Product Description

Rebecca Cole--once an actress/activist and now the owner of the trend-setting Greenwich Village store Potted Gardens--introduces a whole new way to garden. Using any container--from the bed of a toy truck to a bedpan--and any kind of plant--from rose to weed--would-be gardeners can follow Rebecca's guidance and plant a bit of beauty in a corner of their homes or gardens.

Starting at the beginning--what a garden means to urban dwellers and their country cousins and how to stimulate your own imagination--she then helps us hunt for plants at neighborhood nurseries and markets (which she advocates over catalogue shopping); gather containers from dumps, attics, flea markets, and antiques stores; and put it all together in potted gardens for windowsill, desk, and patio. In a chapter on terraces, she turns to the great outdoors, explaining the design and creation of complete gardens made up of containers, artfully arranged to make the most of small spaces. And all along the way she shares her own experiences with breaking all the rules to achieve ebullient flowering displays.

With nearly 200 spectacular photographs, illustrated step-by-step instructions on how to plant in wooden boxes, metal containers, and how to plant bulbs; tips on maintaining a finished potted garden; suggestions on further reading; and a glossary--Potted Gardens is the everyday companion for the new and experienced container gardener alike.

Rebecca Cole is the proprietor of one of New York City's most talked-about shops, Potted Gardens, where she mixes well-loved antiques (and old sinks and watering cans) with flowers and plants. She has made appearances on "Our Home" and "Home Matters" and is a regular guest on "Fox After Breakfast." Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Travel and Leisure, House Beautiful, the New York Times, and Victoria, among others. She lives in New York City.

Richard Felber has been photographing America's gardens for two decades. Among the many magazines that have published his work are House Beautiful, Garden Design, and New York magazine. This is his first book. He lives in Connecticut.

Grab a pot, a wooden box, or a tin can; gather your bulbs and flowers; and read Rebecca Cole's Potted Gardens for a whole new way to look at gardening.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #921218 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07-01
• Released on: 1997-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From the Inside Flap
Rebecca Cole--once an actress/activist and now the owner of the trend-setting Greenwich Village store Potted Gardens--introduces a whole new way to garden. Using any container--from the bed of a toy truck to a bedpan--and any kind of plant--from rose to weed--would-be gardeners can follow Rebecca's guidance and plant a bit of beauty in a corner of their homes or gardens.

Starting at the beginning--what a garden means to urban dwellers and their country cousins and how to stimulate your own imagination--she then helps us hunt for plants at neighborhood nurseries and markets (which she advocates over catalogue shopping); gather containers from dumps, attics, flea markets, and antiques stores; and put it all together in potted gardens for windowsill, desk, and patio. In a chapter on terraces, she turns to the great outdoors, explaining the design and creation of complete gardens made up of containers, artfully arranged to make the most of small spaces. And all along the way she shares her own experiences with breaking all the rules to achieve ebullient flowering displays.

With nearly 200 spectacular photographs, illustrated step-by-step instructions on how to plant in wooden boxes, metal containers, and how to plant bulbs; tips on maintaining a finished potted garden; suggestions on further reading; and a glossary--Potted Gardens is the everyday companion for the new and experienced container gardener alike.

Rebecca Cole is the proprietor of one of New York City's most talked-about shops, Potted Gardens, where she mixes well-loved antiques (and old sinks and watering cans) with flowers and plants. She has made appearances on "Our Home" and "Home Matters" and is a regular guest on "Fox After Breakfast." Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Travel and Leisure, House Beautiful, the New York Times, and Victoria, among others. She lives in New York City.

Richard Felber has been photographing America's gardens for two decades. Among the many magazines that have published his work are House Beautiful, Garden Design, and New York magazine. This is his first book. He lives in Connecticut.

Grab a pot, a wooden box, or a tin can; gather your bulbs and flowers; and read Rebecca Cole's Potted Gardens for a whole new way to look at gardening.

About the Author
Rebecca Cole is the proprietor of one of New York City's most talked-about shops, Potted Gardens, where she mixes well-loved antiques (and old sinks and watering cans) with flowers and plants. She has made appearances on "Our Home and "Home Matters and is a regular guest on "Fox After Breakfast. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Travel and Leisure, House Beautiful, the New York Times, and Victoria, among others. She lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Too much Rebecca Cole, not enough plants!
Lots of little anecdotes about Rebecca Cole, but as an inspiration for container gardening, this book is a bomb. If you like cute, this might be your cup of tea, but if you want to create a garden that's something special, this book won't help. Lots of marigolds and petunias in cast-off containers, but nothing new or noteworthy in the plant department. Try Gardening without a Garden by Gay Search or 50 Recipes for Container Gardens by Richard Bird.

Gardening Made Easy--and Fun!
With two semi-black thumbs and not much of a penchant for backbreaking work in the garden, I was hesitant to try my hand once again at container gardening--even if it would be for one last time. But POTTED GARDENS opened up a whole new world of gardening to me! Rebecca Cole finds unique and often humorous containers everywhere she goes--and now so do I! I see containers in old coffee pots, and buckets, and boxes; in wooden shoes and tin watering cans. You simply need to open your eyes to Ms Cole's vision of what container, terrace, patio, and potted gardens were meant to be. I recommend this book to weekend and serious gardeners alike.

Tight prose and great photographs about potted gardening
I eagerly awaited publication of Potted Gardens for more than a year. Preliminary review of the photos showed me the style and apearance this book would take. I was not privy to any of the actual writing. The author, my sister, has written a great book. Certainly, I am a proud brother yet I can unabashedly attest to a tightly written, fact-filled book loaded with advice for starting your own potted gardens.

The book starts with a history of the author emerging as an unpretentious gardener. She also describes her penchant for collecting things such as antiques, old containers, and just plain junk. Potted Gardens, the store, and now the book evolved as the marriage of these two passions. The book tease and urges you to dig into the dirt and plant your own garden. Many "how to" sections explain the steps. Advice on buying supplies, on what to plant together, on how to prepare the containers, and even how to develop an eye for the beauty of it all can be found in Rebecca's book.

Rebecca Cole and the photographer Richard Felber collaborated to create wonderful photos. The photography will keep the reader coming back for further inspiration. The book is subtitled, "A fresh approach to container gardening." It is that.

review by Geoffrey P. Cole,MD