specific flowers, practical gardening instructions and advice for each corresponding month, as well as sections for groups of plants that fit certain common categories like drought-tolerant plants, shade tolerant plants, scented plants, plants for pollinators, and more! I found myself taking so many notes, especially on my all-time favorites: violas and osteospermum. The only downside I can think to this book is that there were a lot of plants that I can’t grow in Wisconsin, but that’s certainly not the book’s fault!
July 28, 2024
This book was an absolute delight! Although I found it more inspirational than educational, it was still useful to me, as it made me rethink my garden garden colour schemes, and also consider new varieties of oldies but goodies, such as tulips and pelargoniums. A very recommended read - as coffee table book or as an indulgent read for any flower mad person :)
October 8, 2024
Oh my gosh, this lady is doing creative things with pots! I loved how useful this book was - it is structured month-by-month and details exactly what to do with your container garden, with spotlights and emphasis on the plants that do best in pots (think tulips, etc). Beautiful photos and tremendously helpful!
November 25, 2023
A breathtaking look at the authors garden.Planting a gorgeous color palette of flowers in Sarah Ravens collection of pots.This book is a guide to how and when to plant to bring out the most beautiful flowers.so eye pleasing a delightful book.#netgalley #bloomsbury.
March 10, 2024
The pictures in this book are amazing. A Year Full of Pots gave me so many ideas on how to design my garden this year. I also appreciated how it gave ideas on what plant colors blend well together and how to get the most out of using pots to add color to a garden space.
June 30, 2025
Not What I Expected
I thought this would be a good book about flower containers. The author spends an inordinate amount of time on tulips. It is also a book for UK gardeners. I was disappointed in the content. Not particularly helpful for me.
I thought this would be a good book about flower containers. The author spends an inordinate amount of time on tulips. It is also a book for UK gardeners. I was disappointed in the content. Not particularly helpful for me.
April 18, 2024
It's exactly what I needed. I just adore this book. 😍
June 1, 2024
Awesome for tulip varieties.
August 21, 2024
For fans of the author, which I am. For US gardeners mostly helpful if you live in a similar climate. Otherwise just enjoy the photos!
December 16, 2024
Stunning and lots of information,love love love it
May 3, 2025
Love her books.
April 23, 2026
Absolutely fascinating, jam-packed with helpful tips and guidance. I've added so many more plants to my wish-list!
January 26, 2025
A Year Full of Pots: container Flowers for All Seasons by Sarah Raven is a beautiful, information filled gardening book for those interested in container gardening or for anyone who loves looking at gorgeous flowers. Raven’s nonfiction book is a treasure trove of learning about how to plant a stunning container garden. It’s bursting with color photography that will have you yearning for a pot of flowers. Raven not only explains about types of pots and flowers, but she has ideas for each month of the year. I love flipping through A Year Full of Pots for inspiration in my own planting and simply to admire all the lovely kinds of flowers and pot designs.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews