In this gardening classic the forever adventurous Christopher Lloyd takes us on a tour through the garden, stopping to lecture here, to exhort there, to overturn the old and accepted when his experience prompts him. He ponders, suggests, explains, ruminates, always delighting the reader with the sharpness of his observations and the eloquence of his prose. For Christopher Lloyd gardening is nothing if not fun, and he makes it equally enjoyable for his readers.

This title offers essential gardening skills and tasks, and a guide to 3000 plants, with more than 1900 photographs and illustrations. It includes step-by-step techniques on everything from planning and design to planting, propagation, care and cultivation through each season. It contains advice on choosing the best plants for all types of garden, with entries arranged alphabetically within plant categories for quick and easy reference. It includes information on caring for trees, shrubs, climbers, bulbs, annuals and perennials, growing vegetables, herbs and fruit, greenhouse gardening, and improving your lawn. It contains descriptions and essential cultivation information for over 3000 common garden plants. It is an essential box set for new gardeners and those who want to extend their gardening expertise. Whether you are an experienced gardener or a complete beginner, these two authoritative reference books contain everything you need to know about planning, planting and maintaining your garden, and choosing the best plants to suit your location. "The Visual Encyclopedia of Garden Techniques" includes all the essential gardening skills, such as improving your soil and planting flowers, shrubs and trees. "The Visual Encyclopedia of Garden Plants" is the perfect companion for selecting the best plants to create a beautiful and uniquely personal garden. With practical advice and over 1900 photographs, these informative books are indispensable for any gardener.

Redwoods and Roses explores the special relationship California's diverse peoples have shared with nature and the unique gardens and landscapes they have created over the years to nurture and enhance those bonds. From pre-colonial times to the Victorian era, California gardening expert Maureen Gilmer brings this garden history to life, showing how the gardens and landscapes were created and profiling the heirloom plants within them. But Redwoods and Roses is more than a book on gardening history. Here, the reader will discover how to recreate period designs in her own garden, from making a no-fuss adobe-look wall from the Mission era to finding heirloom plants for a cottage garden. Redwoods and Roses is a blend of natural history, California history, plants profiles, landscaping tips, and sensible garden advice, as well as an eloquent plea for the preservation of many remarkable plants.

A host of vividly caught characters are here: Mirabel's extrovert, free-spirited mother Phyllis; Aylmer Vallance, who with extraordinary love letters would rescue her mother from a twilight life; Stella Bowen, Phyllis's lifelong friend and fellow student under Ezra Pound, their introduction to the London literati, notably Ford Madox Ford. Throughout Mirabel's childhood, it was Stella who would be the one fast colour amid her mercurial mother's love affairs. Turning closer to the present - to new friendships, the paring away of previous assumptions and conventions and the serendipities of chance acquaintance - we encounter Michael, Mirabel's late husband, who's barbaric public-school childhood contrasted so dramatically with Mirabel's own, affectionate and carefree; whose repressed father so adored roses; their childhood meeting; their delight in their children and beloved Shropshire garden, a character in its own right, full of the joy of the unexpected. Celebrated author of A Gentle Plea for Chaos, Mirabel Osler's meditation on the profound pleasures of writing, gardens, travel and food is both graceful and deeply affecting.

'Beth Lynch's subtle and moving book is about the heart-work of finding and making a place for oneself in the world; the effort of putting down roots, the pain of tearing them up again, and how one grows to know another person or another landscape. Horticulture and human feelings twine together here - and what flourishes in the several gardens of this book is, in the end, hope' ROBERT MACFARLANE 'I loved Beth Lynch's tender, wise meditation on grief, home, and the restorative magic of making a garden' OLIVIA LAING Out of place and lonely after a relocation to Switzerland, Beth Lynch realises that she needs to get her hands dirty if she is to put down roots. And so she sets about making herself at home in the way she knows best - by tending a garden, growing things. The search for a garden takes her across the country, through meadows and on mountain paths where familiar garden plants run wild, to the rugged hills of the Swiss Jura where she begins to plant her paradise. WHERE THE HORNBEAM GROWS is a memoir about carrying a garden inwardly through loss, dislocation and relocation, about finding a sense of wellbeing in a green place of one's own, and about the limits of paradise in a peopled world. It is a powerful exploration of how, in nurturing a corner of the natural world, we ourselves are nurtured.

Packed with the most up-to-date facts and figures, this resource shows gardeners how to double plant growth and harvest by gardening with CO2.

"An informative and celebratory resource." --Booklist In this beautiful and empowering book, Jennifer Jewell--host of public radio's award-winning program and podcast Cultivating Place--introduces 75 inspiring women. Working in wide-reaching fields that include botany, floral design, landscape architecture, farming, herbalism, and food justice, these influencers are creating change from the ground up. Profiled women include flower farmer Erin Benzakein; codirector of Soul Fire Farm Leah Penniman; plantswoman Flora Grubb; edible and cultural landscape designer Leslie Bennett; Caribbean-American writer and gardener Jamaica Kincaid; soil scientist Elaine Ingham; landscape designer Ariella Chezar; floral designer Amy Merrick, and many more. Rich with personal stories and insights, Jewell's portraits reveal a devotion that transcends age, locale, and background, reminding us of the profound role of green growing things in our world--and our lives.

Bees are vital for the future of the planet, for without their dedicated pollinating skills many crops would eventually fail. This delightfully illustrated book is a homage to bees, revealing many facets of their lives, including homes, flight patterns and defence. It also describes how to attract bees to your garden and, essentially, the art of talking to them! The lives of bees are interwoven with our own, but how much do you know about them? Which scents do bees prefer? How do bees transport pollen? How far can bees fly? Do specific colours attract bees? Do bees prefer native flowers? Then there is honey - a near-miraculous elixir that in earlier generations was an integral part of life as a sweetener and food preserver. It can be fermented with water and yeast to create mead, a drink that has been enjoyed for thousands of years. This book is dedicated to bees and to ensuring that they continue to live in harmony with humans in bee-friendly gardens. Click on the image to look inside:

One of the most rewarding aspects of gardening is sharing its beauty, both physically with those who visit and virtually with those who only see it on a screen. But capturing a garden's true essence is difficult, and often the moments worth sharing are ephemeral. In The Garden Photography Workshop, internationally known garden photographer Andrea Jones shares the trade secrets that make her photos sing. You'll learn the basic photography skills and tips on using a range of camera equipment, covering everything from DSLRs to smartphones and accessories. Profiles of real gardens from around the world exemplify the most common problems a photographer can face, like harsh light, wet weather, and cramped spaces, along with advice and techniques for addressing specific concerns. We live in a photo-driven world, and this helpful guide is a complete tutorial for anyone who wants that world to be filled with beautiful images of gardens and plants.

This title features inspirational and practical design ideas and techniques using hard landscaping materials. It provides an exploration of contemporary hard landscaping solutions for gardens, courtyards and terraces, using stone, wood, concrete, glass, metals, clay, synthetics and organic materials. It presents a range of stunning creative ideas for flooring, surfaces, screens and boundaries, construction, furniture, containers and sculpture. It illustrates a range of styles and textures to customize your garden so that it meets the practical needs of your lifestyle. This innovative book explores the character of materials available for outdoor construction. The author looks in turn at natural materials such as stone, wood and clay; composites such as concrete, glass and metals; and, new technology synthetics. She also looks at unconventional, less restrictive organic gardens, including untreated twigs and vines. To help you plan your garden from the outset, the book features hard landscaping ideas to appeal to all styles and tastes. With over 300 beautifully evocative photographs and a wealth of suggestions from one of the garden world's leading writers, "Stone, Wood, Glass & Steel" is an invaluable sourcebook of cutting edge ideas for modern, low-maintenance gardens.

With an estimated 25,000 different types existing naturally, the orchid family is not only the largest but also one of the most diverse plant flowering families in the world. Since ancient time orchids have been associated with love, luxury and beauty. They have been considered aphrodisiac and medicinal. Although orchids are commonly thought of as tropical flowers, they grow naturally in almost all climates. This guide provides the necessary knowledge to become a successful orchid grower and to enjoy the great pleasures these plants bring into your life and your home.

The Gardeners' Book of Days brings together gardening tips, historical gardeners, plant information, and the world's most loved gardens, organised into daily readings for the whole year. It covers propagation of hellebores, how to make a tussie mussie, the best time of year to visit the gardens of Capri and where to find a Jacaranda Queen. Holly Kerr Forsyth has travelled the world and its gardens and in this ""Gardeners' Book of Days"" she offers some of the advice and information she has garnered along the way. Australian gardens and gardening festivals are discussed, as well as those found further afield. There is seasonal advice for vegetable and flower growers, recipes using garden produce and many other garden- and plant-related tidbits. Illustrated throughout with Holly's beautiful photographs, this book is a perfect companion to the gardening year. Offering unusual and timely snippets of information and advice, this book is a celebration of all things to do with gardening, and will be welcomed by gardeners and garden lovers alike.

An insider's guide to the world's greatest 'secret' gardens, green spaces, and pocket parks tucked away in cities around the globe

Cities everywhere are graced with charming but little-known, off-the-beaten-track gardens and green spaces, offering urbanites in the know a chance to immerse themselves in nature. These often small, well-kept secrets are not as grand as those on the tourist trail but are equally delightful and rewarding to visit, if you know where to find them. Green Escapes is the revelatory insider's guide to these secret gems. Each of them open to the public, the gardens range from pocket parks, courtyards, and rooftop terraces, to community gardens and more.

The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering. Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. But, except for labor, these inputs depend on the price of oil. Prior to the 1970s, North American home food growing used more land with less labor, with wider plant spacing, with less or no irrigation, and all done with sharp hand tools. But these sustainable systems have been largely forgotten. Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food. Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world except the tropics and hot deserts, this book shows that any family with access to 3-5,000 sq. ft. of garden land can halve their food costs using a growing system requiring just the odd bucketful of household waste water, perhaps two hundred dollars worth of hand tools, and about the same amount spent on supplies - working an average of two hours a day during the growing season. Steve Solomon is a well-known west coast gardener and author of five previous books, including Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades which has appeared in five editions.

Create beautiful, productive garden walls and fences, and optimise space in small gardens, patios and balconies with Allen Gilbert's innovative espalier techniques. The book covers: forms, trellis systems and designs; selection - including flowering plants, fruit trees, and native Australian plants; and, shaping, pruning, maintenance and care.

Since its earliest days, the art and science of gardening has been continually transformed and enhanced by great gardeners - men and women whose passion for gardening has driven them to improve and innovate, to overcome challenges and experiment with new ideas. These gardeners have provided inspiration for future generations, as have their gardens, which attract millions of visitors every year. From the greats of yesteryear to the best modern-day practitioners, the gardeners are drawn from throughout history and from around the world. The stories of their life and work are revealed, along with practical hints and tips that unlock the secrets gained from their long years of trial and error. Packed with botanical illustrations of their signature plants, the book also includes stunning photographs of twelve of the world's most iconic gardens, from Jardin Majorelle in Morocco to Sissinghurst in Kent. RHS Lessons from Great Gardeners is a journey through the world of gardening past and present, and a beautifully presented source of inspiration and ideas for all gardeners, great and small.

This guide offers a spectacular overview of nature's growing process. Richly illustrated and profoundly illuminating. Subjects include: The Big Picture; Water Cycle; Photosynthesis; Carbon Cycle; Silica Lime; Polarity; Chemical Growing; Carbon Dioxide Cycle; Organic Growing; The Day and Night Cycle; Biodynamic Growing Sun, Earth, Moon Orbits; Topsoil; Soil Life; Soil Layers; Food Chain Biodynamic Preparations and much more. A spectacular overview of Nature's growing process. Richly illustrated and profoundly illuminating. A delightful publication for young and old.Features: 8 x A4 pages, full colour on sturdy card, protection coated both sides.

The Curious Gardener's Almanac contains over 1000 entries of remarkable information about flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees, herbs, insects, birds, water, soil, tools, composts, climate, recipes, gardens and gardeners, myths, superstitions, biodynamics..In short it is a collection as profuse and variegated as gardening itself. Woven into this wealth of knowledge are famous quotations, anecdotes, traditional sayings, lines of verse, and words of rural wisdom. The spirit and focus of the Almanac is British but the wider picture is international as so much of our gardens originated from overseas. Dry or dull information has no place in the almanac and its presentation is as appealing as the content.