One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
I think I Garden: Urban Style, Grow the Garden that Fits Your Space & Schedule by Reggie Solomon and Michael Nolan was either bought second hand online, or at a book sale. Either way, I’ve had it for a few years and haven’t taken very good care of it. Some of the pages were stuck together with water damage (or god knows what).
Focusing mostly on pot-gardens and raised-beds that can be easily adapted to just about any small urban space, I Garden: Urban Style gives advice, first hand accounts, projects and info for the city gardener.
After reading Little House in the Suburbs and not really caring for it, I was a little shy to start in on another large format gardening advice book. I’m glad I did read it, though, bc I ended up really enjoying this book. OK, really enjoy might be pitching it a bit hard. This is essentially a instruction manual, so it’s hard to really enjoy something like that. I think that I liked this book so much bc I had disliked the last garden book so much. This is a much more straightforward, instructional, book for those who want to start a garden, no matter where you live or how much space you have. I really appreciated that I Garden was instructive without being “cute”. There were many first hands account from gardeners and others in the industry (most of which I skipped TBH, but that might be helpful or insightful). I think the information is easily adapted to any space, big or small. The focus of this book is really small or shared spaces and there are tips for that situation. I also enjoyed that this was a no nonsense book, but it felt like a first book or a new writer. Sometimes that feeling or knowledge will make a book less enjoyable but in this case, I felt like the writer was letting me in on something. They didn’t know everything, but what they did know they wanted to share with me. I would recommend this book for those who are just starting their garden, especially if they are in an urban or small setting. Perhaps you are renting? Still living with your parents? This is a good garden starter book for you. I would also recommend this book to those who, like me, are working thru some garden books to improve their garden skills.
Do you live in a place where a large garden isn’t possible? Have you ever made a container garden or raised bed garden? Did you use an resources when making your garden?