McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: A Container Garden of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers by Rose Marie Nichols McGee, Maggie Stuckey, Michael A. Hill (Illustrator)

If you can only read one book about edible container gardening, please read Bountiful Container. This is by far the best book about edible container gardening that I have ever read. Bountiful Container is both a delight to read straight through and an extremely useful reference.

The authors are experts in their subject: McGee is the owner of Nichols Garden Nursery, a long-time seed selling company and nursery founded by her parents, and Stuckey is a garden writer.

Part One of the book discusses the design of container gardens, with chapters on "Managing Your Space," "Planning for Good Taste," and "Making Your Garden Beautiful." I especially enjoy the authors' emphasis on having a productive container garden that not only produces delicious food but is also a delight to look at. This concept is discussed in some detail, with many helpful creative suggestions.

Part Two consists of how-to information, with chapters on "Hardware: Containers, Trellises, Tools, and Storage", "Software: Soil, Seeds, and Plants", and "Keeping a Healthy Garden" - all solid and valuable information.

Part Three is the heart of the book, entitled "Plants for the Bountiful Container." This includes discussion of many types of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and edible flowers. In each instance, the authors recommend a variety that they have found to be well-suited for container gardening, and give detailed growing information for more than 25 vegetables, 27 herbs, 10 fruits (with several citrus fruit being counted as one), and 13 edible flowers.

Scattered throughout the book are separate sections on "Theme Gardens". Examples are the "Italian Theme Garden", "Country Kitchen in the Round", and "A Kid's Garden". Twenty-two theme gardens are included. Each theme garden includes drawings depicting plants growing in suitable containers and detailed suggestions for what varieties to use, as well as how to plant them in order to achieve the very attractive results pictured in the drawings. I really like the theme gardens, and - of course - I want to grow every single one of them! There are also numerous "sidebars" with recipes and other information.

Bountiful Container has my highest recommendation. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced container gardener, I'm sure that Bountiful Container will help you achieve delicious and beautiful results.