I would like to thank my four sons—Jonathan, Robert, Zachary, and Buck—for all the years that they hauled soil, planters, and plants all over our landscape as I tried out different container recipes, for the hours of watering, and for never complaining about it. (Laughter will erupt at this moment.)
A huge thank-you to Southern Land Company, LLC, for their dedication to keeping distinctive horticulture a high priority in their developments and for allowing me to be a part of that.
To Carol Wintzinger for her guidance and encouragement to keep seeking new ideas; to Yelena Petruk, whose creative handiwork is seen scattered throughout this book; to Tim Downey and Brian Sewell for making what I do in my day job possible.
To Rita Randolph, a brilliant plantswoman and container gardening artist, who taught me that container gardening is more than just sticking plants in a pot, and to Carol Reese, a gift from the Tennessee Extension Service to Southern gardeners, who inspired me to see beyond the ordinary in plants—I can never thank you two ladies enough for all that you have taught me.
To Sara Bomar Davis and Sharon Kinney and the Spring Break Beach Trip Gang for looking through hundreds of pictures to help me choose which recipes to include—thank you!
Finally, a huge thank you to Cool Springs Press, especially Billie Brownell, for your patience and guidance as I wrote this through one crazy spring planting season, one son’s high school graduation, another son’s wedding, and another son’s deployment to Afghanistan. These are not the ideal conditions for writing my first book—thank you for sticking with me.