The Container Victory Garden

When I saw the title for this, I was thrilled. A little back story - I have a fairly big obsession with war time Victory gardens (one with Victorian kitchen gardens too) and to find this title, a new title about current day Victory gardening, but with containers, and 😍When my grandfather came home from the South Pacific with the rest of the surviving Marines after the end of WWII, he gardened. He grew grapes for wine, and tomatoes, apples, and so many herbs. He gardened until he couldn’t. Thinking of the time I spent with him in his garden as he would work are some of the sweetest memories I have of my childhood. Growing things has always held immeasurable appeal for me.

I was therefore also delighted to receive early access to this wonderful guide. The layout is very attractive and clean, with occasional interspersed illustrations of people gardening, appealing photos of plants, there are also many fine-line illustrations in black ink of plants and gardening container / setup ideas.

This is a nice introduction to container gardening, as well as offering in depth profiles of the better plants for smaller space gardening, that yield a lot. I also loved the personal stories in here, the ingenious ideas along with memories. There’s a lot in here.


This one is a recommendation if you’re interested in gardening.

This is a great resource for people wanting to start a container garden. I loved the history woven in about the Victory Gardens--I found it to be inspirational. The illustrations were nice, but I think I would have preferred photos. As someone who has very little space to work with it would have been nice to see images of how one does container gardens in small spaces.

I'm sure this is going to be a very lovely book in person and a great resource to have on the shelf. If your library has an Heirloom Seed Library I would highly recommend this book as a resource for patrons who don't have much growing space to work with.

There is a ton of information in this book on container gardening. The author covers everything from what containers to use, what kinds of seeds, what plants work best in containers, and where and when to plant. This is a great resource for anyone interested in starting a container garden.

You should gift this book in winter to all your friends who love gardening. And then gift a copy to yourself. Start reading it in a cozy place in your home, and imagine the possibilities of your new garden. You want to read this book first because it is full of great stories of the past and frugal ideas for those on a small budget. By the time spring comes around you will be ready to create your produce section at home.

“I wrote this book for you if… you don’t have a real garden space.”
Well, that’s perfect for me!!!
The Container Victory Garden covers the concept of Victory Gardens, something that I kind of knew about but wasn’t all that familiar with, where a garden is made from any space you have available as a way to provide food for your household. The book starts with a brief history of Victory Gardens through the years and then provides a ton of great information for every step of the garden planning and planting process. I loved the beautiful illustrations included, which added a different layer that set this book apart from other garden books that focus mainly on photos. A great book for anybody looking to get into container gardening!

Maggie Stuckey did an amazing job with this Container Victory Garden. I already grow food on my balcony via containers, so it was really nice to read this book and know I'm doing it right such as not being able to grow beefsteak tomatoes, but excelling with cherry tomatoes.

This is a great book for those wanting to grow a garden, even if you have land and aren't sure about how to grow. It is also a great book to read even if you already grow with containers!

The Container Victory Garden is a beginner friendly guide to growing food and herbs in containers written by Maggie Stuckey. Due out 21st Feb 2023 from HarperCollins on their Harper Horizon imprint, it's 272 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is an appealing and accessible guide to growing plants and taking some steps toward our own food security and satisfaction with safe, accessible, high quality food which is good for physical and mental health. It's written in simple straightforward language with solid concrete steps on how to get started and how to progress.

The author describes "Victory" gardens from the past and draws parallels to cultural stress/crises (like the pandemic) and how people react by going back to basics and how good for mental and physical health growing a garden can be. Following chapters show the importance of planning, sourcing tools and supplies for the best outcomes, growing, troubleshooting, and specific varieties for success growing vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers.

Specific tips and advice are set apart in the text in color highlighted text boxes. Charts are easy to read and understand. The book is enhanced by clear color photographs as well as appealing pastel/pencil line drawings by Janice Minjin Yang and Lee Johnston.

The appendix includes links and information to a number of retailers with selection of quality seeds for gardeners in North America.

Five stars. This is a very useful, appealing, and well laid out book which has value both for new gardeners as well as more experienced readers.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Having the knowledge to grow your own food is essential. Living in a downtown environment space is limited for a large garden and the idea of container victory gardens is genius! Starting off I love her "I wrote this book for you if...." section. I love the humor Maggie Stuckey brought to the book. Who laughs when reading a gardening book? With my love of history I appreciated the story of victory gardens and what they represent. The second chapter regarding the planning phase was explained well and empowered a reader with necessary knowledge they need to find the confidence to begin. Throughout the book a reader is guided with steps to plan, built, plant, maintain and harvest their own garden. The Container Victory Garden is filled with tips and tricks too, making gardening far easier.

If you are considering a garden this year save yourself the hassle of trial and error. Pick up The Container Victory Garden for a successful planting season!

I received a copy of this ebook for free from NetGalley and Harper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.