There is an increasing trend towards low-maintenance easy care gardening and garden containers fill this demand. Containers and patio plants are not only top sellers at garden centres but are available at leading retailers such as Marks and Spencer and Tesco.

Joanna Smith began her career as a features editor on gardening magazines. Since then she has written countless magazine features on all aspects of gardening, and commissioned and edited a wide range of gardening books including The Brand New Garden, The Easy Garden, and The One-hour Garden, all published by Hamlyn.

The basics; Includes; Choosing the right container, What plant where, Planting up pots and hanging baskets, Watering and feeding, Dealing with pests and diseases, Decorating and grouping containers Spring collection; 25 appealing designs that make the most of spring bulbs, Summer stunners; Celebrate summer with flowers and foliage in every colour of the rainbow, Autumn beauties; Brilliant containers glowing with autumnal shades, Winter winners; Eye-catching designs to cheer up grey days, All year round; Stylish inspiration for minimum fuss and maximum impact, Easy and edible; Delicious ideas for growing vegetables, fruit and herbs, Containers for kids; Great ideas for simple containers that children will love to plant and care for,