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.

Originally published in the late 1800s, this is a delightful book on gardening that still contains much information of relevance to today's gardeners. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork Contents Include - The General Management of the Garden - Lawns, Paths, Beds, and Border On the Duty of Making Experiments - Some Neglected but Handsome Plants - The Conservatory and Greenhouse - The Tool Shed and Summer House - Roses and Aateurs - Enimies of the Garden - The Rockery - Trees, and How to Treat them - Shrubs- The Inns and outs of Gardening - The Profitable Portion - Annuels and Biennials - Window-Boxes - Table Decoration - The Propagation of Plants - The Management of Room Plants - Various Hints

What happens inside a seed after it is planted? How are plants structured? How do plants reproduce? The answers to these and other questions about complex plant processes can be found in the bestselling Botany for Gardeners. First published in 1990 with more than 260,000 copies sold, it has become the go-to introduction to botany for students and gardeners. Now in its fourth edition, Botany for Gardeners has been expanded and updated. It features a revised interior, with new photos and illustrations that clarify the concepts clearer than ever before. Additional updates address scientific advances, changes in nomenclature and taxonomy, and more. As before, Botany for Gardeners shares accessible information about how plants are organized, how they have adapted to nearly all environments on earth, their essential functions, and how they reproduce.

A charming, gorgeously illustrated botanical encyclopedia for your favorite romantic, local witch, bride-to-be, or green-thumbed friend. Floriography is a full-color guide to the historical uses and secret meanings behind an impressive array of flowers and herbs. The book explores the coded significances associated with various blooms, from flowers for a lover to flowers for an enemy. The language of flowers was historically used as a means of secret communication. It soared in popularity during the 19th century, especially in Victorian England and the U.S., when proper etiquette discouraged open displays of emotion. Mysterious and playful, the language of flowers has roots in everything from the characteristics of the plant to its presence in folklore and history. Researched and illustrated by popular artist Jessica Roux, this book makes a stunning display piece, conversation-starter, or thoughtful gift.

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.

'The only cut flower book you'll ever need!' First published in 2011 this bestseller is now found in floristry workrooms and classrooms across the UK and worldwide and is recommended by many leading floristry tutors. Fully revised and expanded, the fourth edition is packed with the same straight forward information on how to care for and condition over 160 fresh cut flowers both at the florists' shop and in the home. Florists, floristry students, flowers arrangers, brides - indeed anyone who enjoys having flowers in the home will find this book invaluable. Filled with easy to follow care instructions, flower availability, colour range and vase life, there are also tips on simple arranging, the flowers suitability for wedding work and advice on drying and preserving. Every flower has been individually photographed in full colour, making identification easy. Arranged in alphabetical order of botanical names there is also an index of common names to help you find your favourite flower - plus a mini floral miscellany of wedding anniversaries, national flowers and rose meanings. Printed in paperback in a convenient A5 size and spiral bound with a wipe clean cover, this book has been specifically designed to fit into a college bag or workbox. An indispensable flower guide you'll not want to be without.

The definitive guide to hundreds of Britain's most outstanding gardens, in the care of the National Trust The National Trust has the finest collection of gardens in the United Kingdom. In this book, Stephen Lacey paints a vivid picture of the individual gardens, and places each one in its context within British horticultural history. All the major periods and styles of garden design are represented, from the formality of early gardens such as Hanbury Hall and Ham House, magnificent 18th-century landscapes like Stowe and Croome Park and the heady Victorian creations of Biddulph Grange and Waddesdon Manor to the famous plantsmen's gardens of the last century, such as Nymans, Hidcote Manor and Sissinghurst Castle. The text and pictures have been fully updated, with new entries including Allan Bank, High Close Arboretum and Wentworth Castle. Several gardens have undergone major redevelopment since the previous edition, while others have colourfully expanded the acreage open to visitors. Extensive tree planting, including reinstating a lost eighteenth-century avenue at Dyrham Park and recreating the pear tree arch at Rudyard Kipling's home, Bateman's, are just a few of the new and exciting additions to this classic guide to Britain's most outstanding gardens.

"Shady plants deserve ambassadors like Susanna: someone who can view a dim corner as an opportunity rather than obstacle." -- Matt Collins, Head Gardener at the Garden Museum Work with the light, grow plants and flowers, bring dark corners to life. This handbook will tell you everything you need to know to make the most of shady garden spaces. Whether your whole garden, courtyard or balcony is cast in shade, or you simply have a window box on a shadowy sill, Shade will inspire you to transform the space with lush and interesting planting that looks good (and is beloved by wildlife) all year round. Rather than a gardener's "problem", an area of shade can open up a whole new world of plants to explore, from delicate flowers and interesting foliage, to handsome trees and vibrant bulbs. Shade includes top tips on tackling all sorts of shady areas, a directory of plants to dip into and pro advice on achieving year-round colour and structure. It's time to bring those dark corners to life! This title is from the Bloom Gardener's Guide series, complete and comprehensive gardening handbooks. Bloom is an award-winning independent print magazine for gardeners, plant admirers, nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, and winner of the Garden Publication of the Year at the Garden Media Awards 2021. Other titles in this series include Cut Flowers and Pots.

A handbook of greenhouse culture, excluding the fully heated greenhouse, but including frames and greenhouses with some heating apparatus. A book of modern technique and illustrating plants which can now be grown without heat or with moderate heat. A chapter is included on cheap greenhouse construction, with costs. Contents Include: Greenhouses Old and New Hard-Wooded Plants Climbing Plants Miscellaneous Plants for the Cold House Greenhouse Plants from Shed The Diseases of Plants under Glass Bulb Plants and Ferns On the Cost of the Various Types of Greenhouse Mentioned in Chapter 1 Keywords: Greenhouse Plants Climbing Plants Greenhouse Culture Greenhouse Construction Greenhouses Miscellaneous Moderate Heat Glass Bulb Heating Apparatus Ferns Shed Diseases

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

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.

Tuberous begonias are sensational flowers--their abundant blooms capture everyone's heart and eye. This authoritative guide introduces the best varieties and celebrates the great range of colors grown. Written by Jack Larter, who has devoted many years of love and toil to the plants, it covers everything that both novice and veteran need to know to grow blooms for the home, garden, and show bench.

This inspirational book from Kew Gardens' rose expert is the perfect guide to choosing and growing these majestic and versatile flowers. Instantly recognisable, fragrant and evocative, roses are the quintessential garden flowers. From low-growing ground-cover roses to long-stemmed Hybrid Tea roses, multi-petalled English roses, wild roses, small shrubs for containers, climbers and ramblers, in a range of forms, colours and scents, there is a rose for every garden situation. Combining botanical illustrations and practical advice, The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Roses is the definitive introduction to growing seventy-eight beautiful roses, with full growing instructions and details on feeding, propagation and training. Twelve garden projects, from growing from seed to preserving rose petals, will bring the wonderful world of roses to life. This book is from the Kew Experts series, in which the top gardeners and botanical scientists from Royal Botanic Kew Gardens offer up advice and information as well as suggesting handy projects on a range of gardening topics. Other titles include: Companion to Medicinal Plants, Guide to Growing Bulbs, Guide to Growing Fruit, Guide to Growing Orchids, Guide to Growing Herbs, Guide to Growing Succulents and Cacti, Guide to Growing Trees, Guide to Growing Vegetables and Guide to Growing House Plants.

A scythe is one of the most elegant and efficient hand tools available. It is ideal for harvesting many types of crops and is quieter and pleasanter to use than a strimmer. There is a graceful, rhythmic quality to scything that once mastered can provide the ultimate mind and body workout. In this book, Ian Miller teaches you how to scythe from scratch including assembly, perfecting the stroke, honing, peening, uses and aftercare. A scythe can be used for mowing the lawn, harvesting small grain, and cutting back wildflower meadows without disrupting wildlife. The hay and straw can be used in the garden for mulching and composting or for food and bedding for household pets while small grains can used for making bread and feeding poultry. The Scything Handbook will delight all gardeners, allotmenteers and smallholders who are tired of their noisy, heavy, fuel-dependent machines and looking for better ways to take care of themselves and their land.

"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

In a world of constant change and crisis, the relationship between humans and their environment has never been more vital. Louisiana Herb Journal invites readers into the world of medicinal herbs, introducing fifty herbs found in Louisiana, with details on identification, habitat, distribution, healing properties, and traditional uses, including instruction on traditional preparation methods such as tinctures and teas. Interspersed with these practical details, herbalist Corinne Martin shares stories that foster a true connection between readers and the world around them, from tales of childhood cherry picking to harvest mishaps to folklife traditions passed down through the generations. Accessible to experienced and rookie herbalists alike, Louisiana Herb Journal offers a new way of looking at the natural world, getting to know one's "home ground" through a lens of healing and participation. Family connections, an intimate knowledge of the surrounding lands and waters, strong community bonds, an irrepressible resilience, and a great capacity for celebrating life despite hardships are part and parcel of what it means to be from Louisiana. A celebration of the state and the cultures of those who live there, Louisiana Herb Journal reflects on the value of medicinal herbs in promoting personal healing and addressing current challenges to the state's environmental and economic stability. Readers will gain a deeper recognition of the natural wealth Louisiana enjoys and the ways that our stewardship of wild plants can impact our personal health as well as the state's ecological future.