Rob Sproule

If you’re like me, there’s nothing worse than sitting down with that eagerly anticipated gardening book and finding that virtually none of plantings will work in our region. Either our growing season is too short or the plants too delicate to survive our cooler nights. Publishers like Lone Pine remedy this with books like Gardening with Colour. Sproule outlines for us the principles of form and shape, as well as colour pairing, soil types, containers, and more. The majority of the book is dedicated to recipes for design. My only criticism of the book is that it focuses almost exclusively on containers, with only a couple of designs for garden beds. However, the information provided for containers could be equally applicable to beds and the focus on containers makes it equally useful for both those with gardens and those with balconies. Sproule provides great tips paired with lush photography of both the projects and larger-scale inspirations.

[rating:4]
– Ruth Hamlin-Douglas