Learn how to grow wild and exotic, medicinally important, sustainable, and deeply delicious mushrooms right at your own home, just as people throughout the world have been doing for centuries. Mushrooms are healthy, packed with vitamins and antioxidants; rich with flavor, an excellent source of the fifth flavor know as umami; and can be used medicinally in teas and tinctures. By growing your own, you can enjoy these benefits while also enriching your soil, speeding up your composting, and even suppressing weeds-though the biggest draw may be the magic of watching this unique form of life grow. Understanding how mushrooms grow is crucial to successfully cultivating them, and Mushroom Cultivation offers photo-illustrated instruction both on how mushrooms grow and how you can cultivate them yourself, with a focus on six types of mushroom-shiitake, oyster, wine cap, hericium, blewit, and agaricus. You'll learn how to: Grow mushrooms, step by step, in a variety of different mediums: logs, straw, wood chips and sawdust, and compost Troubleshoot problems, including identification, underwatering, overwatering, and insects Store, dry, and freeze your mushroom harvest Cook with mushrooms, including variety-specific cooking tips and 8 tasty recipes Find supplies and more information with the resources listed at the back of the book After reading Mushroom Cultivation, you'll discover that growing a mushroom is really no more difficult than growing a tomato. You just need a slightly different set of skills. Picking your own fresh mushrooms at the peak of their flavor and nutrition is within your reach with this comprehensive, step-by-step guide.

Climbing plants constitute a huge, and largely untapped, resource for today's gardeners. Because their habit of growth is primarily vertical, they can be used for utilitarian as well as ornamental purposes: providing privacy, screening eyesores and clothing garden structures, but also furnishing aesthetically pleasing masses of flowers or greenery and drawing the eye upward. In this comprehensive reference, renowned horticulturist Allan Armitage selects and profiles more than 115 of the most useful and attractive climbing plants for a wide range of sites and conditions. Try these climbing plants and add an extra dimension to your garden-literally.

Celebrated plantsman Roy Lancaster's birth on 5th December 1937 was the start of something big for plants and horticulture. His chance find of a Mexican tobacco plant in a local allotment brought him fame as a Bolton schoolboy and sowed the seeds of his future career. This book is the story of his adventures as he sees tropical plants for the first time in the jungles of Malaya, meets Roberto Burle Marx at his garden near Rio de Janeiro, and hunts for pitcher plants in North America. Well-known for his encylopedic botanical knowledge and for introducing many popular garden plants, Roy is also a consummate story-teller and wise philosopher. His acute sense of life's comic moments, spirited sense of adventure and respect for the natural world make this a remarkable read.

This is a directory of varieties and how to cultivate them successfully. It is an illustrated gardener's guide to the different varieties of herbs, their history and cooking uses. It offers step-by-step instructions for planting herbs outdoors and indoors, growing from seed, taking cuttings, harvesting, drying and storing. It offers practical advice on cultivating basil, bay, caraway, chervil, dill, fennel, lavender, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory and thyme. It includes helpful hints on how to avoid common pests and diseases, and what to do when problems occur. Growing your own herbs is immensely rewarding, providing fresh materials for use in recipes and home remedies, as well as creating attractive and fragrant areas in the garden. All the main types of herbs are described and illustrated in this beautiful handbook. There is step-by-step advice on planting outdoors and indoors, growing in containers, growing from seed, taking cuttings, dividing plants, and harvesting and storing. The book shows how to maintain and care for each type of herb, including when and where to plant them, and how to keep them in tip-top condition.It is a must for any gardener who wants to grow these wonderfully aromatic plants.

Scientist/gardener Carol Deppe combines her passion for organic gardening with newly emerging scientific information from many fields -- resilience science, climatology, climate change, ecology, anthropology, paleontology, sustainable agriculture, nutrition, health, and medicine. In the last half of The Resilient Gardener, Deppe extends and illustrates these principles with detailed information about growing and using five key crops: potatoes, corn, beans, squash, and eggs.

In this book you'll learn how to:

-Garden in an era of unpredictable weather and climate change

-Grow, store, and use more of your own staple crops

-Garden efficiently and comfortably (even if you have a bad back)

-Grow, store, and cook different varieties of potatoes and save your own potato seed

-Grow the right varieties of corn to make your own gourmet-quality fast-cooking polenta, cornbread, parched corn, corn cakes, pancakes and even savory corn gravy

-Make whole-grain, corn-based breads and cakes using the author's original gluten-free recipes involving no other grains, artificial binders, or dairy products

-Grow and use popbeans and other grain legumes

-Grow, store, and use summer, winter, and drying squash

-Keep a home laying flock of ducks or chickens; integrate them with your gardening, and grow most of their feed.

The Resilient Gardener is both a conceptual and a hands-on organic gardening book, and is suitable for vegetable gardeners at all levels of experience. Resilience here is broadly conceived and encompasses a full range of problems, from personal hard times such as injuries, family crises, financial problems, health problems, and special dietary needs (gluten intolerance, food allergies, carbohydrate sensitivity, and a need for weight control) to serious regional and global disasters and climate change. It is a supremely optimistic as well as realistic book about how resilient gardeners and their vegetable gardens can flourish even in challenging times and help their communities to survive and thrive through everything that comes their way -- from tomorrow through the next thousand years. Organic gardening, vegetable gardening, self-sufficiency, subsistence gardening, gluten-free living.

Washington and Oregon are ideal places to grow a huge variety of vegetables, and there are plenty of healthful and economic benefits to having your own garden. Whether you have a traditional backyard space or several containers on a high-rise balcony, you can grow a season-long supply of tasty produce. Best-selling garden writers Marianne Binetti and Laura Peters provide all you need to know to dig in: Basics such as light, soil, exposure and frost tolerance; Almost infinite garden styles, including raised beds and containers; Preparing the garden and selecting which vegetables to grow where; Recommended varieties, including new, traditional, heirloom and unusual selections; Seasonal care, including mulching, weeding and watering; Tips throughout, including how to extend the growing season and what to do with your harvest; Organic approaches to management of pests and diseases; An appendix featuring companion plants and relationships; Helpful hardiness maps, and delicious colour photos throughout. From A to Z -- yummy artichokes, arugula and asparagus, through to healthy kale and peculiar kohlrabi, leeks and okra, all the way to colourful peppers, potatoes and zucchini -- it is all here in this informative gardening guide.

Succulents for Beginners is the perfect introduction to this friendly and forgiving plant family. Misa Matsuyama--the bestselling author of The Gardener's Guide to Succulents--shows you how to plant and maintain the most popular varieties of succulents and cacti with reassuring advice and minimum fuss. This book has over 200 clear, color photos and illustrations and is absolutely packed full of all the basic information you need to keep succulents thriving, including: A detailed month-by-month growing guide explaining all the planting and maintenance steps--everything from propagating and basic watering to repotting and group planting A clear overview of the basic seasonal types and most popular succulent families and their particular characteristics Which plants, tools, soils, and containers to use for the best results Answers to frequently asked questions, giving clear, concise solutions to the most common issues encountered by beginners A special section on how to create a healthy environment for your plants so you can enjoy them for many years to come Inspiring and creative ways to display your succulents in different rooms and locations--indoors or outdoors The month-by-month format and simple, yet thorough, instructions will have you referring to this handy resource again and again. Gorgeous photos and helpful tips invite you to bring more and more of these plants into your life.

Nowhere will you find more complete and straightforward information on growing, harvesting, and using herbs. If fanciful prose and personal anecdotes are not your cup of tea (although we can't resist it!), this book will satisfy your thirst for hard-core, unfiltered horticultural know-how.

This illustrated guide teaches readers how to plant, propagate, harvest, dry, freeze, store, and sell (both wholesale and retail) 64 of the most popular herbs.

One of the best and most straightforward works on growing herbs that this reviewer and zealous herb grower has read.-- New York Botanical Garden Magazine. A selection of Better Homes and Gardens and Rodale Book Clubs. Over 113,000 copies sold.

There is nothing quite like growing your own strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries and currants to provide a reliable crop of the finest taste and quality. In this informative kitchen garden handbook, all the most popular soft fruits are illustrated, with useful information on their origins, growing habits, nutritional content and culinary uses. A techniques section explains how to train and support fruit bushes, pruning, sheltering plants from the weather and harvesting and storing crops. Whether you have a large kitchen garden, a small garden plot with some space in the borders, or room for a few containers, this book is a must for all fruit growers.

Sempervivum have long fascinated gardeners and are useful plants for gardening situations in which other plants might fail. Many people are aware of only a single, rather uninteresting green cultivar, but selections from the wild and the work of hybridizers have resulted in over 7,000 cultivars with a range in size from 1/2 in. to over one foot in diameter and colors from gold to black. Clearly the gardener has never had a better choice. This book covers all aspects of their history, taxonomy, culture, propagation, hybridizing, people involved in the production of Sempervivum, and a long list of cultivars that are recommended for the gardener. Color illustrations show not only the cultivars, but garden uses and cultural practices.

The world-famous Chile Pepper Institute is the only organization devoted to the study, cultivation, and enjoyment of the world's favorite fiery fruit, and The Official Cookbook of the Chile Pepper Institute is your guide to cooking with and enjoying chile peppers in all their magnificent, flavorful varieties. With over eighty recipes celebrating the world's diversity of chile peppers and more than a hundred photos of chile peppers in the field, at the market, and on your plate, The Official Cookbook is like a tour through the Institute's famous Teaching Garden. The Official Cookbook is the only book organized to include almost every chile pepper variety worldwide. Each chile includes a description of its history, where it originated and where it is grown now, and its flavor profile, heat index, and common uses. And, of course, recipes!

"Indian Garden Flowers" is a comprehensive manual discussing all the factors that make gardening a joyous affair and covers everything an amateur gardener needs to know in order to grow seasonal flowers. It is a delightful, comprehensive and scientifically accurate manual with 76 rich and colourful illustrations. It gives details from the conception of a garden to reaping its rewards. Brief propagation details along with post-planting care and usage of manure and fertilizers will forego dependency on the shallow knowledge of the local mali. Written in a lucid and concise style and complimented with beautiful real-to-life illustrations, this handy reference guide will prove to be extremely useful to a novice as well as an expert gardener.

Plan your landscape or garden with more than 100 native plants that benefit birds, bees, and butterflies in Northern California. The presence of birds, bees, and butterflies suggests a healthy, earth-friendly place. These most welcome guests also bring joy to those who appreciate watching them. Now, you can turn your yard into a perfect habitat that attracts them and, more importantly, helps them thrive. Professional nature photographer and botanist George Oxford Miller provides all the information you need in this must-have guide for Northern California. Learn how to landscape and create pollinator gardens with native plants. The book begins with an in-depth introduction to native pollinators and to birds. It's followed by a "field guide" section to more than 100 native plants that are widely available to utilize, are easy to care for, and provide great benefit to birds, bees, and butterflies. The species are organized by level of sunlight needed and then by plant types. Each species includes full-color photographs and information about hardiness zones, what they are most likely to attract, soil requirements, light levels, and George's notes. As an added bonus, you'll make use of blooming charts, tips on attracting specific species, and more! Plus, the invaluable garden plans and projects show you just what to do and can be customized to suit your own specific interests. Plan, plant, and grow your beautiful garden, with native plants that benefit your favorite creatures to watch and enjoy.

Discover everything you need to know to grow your garden in containers. Even if you only have a balcony or small patio, you can grow more than you ever thought possible in pots, wall planters and hanging baskets! This is your no-fuss guide to container gardening. Are you interested in making your outdoor space greener but don't know where to start? This urban gardening guide for beginners will help you choose and care for more than 80 different plant varieties, all specially chosen for their ability to thrive in containers. Discover the quickest way to bring nature into your home all year round! From suntraps to shady corners, this easy gardening guide will show you how to brighten up even the trickiest areas with beautiful plants. You don't have to be a horticulture expert to get started, this indispensable reference book will take you through every single step! It includes: - Tips on how to care for more than 80 different container plant varieties - Packed with practical, jargon-free know-how and simple gardening techniques - Easy-to-follow format to help grow your gardening knowledge Let It Grow! Gorgeous, full-colour photography provides plenty of inspiration and styling ideas! Expert tips and step-by-step instructions on every page help make sure that you care for your plants in the right way for them to flourish. Grow Containers shows you how to leverage every square inch of your gardening space. It's perfect for first-time gardeners, especially renters and small homeowners with paved-over gardens. Complete the Series: Make your green-fingered dreams a reality with the Grow series from DK. Learn how to sow, grow and harvest vegetables successfully in Grow Easy Veg, or discover how to garden more sustainably in Grow Eco-Gardening. Alternatively, there are more titles to explore such as Grow Pruning & Training and Grow Houseplants.

Discover how to grow it yourself! Growing your own vegetables is a rewarding venture that's both affordable and delicious, but a novice gardener might not know where to begin. This is your no-fuss guide to vegetable gardening. Do you want to learn how to start and sustain your own vegetable garden throughout the year? This vegetable gardening book for beginners will help you choose and care for more than 40 different varieties, all specially selected for successful growing. From vegetable garden must-haves to less-common crops like edamame beans, this is a one-stop guide to growing vegetables that are easy to grow! Discover detailed information on how to sow, plant, feed, water, protect and harvest your vegetables. You don't have to be a horticulture expert to get started, this indispensable reference book will take you through every single step! It includes: - Tips on how to care for more than 40 different vegetable varieties - Packed with practical, jargon-free know-how and simple gardening techniques - Easy-to-follow format to help grow your gardening knowledge Let It Grow! Gorgeous, full-colour photography provides plenty of inspiration and ideas for your patch! Expert tips and step-by-step instructions on every page help make sure that you care for your vegetables in the right way in order for them to grow. Grow Easy Veg covers everything you need to know about growing herbs and vegetables, while expert tips help you troubleshoot as you go. It's the perfect book for first-time gardeners! Complete the Series: Make your green-fingered dreams a reality with the Grow series from DK. Learn how to brighten up even the trickiest areas in Grow Containers, or discover how to garden more sustainably in Grow Eco-Gardening. Alternatively, there are more titles to explore such as Grow Pruning & Training and Grow Houseplants.

Determining which family a plant belongs to is a crucial horticultural skill. Organizing plants by family provides a framework for thinking about plant characteristics and for arranging thousands of plant names in a coherent and predictive pattern. This is especially important now, as advances in DNA analysis have recently altered much of the world of botanical taxonomy. In Temperate Garden Plant Families, Peter Goldblatt and John C. Manning teach readers how to identify the most horticulturally important temperate plant families. Introductory information includes an overview of family classification, plant nomenclature, and plant morphology. The comprehensive A-Z of plants includes profiles that include information on the number of species and genera, plant form, flowers, fruit, and a short description. Each profile is illustrated with colour photographs and botanical illustrations. This comprehensive identification guide is for botany and horticultural professionals, nurserymen, advanced gardeners, and students of botany and horticulture.

Flowers can talk. Red roses say I love you , white lilies offer condolence and poppies invite us to remember.

For thousands of years, humans have used flowers as a language, a short-hand for emotions and meanings. In her new book, Sally Coulthard, takes a fascinating look at floriography and shows how we still use this secret language across the world. She delves into the meanings of flowers and where they came from, whether it's ancient mythology or hedgerow folklore.

Covering 50 well-loved flowers and plants, from peonies to sweetpeas, ivy to irises, Floriography is a beautifully illustrated guide that will take the reader on an intriguing journey through the history, legend, anthropology and literature of flowers, showing how modern-day society still relies on the meaning of flowers. From the Chinese lotus flower to the Celtic bluebell, the myth, magic and language of flowers is still blossoming today.

Fuchsias - The New Cultivars follows George Bartlett's first volume, Fuchsias - A Colour Guide, profiling another 1500 newly created cultivars with over 500 colour photographs. Starting with practical advice from an expert on how to care for this beautiful plant , it then updates the fuchsia enthusiast and specialist with entries on the very latest cultivars.

Home Harvest: Your Pocket Guide to Kitchen Gardening is a practical, fun and easy-to-read deck of cards that will help you plant and grow your own kitchen garden. Growing vegetables sounds like a daunting task if you've never done it before, but it's actually very simple. Including gardening 101 tips plus instructions for growing vegetables, herbs and flowers, Home Harvest breaks down the basics of growing your own food. The deck is divided into four sections: Gardening 101, Veggies, Herbs and Flowers. The gardening 101 cards help you start your garden from scratch, offer advice on keeping it healthy and abundant, and introduce you to the common garden enemies with tips on managing them. You will also learn how to entice all the friendly critters needed for a healthy ecosystem. Each veggie, herb and flower card has growing and planting information, plus handy cooking tips and fun facts. In Home Harvest the farmers behind Kinsfolk Farm guide you through the process of planting, growing and eating veggies from your very own patch of soil - as simple as that! The card format is perfect for gardening because you can take one card out to the garden at a time instead of lugging a book around. Each card is beautifully illustrated by the phenomenal Edith Rewa, making this a stunning gift for every gardener in your life.

A wonderful pairing with the Metamorphosis journal or a beautiful stand-alone gift, this notecard set includes 16 cards featuring 8 original compositions (with over 15 moths and butterflies), colored envelopes, and a gorgeous keepsake box. The backs of the cards list the common and scientific names of each butterfly and moth as well as the organic materials used to create each piece.

In "Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Hand-book", authors Ron and Jennifer Kujawski take the guesswork out of gardening with weekly to-do lists that break gardening down into easily manageable tasks. Suitable for all gardening zones, the book offers easy instructions for set- ting up a personalized schedule based on your last frost date. The Kujawskis are an inspiring father-daughter team who share their own triumphs, mistakes, and misadventures over many years spent together in the vegetable patch. Readers will enjoy the friendly direction and advice these veterans offer. Easy-to-read boxes, bulleted lists, charts, and detailed how-to illustrations make each week's activities clear and doable. Spots for record-keeping encourage readers to track their own successes and fine-tune their weekly schedules from year to year. Inch by inch, row by row, week by week, gardeners will move confidently through the gardening season. Whether it's planting the strawberries, pinching off the pumpkin blossoms, checking for tomato hornworm, or harvesting the carrots, they will know exactly when and how to do it for the most bountiful harvests and the most enjoyable vegetable-growing experiences ever.