book review: the rooftop growing guide by annie novak.

I may have mentioned this before, but I am SOOOO ready for spring. Winter and I are just not that close, you know? I enjoy winter's company for a few weeks, generally the weeks surrounding the holidays, but then? Welcome. Worn. Out. Bring on spring.

And as I recently shared, dreaming of spring means dreaming of the fun outdoorsy things I'm going to do this year with my hubby and my nearly-toddler. I'd love to improve on our outdoor space at home. That's why I decided to check out Annie Novak's new book, The Rooftop Growing Guide.

No, I don't live in an urban area. I live in the suburbs, have a decently-large yard, and don't have a rooftop that is usable for gardening. But according to the other book reviews I glanced over, this book is highly recommended for anyone who is looking to do some small-space gardening. Since I'm historically not a great gardener, and I don't have a lot of time to devote to a large backyard garden, I figured I could glean some good info to use toward strategic container gardening at home.

The photographs in this book are so pretty and full of green, growing things...I could just flip through and gaze over them all as I daydream about spring. But I guess I am also supposed to read the book, too, right? Well, luckily, I did. This book is dense with detailed information on growing things, including irrigation methods, pros and cons of different types of containers, hydroponic systems and DIY greenhouses, and so much more. There are chapters that get down and dirty on germinating seeds, planning your planting, harvesting, tools, and everything in between. Also throughout the book, the author shares snapshots of urban rooftop gardens in different cities. I loved reading about and seeing such a wide variety of rooftop gardens.

In all, I really liked this book! It is definitely a serious, technical gardening manual--no coffee table book--and would obviously be most useful to the urban rooftop gardener, but there is plenty of info for all kinds of gardeners! I plan to get out my post-its and mark many pages to refer to once spring is a little closer. Or, maybe now, so I can daydream about my future container garden!

If you'd like to know more about the author, check out these links:

• More Info
• Author Bio

**Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all opinions are my own!