Winner of the Best Book Award in the 2009 Garden Writers Association Media Awards Named an "Outstanding Title" in University Press Books for Public and Secondary School Libraries, 2009 In this introduction to sustainable landscaping practices, Linda Chalker-Scott addresses the most common myths and misconceptions that plague home gardeners and horticultural professionals. Chalker-Scott offers invaluable advice to gardeners gardeners who have wondered: Are native plants the best choice for sustainable landscaping? Should you avoid disturbing the root ball when planting? Are organic products better or safer than synthetic ones? What is the best way to control weeds-fabric or mulch? Does giving vitamins to plants stimulate growth? Are compost teas effective in controlling diseases? When is the best time to water in hot weather? If you pay more, do you get a higher-quality plant? How can you differentiate good advice from bad advice? The answers may surprise you. In her more than twenty years as a university researcher and educator in the field of plant physiology, Linda Chalker-Scott has discovered a number of so-called truths that originated in traditional agriculture and that have been applied to urban horticulture, in many cases damaging both plant and environmental health. The Informed Gardener is based on basic and applied research from university faculty and landscape professionals, originally published in peer-reviewed journals. After reading this book, you will: Understand your landscape or garden plants as components of a living system Save time (by not overdoing soil preparation, weeding, pruning, staking, or replacing plants that have died before their time) Save money (by avoiding worthless or harmful garden products, and producing healthier, longer-lived plants) Reduce use of fertilizers and pesticides Assess marketing claims objectively This book will be of interest to landscape architects, nursery and landscape professionals, urban foresters, arborists, certified professional horticulturists, and home gardeners. For more information go to: http://www.theinformedgardener.com

This early work is a fascinating read for any amateur or professional horticulturalist or historian of the profession, but it contains much information that is still useful and practical today. Contents Include: Foreword; Acknowledgements; Plants and Their Environment; Aspects of Soil Cultivation; The Principles of Plant Nutrition; Soils for Special Purposes; The Plant in Relation to Light, Air, and Temperature; The Life-Story of Garden Plants; Flowers and Fruits; Pruning and Training; Vegetative Propagation; The Different Forms of Garden Plants; The Plant in Sickness; Classifying and Naming Plants. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

A practical, easy-to-follow manual, Gardener's Fitness includes conditioning exercises, postural guidance for moving correctly and safely, therapeutic stretches to relieve discomfort, and a variety of gentle exercises designed to relax tired muscles and restore energy after laboring in the garden. Pearlman explains each exercise through simple directions and photographs. She also provides solid information on precautions to take in the gardening environment, where both major and minor dangers lurk: the sun, insect bites and bee stings, inclement weather, and many others.

An anthology of the best garden writing from the pages of The Garden, the magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society. As well as revealing key moment from a time of intense change, this anthology paints a rich and intriguing picture of what gardening means today.The writers tell of plant-hunting and new gardening practices, fashion and growing food, whilst shedding light on the inner landscape of the thoughtful gardener. Collected and curated by Ursula Buchan, herself an anthologist, The Garden Anthology presents a narrative of thoughts and opinions for keen gardeners to help navigate the gardening year, and comprises the best writing from more than the last 100 years. This 320-page reading book includes short essays, opinions, thoughts and excerpts from 80 garden writers and designers including James Wong, Sir Roy Strong, Helen Dillon, Anna Pavord, E A Bowles, Gertrude Jekyll, John Brookes, Tim Richardson, Joy Larkcom, Hugh Johnson, Nigel Slater, Lia Leendertz, Ursula Buchan, Nigel Colborne and Mary Keen under the universally-appealing subjects of: the kitchen garden; wildlife and wildflowers; gardens; garden design; the environment; plants; people; seasons and the weather.

The worldwide trend towards smaller houses and spaces and apartment type homes has inspired and demanded a new approach in gardening. This is due predominantly to the freedom of expression in the styling and use of outdoor spaces, the approach to hard landscaping and the use of plant material most suited to the environment, house or garden design and style.

The trend is to introduce hard landscaping and plant material natural to the local area, gravel as a substitute for lawn in small spaces, a sense of fun and the unexpected in the use of plants or accessories. This is what makes gardening a pleasure and one of the finest creative arts there is.

Keith Kirsten, world-renowned horticulturist, shares his vast local and international experience and knowledge with his readers in this book on small gardens – from the initial design, the preparation, the hard landscaping elements, container gardening, water, maintenance, garden chores for every month of the year, food and herb gardening, to lists of plants suitable for smaller spaces.

Breathtakingly beautiful photos not only illustrate the information, but are artworks in their own right providing a pool of inspirational ideas.

The Garden Apothecary shows us how to harvest and use commonly found plants, weeds and herbs to create our own healing home apothecaries. With tasty recipes, wild skincare, in-depth plant spotlights and a back-to-roots ethos, The Garden Apothecary will encourage the reader to become more connected to the natural world through learning the art of herbalism from plants growing in our gardens. Focusing on 20 herbs and plants, learn how to identify, grow and pick them from your garden or forage them, as well as discovering their medicinal properties. Each plant spotlight includes in depth information on how to use it in a multitude of recipes and remedies. The Garden Apothecary is a safe and mindful approach to the often overwhelming world of foraging and herbalism.

This early work is an absorbing read and thoroughly recommended for the shelf of any horticulturalist. It contains much information that is still useful and practical today. Contents Include: Tomatoes: Choice of Site. Type of House. Varieties; The Soil; Propagation. Potting. Planting; Pots and Boxes; Care after Planting. Mulching. Trimming. Weight of Crop; Gathering and Marketing. Grading. Packing; Diseases of Tomatoes; Pests; Cucumbers: Site. Propagation. Varieties; Preparation and Planting. Cleaning; Care after Planting. Trimming, Training and Stopping; Gathering and Marketing; Pests and Diseases; Outdoor Tomatoes and Ridge Cucumbers. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

First published in 1937, the Gardener's Diary was both designed and illustrated by the renowned British graphic designer Edward Bawden (1903-1989). This perpetual week-to-week diary comprises beautiful horticultural block prints and helpful weekly reminders from William Cobbett's English Gardener (1827). Plenty of space is given to note activities and observations such as weather patterns, sewing dates and when plants bloom and fruit. This is a beautiful book for all keen gardeners to help chart your garden's progress from season to season.

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

Sports grounds are valuable assets which need to be constructed and maintained properly for the particular sport or sports they serve in order that they perform consistently well. This detailed, practical guide provides information on the construction and maintenance of sports grounds. In part one, the text explores the extent to which games differ in their requirements and how these various requirements can be met by growing grass in natural, modified or specifically constructed soils. Drainage design and choice of materials are first explored theoretically, but this then leads on to a relatively simple, cost effective approach to design, based on careful choice of a limited range of precisely defined but readily available materials. In the second part, the general principles are applied to specific examples of modern construction, described in detail sufficient to form the basis of actual specifications. The examples cover the construction and maintenance of grass pitches suitable for vigorous winter games such as rugby and soccer, contrasted with construction for golf and bowls where the nature of the game requires fine turf. Hockey and cricket are treated as games somewhat inte

This extensive reference book is a complete encyclopaedia of gardening, explaining in alphabetical sequence terms of the culture and propagation of hardy and half-hardy plants, trees and shrubs, orchids, ferns, fruit, vegetables, hothouse and greenhouse plants, etc. including diseases, treatments, their specific and common names. The gardener is provided with a comprehensive encyclopaedia which not only gives brief descriptions of all the plants they are likely to meet but also complete information regarding their cultivation. In its complete and unabridged original form it is extensively illustrated and full of instruction that is as useful and practical today as it was when originally published. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Over 340 striking color photos introduce readers to the quintessential flower of the Cape and the Islands, the hydrangea. The lucky people who live in the region revel in these lush flowers flourishing in a maritime climate. Residents and visitors alike enjoy the beautiful displays of hydrangeas in home gardens, outside restaurants and inns, and especially in waterfront areas, where hydrangeas thrive in the sea air. Blue blooms predominate, their naturally cheerful colors echoing the blue of the sea and the sky. Regional gardeners also delight in creating tapestries of color in shades of pink, purple, and blue. This book captures the beauty of hydrangeas and their wide range of uses, both outdoors and indoors, including their frequent appearance in wedding bouquets. From the lacy white flowers of climbing hydrangeas in early spring to the rich burgundy blooms of late fall, hydrangeas bring accents of beauty throughout the growing season.

This the most useful information available to the golf course superintendent, course architect, and manager! It is written specifically for the golf industry, and gives you the tool you need to manage one of your course's most important assets--trees!
Golf Course Tree Management will teach you the basic science, along with real world techniques to assist your in-house tree care program, to guide you in the selection of a qualified arborist and in the writing of comprehensive maintenance specifications. Protect your course's aesthetic beauty, quality of play, investment, and your job--this book shows you how!

Gardening can be frustratingly shrouded in secrecy. Fickle plants make seemingly spontaneous decisions to bloom or bust, seeds sprout magically in the blink of an eye, and deep-rooted mysteries unfold underground and out of sight. Understanding basic botany is like unlocking a horticultural code; fortunately learning a little science can reveal the secrets of the botanical universe and shed some light on what's really going on in your garden.
"Practical Botany for Gardeners" provides an elegant and accessible introduction to the world of botany. It presents the essentials that every gardener needs to know, connecting explanations of scientific facts with useful gardening tips. Flip to the roots section and you'll not only learn how different types of roots support a plant but also find that adding fungi to soil aids growth. The pruning section both defines "lateral buds" and explains how far back on a shoot to cut in order to propagate them.
The book breaks down key areas and terminology with easy-to-navigate chapters arranged by theme, such as plant types, plant parts, inner workings, and external factors. "Great Botanists" and "Botany in Action" boxes delve deeper into the fascinating byways of plant science. This multifaceted book also includes two hundred botanical illustrations and basic diagrams that hearken to the classic roots of botany.
Part handbook, part reference, "Practical Botany for Gardeners" is a beautifully captivating read. It's a must for garden lovers and backyard botanists who want to grow and nurture their own plant knowledge.