A testament to the influential nature of educational and community gardening programs for teens Part engaging conversation, part comprehensive fieldwork, Growing a Life demonstrates just how influential educational and community gardening programs can be for young teens. Follow author Illene Pevec as she travels from rural Colorado to inner city New York, agrarian New Mexico to Oakland, California, in order to study youth gardening and the benefits it contributes to at-risk teen lives. Extensive research, supplemented by beautifully candid interviews with students, illustrate the life altering physical and mental benefits that mentored gardening programs can provide. Giving readers the opportunity to examine the largely unexplored topic of urban gardening, the programs discussed present models for future educational and community based gardens. Each destination brings with it an abundance of programs geared toward educating teens by giving them the tools they will need in order to have fruitful futures. With an emphasis on positive psychology, Growing a Life delves into the minds of underprivileged teens and what gardening means to them.

Easy and effective remedies are explained in a clear and practical way; step-by-step photographs show how to store water when it rains using water butts, containers and ponds, and how to conserve water used in the home. Practical advice is given on using compost to conserve water, and on lawn treatments. Special treatments and planting methods are covered in detail and help is given on grouping plants, correct watering and drought resistant plants. This is a book for all gardeners. It is superbly illustrated throughout and it contains all you need to know about creating a perfect garden when there is a water shortage.

Undeservedly out of print for decades, American Plants for American Gardens was one of the first popular books to promote the use of plant ecology and native plants in gardening and landscaping. Emphasizing the strong links between ecology and aesthetics, nature and design, the book demonstrates the basic, practical application of ecological principles to the selection of plant groups or "associations" that are inherently suited to a particular climate, soil, topography, and lighting. Specifically, American Plants for American Gardens focuses on the vegetation concentrated in the northeastern United States, but which extends from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Alleghenies and south to Georgia. The plant community settings featured include the open field, hillside, wood and grove, streamside, ravine, pond, bog, and seaside. Plant lists and accompanying texts provide valuable information for the design and management of a wide range of project types: residential properties, school grounds, corporate office sites, roadways, and parks. In his introduction, Darrel G. Morrison locates American Plants for American Gardens among a handful of influential early books advocating the protection and use of native plants--a major area of interest today among serious gardeners, landscape architects, nursery managers, and students of ecology, botany, and landscape design. Included is an appendix of plant name changes that have occurred since the book's original publication in 1929. Ahead of their time in many ways, Edith A. Roberts and Elsa Rehmann can now speak to new generations of ecologically conscious Americans.

Originally published in 1916, this is a wonderfully detailed guide to the growing, cultivation, harvesting and use of every type of herb. Written with the intention of providing instruction to grow enough herbs to resell or use in medicine, this book is packed with information - all of it still practical and useful to today's grower. Content Include - Herb Collecting Generally - Herbs in the Various Systems of Medicine and the Herbalists, Ancient and Modern - Weed Collecting - Methods of Drying Herbs - Herb Growing - A Note on Intensive Culture - Herbalist Pharmacy and the Revival of the Domestic Still Room - List of Medical Plants Arranged Under their Natural Orders - Trees and Shrubs - Explanation of Medical Terms

Take a stroll through the garden of a self-confessed hortimaniac. Gardening is Marie Harrison's avocation, passion...some might say, obsession. In her personal, witty style (she refers to her husband as Amiable Spouse, or A.S. for short), Marie divulges her own tried-and-true ways of gardening along the coasts of the southeast United States. Marie covers perennials, flowers grown from bulbs, herbs, shrubs and small trees, vines, edible flowers, and herbs for flower borders. A section of full-color photos captures these beautiful plants and flowers in all their vibrant glory. Charming pen-and-ink illustrations are sprinkled throughout the text. Marie discusses the edible and medicinal properties of various plants (there's even a quick or two ), as well as coastal considerations such as salt tolerance; environmental issues such as pesticide use, beneficial insects, and exotic invasives; and gardening for birds and butterflies. She also offers her musings on the seasons in Florida and how she spends her time in the garden during each phase of the year. Whether you're seasoned gardener like Marie or a tentative beginner just starting out with a windowsill herb garden, this delightful book will make you appreciate the dirt under your fingernails.

Originally published in 1936, by the celebrated writer Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, this book treats the subject of herbs, 'chiefly with a view to the making of a herb garden and the use of herbs for decorative effect in th flower garden'. This book covers the uses and the cultivation of herbs in exhaustive detail and is still of great practical use today. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include: The Charm of Herb Gardens - Rosemary - Lavender Lore - Sages of Virtue - The Bergamots - Paths of Thyme - A Collection of Marjorams - Stately Herbs - Kitchen and Salad Herbs - Bitter Herbs - Some Herbs Used in Medicine and Magic - The Making of a Herb Garden and Some Recipes

Die tien uit tien tuinmaakreeks dek 'n verskeidenheid tuinonderwerpe in 'n gerieflike klein formaat wat sommer byderhand gehou kan word terwyl jy tuinmaak. Die reeks is 'n uitvloeisel van die skrywer se besoeke en lesings aan tuinbouklubs op dorpe wat strek van Pongola in die ooste tot Lambertsbaai in die weste, en vanaf Vryburg in die noorde tot by Caledon in die suide. In elke dorp is daar unieke uitdagings wat werklik van tuinmaak 'n spesialisstokperdjie maak - dink aan die kalkgrond in die Vryburg / Mafikeng area, die brakwater by Olifantshoek en Kimberley, en die ysige winters en warm, droe somers van Middelburg in die Karoo om maar net 'n paar voorbeelde te noem. Maar ten spyte van die magdom probleme is daar in elke dorp asemrowende tuine, en wonderlike tuiniers wat 'n passie vir tuinmaak het. Hierdie reeks wil alle tuiniers, reg oor die land, inspireer en toerus met die kennis om self 'n pragtuin te skep. In elke titel word die geheime van suksesvolle tuinmaak in tien sleutelbeginsels saamgevat. Onderwerpe in die reeks sluit in:beplanning van die tuin; die keuse van plante vir die tuin; voorbereiding van die tuin; besproeiing in die tuin; dammetjies in die tuin; fokuspunte in die tuin; kompos in die tuin; beligting in die tuin.

Christopher Lloyd, icon and iconoclast of the gardening world, was born at Great Dixter, in East Sussex, in 1921 and died there in 2006. In the years between he developed the garden at Dixter into a mecca for plantsmen and a hub of ideas and connections that spread throughout the world. And from the 1930s almost until his death he was also photographing the garden, recording it in intimate detail as it changed and developed. A carefully chosen selection of Christopher's photographs is published here, the majority for the first time. They are juxtaposed with images from the Lloyd family's earliest days at Dixter, and with photographs taken by Carol Casselden and others of the garden as it is today.

"Fruit can be grown almost anywhere" says Mr. Bush, "if you are prepared to take the trouble" . However, quite often the most intelligent and ardent gardener can go wrong simply because the trouble he takes is ill-directed. This book, first published in 1942 and since twice reprinted and revised, tries to guide the amateur in the growing of soft fruits. The subject is dealt with methodically; the general questions of aspect, soil, nursery material and planting procedure are reviewed first. There follows a discussion of the specific cultural details associated with the various soft fruits. The range is wide. Besides the better known blackberries, loganberries, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes and mushrooms, the less familiar figs, outdoor grapes, mulberries, cranberries, barberries, melons and passion fruit are included. Other matters are dealt with as well. The vagaries of temperature and climate, the use of the compost heap, the need for and practice of spraying are all separately and exactly explained. There is also a chapter on the pruning of cobs, a subject of which many horticulturalists fight shy. The perils and pitfalls which complicate the best laid plans of the most well-intentioned gardener are here averted. Contents Include: An Ounce of Practice - Coming Down to Earth - On Choosing Nursery Stock - Planting Fruit Bushes - Blackberries, Loganberries and Hybrids - The Black Currant - Red and White Currants - The Fig - Gooseberries - Grapes out of Doors - The Raspberry - Strawberries - The Tomato - Some Oddments - Nuts: Cob Nuts, Filberts and Walnuts - Is Spraying Necessary? - Mushrooms - The Whys and Wherefores of Spring Frosts - Manuring and CompostHeaps

This delightful collection of wisdom, insight and humor, from Diane Ackerman to Emile Zola, captures the essence of the world's most popular hobby. Here are over four hundred quotations -- not only one-line zingers but stanzas of verse and full paragraphs of narrative -- on the endless fascination of gardening. The great gardening writers of past and present are amply represented, but these varied selections also range the entirety of recorded literature, from the Bible and the tenth-century Japanese diarist Sei Shonagon through Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, Walt Whitman, and even Prince Charles.

For anyone who counts their hours in the soil as their most valued, "The Quotable Gardener" is the ideal gift -- an invaluable inspiration during the gardening months, and a treasured companion during the long, desperate winter.

What could be better than watching the natural world out your window or on your television? Going out and experiencing it firsthand. In these fifty essays, acclaimed nature and science writer Sy Montgomery takes her readers on a season-by-season tour of the wilderness that is often as close as the backyard. Sy invites -- almost dares -- readers to follow her and form hands-on relationships with the plants, animals, birds, and even the insects that share space with people. These essays, most of which originally appeared in Sy's Boston Globe column Nature Journal, are by turns enlightening, entertaining, sometimes amusing, and always absorbing and informative. Filled with natural history and lore, the essays urge readers to appreciate what they find around them.

Welcome to your essential guide for creating healthy, sustainable, water-wise gardens and landscapes.

Futureproof Your Garden is a go-to resource for anyone who wants expert advice on how to use, capture and store water efficiently in times of drought or deluge. Angus and Emma help you to choose plants that not only suit your personal style, but that can adapt to changing environments. A photographic plant directory is packed with information on what to plant where, and the pair share design know-how that's adaptable to outdoor spaces of all sizes. Soil care is considered in comprehensive detail, and photo essays offer step-by-step garden DIY how-tos - including wicking beds, capillary watering, deep irrigation and ollas.

Make the most of a guide to plant selection that equips you to create landscapes that are functional, beautiful and resilient, covering techniques for ornamental, habitat and edible gardens. Filled with knowledge and wisdom from two generations of widely respected horticulturalists, this is a must-have for any gardener looking to the future of what to plant and grow.

Ever wondered if you could grow plants from the food you buy? Grow Your Groceries shows you how.

Discover 40 simple, fun hacks to try – no gardening experience needed, just a windowsill and a recycled container.

Raise tomato plants from tomato slices. Collect strawberry seeds for endless strawberry plants. Pick salad leaves from beetroot tops. Split teabags for flowering camomile. Grow fresh cobs from popcorn kernels.

So don’t throw away your melon seeds and spring onion trimmings, save them to grow new plants instead!

With more than 200 lists of plants and garden resources, this guide has the answers on what to plant where and on how to handle the toughest of Texas conditions. William D. Adams and Lois Trigg Chaplin offer numerous recommendations, noting the best growing zones and bringing together helpful hints and information from dozens of gardeners, nurseries, and horticultural professionals across the state.

Easy-to-read information and full-color photography guide the readers to information on the best grasses that grow in the hot, humid South, and instructions on planting and maintenance for each season of the year.

The Middle Ages was a time of great upheaval - the period between the seventh and fourteenth centuries saw great social, political and economic change. The radically distinct cultures of the Christian West, Byzantium, Persian-influenced Islam, and al-Andalus resulted in different responses to the garden arts of antiquity and different attitudes to the natural world and its artful manipulation. Yet these cultures interacted and communicated, trading plants, myths and texts. By the fifteenth century the garden as a cultural phenomenon was immensely sophisticated and a vital element in the way society saw itself and its relation to nature. A Cultural History of Gardens in the Medieval Age presents an overview of the period with essays on issues of design, types of gardens, planting, use and reception, issues of meaning, verbal and visual representation of gardens, and the relationship of gardens to the larger landscape.