About the Book
A practical guide to creating a green oasis in the city.
Big Ideas for Small Spaces is for anyone with a small outdoor space that they wish to "green up". While the projects and advice are valuable to any gardener, they are especially useful to urbanites surrounded by concrete who nonetheless want to enjoy the soothing environment of a garden.
Thirty step-by-step projects show how to transform balconies, windowsills, rooftops, pocket-sized patios, even walls, into features of lush greenery, grasses and blooms. They reveal how to create space for perennials, herbs, vegetables, bulbs for season-long flowers, and even shrubs or small trees, as well as seating, tables, lighting, and decorative elements.
The first four sections provide expert advice with numerous illustrated examples:
1. Garden Anywhere -- Why small spaces are different (Microclimates, Wind, Shade, Pollution, Access, Water, Weight, Privacy); Why get growing? (Beauty, the Environment, Health, Wildlife, Pollution, Crime, Community)
2. Where Does Your Garden Grow? -- Making the most of your space (Container growing, Raised beds, Walls, Windowsills, Rooftops, Balconies, Patios, Side yards)
3. Think Outside the Box -- Design tricks (Focal points, Breaking up a small space, Boundaries, Color, Creative containers, Lighting, Water, Mirrors, Storage, Seating)
4. The Projects - The projects include "You Will Need" checklists, tip boxes, and step-by-step photographs. They use inexpensive or repurposed materials, standard tools, and are exceptionally easy to do.
Vertical - Green wall pallet; Succulent picture frame; Gutter planters; Hanging planted screen; Pocket planters; Instant green wall; Slatted and hanging chain screens; Mirror wall
Hanging and Highrise - Shady hanging basket; Hanging herbs; Triple hanging baskets; Pots on hooks; Potted shelves; Balcony rail planters
Pots and Planters - Pots for year-round interest; Tin can salad bar; Skinny balcony planter; Crates of produce; Wildlife windowbox; Chunky trough; Pond in a pot
Down on the Ground - Raised bed seat, Green roof, Paving slab garden; Herby table planter; Gabon coffee table; Balcony bench; Below-bench planter; Mobile garden.
5. Get Growing - This section covers the nuts and bolts of gardening, including what tools and materials you need, how to choose and buy plants and how to care for them, and solutions to common problems.
From a hideaway space outside an apartment window to a windy rooftop overlooking the city, Big Ideas for Small Spaces has something for every urbanite desperate for the freshness of greenery and flowers.
About the Author :
Kay Maguire earned the Kew Diploma at Royal Botanic Garden Kew. She is the author of the award-winning book RHS Grow Your Own Crops in Pots, a regular contributor to magazines such as The Garden and Amateur Gardening and BBC Gardeners' World, where she was Horticultural Editor for six years, and video producer for the RHS website. Kay is now a freelance writer, editor and producer.
Tony Woods is the owner of Garden Club London, which specializes in garden design and soft landscaping in an urban setting, often on balconies, roof gardens and terraces. In 2013 he won the RHS's Young Garden Designer of the Year award for his "Escape to the City" garden at the Tatton Park Flower Show.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the UK's leading gardening organization, dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening.
Review :
New and exciting ways to spruce up small spaces in outdoor areas. Maguire and Woods provide step by step instructions with photos for projects that make it easy for readers to follow. Readers will also find plant and flower suggestions that would be best for each unique space.-- "Grit Magazine Online" (2/1/2018 12:00:00 AM)
The perfect book for small gardens or small spaces, like a patio or porch... Full of inspiration for creative planters!--Bella Rogers "Bella's Rose Cottage Blog" (2/21/2017 12:00:00 AM)
This beautiful and useful guide from Maguire and garden designer Woods shows it's possible to grow plants practically anywhere. Their book will help readers brighten even the smallest of spaces -- a balcony, a fire escape, a window ledge, or even a wall -- with green. It includes everything beginners need to know and also provides advice and tips tailored for experienced gardeners who only have small spaces for growing. Topics include the benefits of gardening, different ways of using small spaces, helpful DIY projects, plant suggestions, plant care instructions, and garden design. The work is comprehensive without being overwhelming and is enhanced by a multitude of attractive photos that help illustrate the concepts. The projects, such as a hanging basket for herbs and pocket planters for a wall, are clever and completely doable, even for the somewhat inept. They can begin with something as simple as putting a potted plant on a windowsill. The authors also devote a chapter to troubleshooting for readers plagued by cats, mildew, and other garden scourges. This book, though slim, is powerful and inspirational in a refreshingly practical way.-- "Publisher's Weekly" (4/3/2017 12:00:00 AM)
This book is so inventive and, at the same time, so practical... It's inspiring. It will inspire you... I recommend it.-- "Mockingbird Hill Cottage Blog" (3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM)
This guide would be perfectly serviceable for the urban gardener just looking for a little inspiration, but its clear instructions, range of settings--patio, balcony, wall, windowsill, among others--and container choices all make it uncommonly practical.--Alan Moores "Booklist" (5/18/2017 12:00:00 AM)
This is a manual, not a book, on how to assess the space you have and create the larger vision you desire. Taking the reader from the options of where you can garden and why, to what types of spaces one can grow, is amazing... The authors urge us to consider things that might make the available space more appealing, like lighting, art, water, or exotic plant material...The chapter on Projects was simply amazing... If you are looking for a manual on innovative ways to work with the space you have available and not break the bank, this is a must-read book.--Teresa Speight "Washington Gardener" (7/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)
