Books for Your Balcony Garden Library

Everyone could use another book. Or at least that’s the philosophy I live by. There may be families that love books as much as mine, but I am confident that none love them more.

I am a very curious person, so I have a wide variety of books, many of them on rather bizarre topics. Need a book arguing against using animals in laboratory tests? I’ve got it. Jews of China? Got that one too. When I find a topic I really like, then I stock up. Needless to say, I have a lot of gardening books…

Photo by fabooj

Here are some great books to consider the next time you need some gardening inspiration or information. The selection below is mostly geared toward container gardening that can be done on balconies and patios, but you’ll also find some books suitable to small, in-ground gardens.

Trees

If you just must have a tree, or two or three, it is important to be realistic about the size of your space, and whether you will be planting the tree in the ground or a container. Check out these books well suited to the needs of a small space gardener:

400 Trees and Shrubs for Small Spaces is a beautifully illustrated reference book highlighting trees suitable for small spaces and includes information on care and pruning.
Trees for the Small Garden more than just an encyclopedia. The author carefully selected 100 trees suitable for small spaces and provides a lot of information about the trees and their care.
Topiary and the Art of Training Plants is a great book if you’d like to trim that Italian cypress growing in a pot next to your front door into a beautiful spiraling spire.

Fruits and Vegetables

If you can only afford one gardening book, and you want to grow sometime you can eat, then the obvious choice is Bountiful Container. But if you have room on your shelf for a few more fruit and veg books, check these out:

All New Square Foot Gardening discusses an easy to reproduce technique to grow a lot of food in a small amount of space.
Little Herb Gardens, or if you prefer an easier to digest format, check out the Little Herb Gardens Deck

Container Gardening

Here are some great books if you just want a few pots that look gorgeous.

You Grow Girl is written by Gayla Trail of yougrowgirl.com fame. It is a great book for those just getting started growing stuff in pots.
Easy Container Gardens. If you want easy to follow container recipes that will look great and are easy to take care of, then this is the book for you.
How to Grow Fresh Air contains 50 houseplants that look great and will add lots of great smelling oxygen into the air of your home.
P.Allen Smith’s Container Gardens. If you like his show on PBS, you’ll enjoy this book with easy to follow recipes for beautiful containers. Even if you’ve never seen his show, you’ll still get a lot from this book.

What books would you recommend to a novice? To an expert? To someone who wants to grow a few vegetables?

August 28, 2008 | Filed Under Book Review, Good Reading

Comments

5 Responses to “Books for Your Balcony Garden Library”

mother in israel on August 28th, 2008 11:03 pm

My friend swears by her Earthboxes. It sounds great for my climate. What do you think?
Fern on August 29th, 2008 10:03 am

Mother in Israel — I’ve never used an Earth Box or anything similar before. I like puttering around and watering, fertilizing etc. But if you prefer less work, and someone who lives near you has used it with success, then I say go for it! And let me know how it works out.
I’ve Won The Bronze! : Life on the Balcony on August 30th, 2008 8:47 pm

[...] prize for winning the bronze is a $10 gift certificate to Amazon, which I am going to use to buy a gardening book. Thanks Mary Ann! August 30, 2008 | Filed Under [...]
Winter Balcony Gardening Tips : Life on the Balcony on November 17th, 2008 5:00 am

[...] garden during the colder months of the year. Also, winter is a good time to read some of the great container gardening books out [...]
Gift Ideas for Container Gardeners : Life on the Balcony on November 28th, 2008 6:02 am

[...] Books. Gardeners can skip a lot of trial and error with a well written gardening book or two. If the recipient grows or wants to grow their own edibles, I can’t recommend Bountiful Container enough. It is the go-to resource for growing edible plants in pots. For other books well suited for gardeners short on gardening space, check out this post I wrote about container gardening books. [...]