Beautiful Tabletop Gardens

by Janice Eaton Kilby

Create a little garden paradise in every corner of your home and enjoy its beauty year round. The designs and instructions here show how to assemble your indoor garden from plants purchased at a nursery or grown from seeds, rootings, or cuttings. Photos illustrate the basics--plants, potting techniques, containers--and provide endless inspiration. Watch a water garden grow in a punchbowl or experience the power of nature with a mini-forest of bonsai. Tend a small salad garden or one with culinary herbs and cook with its fresh-picked bounty. Recreate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon...right on a tired cake plate! Your house will turn into a veritable Garden of Eden.

Genres: Gardening

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of tabletop gardens, with inspiration, instructions, and plant variety suggestions for each project. The "beauty" of some of the projects could easily be called into question, but overall I think this book avoids the trap of so many 'crafty diy projects' books. Each project is different enough that it feels like a distinct entity, not a variation on the the previous page. Some of my faves were the carnivorous plants, the plain, mossy ferny terrarium in an old bottle (so classic), converting an old drawer into a coffee table herb garden, and the creative arrangement of air plants for display in your home. There is even a tabletop water garden, which I would never have the guts to execute (since I have a fear of water leaking all over my house), but it's definitely unique. My expectations for this book were pretty low, I mean seriously, "Beautiful Tabletop Gardens" does not set off fireworks for me, but I was pleasantly surprised. Once you look this over and familiarize yourself with the basic principles of designing, creating/converting and arranging your tabletop gardens, you would have a solid foundation for branching out and using more repurposed materials in more creative ways.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not usually an indoor plant person. I need the big outdoors as my palette. But these tabletop planters are true gardening. Instead of trying to create a faux tropical corner among the furniture, the author respects plants. Who knows, the beautiful illustrations and original ideas may yet make an indoor gardener of me yet. In my huge gardening library, this book has the honor of being the only one on indoor plants. But I'm not worried. No book on flower arranging is going to sneak in.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, these little gardens are beautiful but many of them seem a bit impractical for inside plus it always irks me when things are photo stylized to unreality! The shot of gardening tools on page 11 don't look like they've ever been used. That said, there are some things in here that I've not seen elsewhere. The interlinking circle of teeny succulents is very intriguing. So, there's inspiration to be had in this book.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book has some really great, and perhaps impractical, ideas about creating cute mini indoor container gardens. I have a feeling that my cats would destroy them and/or I wouldn't be able to keep them right...but I'm inspired to try and make one anyway.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Shows you how to make the most beautiful indoor gardens. Soooo much fun.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful ideas, but NOT what I need right now.