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CONTAINER GARDENING FOR KIDS by Ellen Talmage

CONTAINER GARDENING FOR KIDS

by Ellen Talmage & photographed by Bruce Curtis

Pub Date: Aug. 1st, 1996
ISBN: 0-8069-1378-9
Publisher: Sterling

This how-to-do-it book promises a lot of fun for young gardeners and is just as grand for spectators. Clear and concise instructions for 25 container projects are augmented by excellent full-color photographs; the book's special charms are provided by the containers themselves. Tired of cracked and crummy-looking terra cotta? Too poor for expensive ceramic containers? Hate plastic in all forms, especially unrecyclable plant holders? Children will follow the author's advice and let their imaginations run riot. Asters show up in hightop sneakers, blooms take root in a hollowed-out pumpkin and a watermelon, and marigolds settle into old toy dump trucks and boats. As clever as Talmage is, however, she also includes the basic information on the fundamental techniques of gardening: starting seeds, propagating, rooting, dividing, watering, fertilizing, forcing bulbs, miniature gardening, even growing mushrooms. There's a section on plants to know and grow, and notes about supplies for the neophyte. A great introduction to gardening, no matter how much or how little space or money children have to work with; Talmage may plant readers on the path to a lifelong interest in growing things. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)