The Potting Shed

by Linda Joan Smith, Hugh Palmer (Photographer)

A richly photographed full-color wish book, The Potting Shed from Smith & Hawken celebrates the room that is as much a workshop for the gardener as the kitchen is for the cook. Practical and romantic, idea-filled and beautiful, it is imbued with the Smith & Hawken quality, authenticity, and a return to the old ways. There are chapters on the history of the potting shed. The gardener's tools, and how to store and care for them. And seasonal joys and labors, including spring--with tips on germinating seeds, using cloches, transplanting seedlings; summer--the time for picking flowers for potpourri; fall--how to dry herbs, plant spring-blooming bulbs, and gather seeds for next year; and winter--when it's time to relax in front of the woodstove and pore over catalogs. Whether the "potting shed" is a cleared-off space on a kitchen counter, a corner in the garage, an old table and wash basin against the side of the house--or an actual shed-- The Potting Shed is every gardener's dream of where the garden begins. Photographs by Hugh Palmer.

48,000 copies in print.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

93 pages, Hardcover

First published January 4, 1996

About the author

Linda Joan Smith is the author of The Peach Thief, an upper middle-grade historical novel from Candlewick Press (March 2025). She loves to time travel via the magic of books, and writes about the past for today’s kids so that they can do the same. Linda formerly worked as editor of Country Home magazine, freelanced for other national publications, and wrote garden books, yet her most fulfilling roles have been as a parent and library fundraiser. Born and raised in southern California, she graduated from Amherst College and has enjoyed living in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Iowa. She now calls the central coast of California her home, where she writes, grows boysenberries, works on an old house with her husband, and has lively discussions about books with her daughter. She once longed to be a paleontologist, climb Mount Everest, or earn a Michelin Star, but now dreams of making a difference to young readers, one story at a time.

Reviews

[Candy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim at the public library's spring plant sale. It's been a good "falling asleep" book- no plot, very slow and soothing, and good pictures.
I doubt that I will ever have a potting shed. I pot on a card table on the back deck and store my pots and gardening supplies in the garage on a rusty old shelf. But I enjoy the "idea" of a potting shed. I think part of the romance of a shed is that it would be a place of one's own.

[Dottie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is beautiful and the photography is gorgeous and inspirational and reading this is pulling me back to my garden planning journal -- soon, soon the pages whisper to me. I already have my own dream potting shed ideas and this is just icing on that cake.

[Ellen Kratky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for when you need a reminder that gardening is still one of life’s most romantic pursuits.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, sentimental fluff. There's very little substance to this book, but the pictures are nice to look at and the text is generally calming/meditative.