For P. Allen Smith, gardening is all about the anticipation of a new season, the wonderful satisfaction that comes with digging and planting, building supports and structures, selecting plants and deciding how to arrange them—and then enjoying the delightful and inevitable surprises as the seasons unfold and nature transforms the original vision into something gloriously its own. But, of course, as nature works its magic, there is a multitude of ways that we can shape, enhance, and accentuate our gardens—and that’s what P. Allen Smith’s Living in the Garden Home is all about.

Allen inspires us to extend the definition of living space to our gardens, transforming them into places of ever-changing beauty that are woven into the fabric of our lives. This book puts this concept into action as Allen walks us through the seasons of the garden, offering projects, activities, and decorating ideas that both bring the garden indoors and add touches of comfort and style to our outdoor living space. With step-by-step instructions and illustrations accompanying each of the fifty projects, you’ll be able to dive right in at any time of the year to:

* Create a Mother’s Day container garden
* Adorn a wall, door, or gate with a living wreath of aromatic herbs
* Plant an out-of-the-way cutting garden for indoor arrangements
* Invite friends to gather and sample heritage varieties of apples
* Make holiday centerpieces with berried twigs, evergreen stems, pinecones, and other materials from
the winter garden

Spring, summer, autumn, or winter, it’s always a fine time to add beauty, style, and enjoyment to your garden home....

Add beauty to your home (no matter how much space you have) with these easy-to-follow container garden recipes from P. Allen Smith. Each card includes a list of plants, step-by-step planning instructions, and a diagram showing you how to design your garden. These recipes are printed on tabbed cards that you can bring to your gardening center or nursery....

Just as stylish accessories bring a room to life, gorgeous planted containers are the finishing touch for every garden home. With this book, America’s favorite gardener, P. Allen Smith, shows how to create a beautiful container garden in a matter of minutes, in an innovative recipe-style format complete with ingredients lists, step-by-step planting instructions, and advice on how to effectively display these colorful accents.

Beautiful and versatile, these container designs are the perfect solution for decks, porches, balconies, and gardens that need a focal point or a splash of color. Each container recipe fulfills one of the 12 Principles of Design that Allen established in his first bestselling book, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home. As a result, the container will wonderfully frame the view from a window, offer a welcoming reception in an entryway, help to establish a sense of rhythm along a walkway, or extend your home’s color and décor into the garden. Allen shares the secrets he uses to make his eye-catching arrangements, as well as special planting and display tips for placement in your garden. The designs range from sophisticated to casual, yet the instructions are so easy to follow that you can assemble these containers in no time at all—even with little or no gardening experience. There are recipes for every season of the year, to ensure that you can enjoy lush container gardens year-round.

A special resource section includes a complete plant directory, tips on how to select the right container to complement your garden’s style, grooming and plant-care guidelines, and basic instructions for planting pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets. Lavishly illustrated with more than 150 photographs, this book is sure to inspire seasoned gardeners as well as beginners interested in enhancing the beauty of their Garden Home with P. Allen Smith’s signature container designs....