In the United States and other western nations, debates rage over whether welfare, medical care, educational programs, and many other aspects of public policy should be the responsibility of central govern ment, local government, or the private sector. In most nations, the issues of regional autonomy and decentralization are constantly in the news, with intensity varying from mild debate to open warfare. Less visibly, battles are continuously fought in the political arena over what groups should have the right to make decisions concerning the allocation of soci ety's resources. In response to these concerns, social scientists have focused consider able attention on the causes and consequences of centralization and de centralization in political, economic, and social organizations. Their analyses of centralization have been varied, ranging from systems that are quite small (e. g. , the family, the firm, and the community) to those sys tems that are very large (e . g. , the welfare state). While centralization is a concept of major concern in most of the social science disciplines, each discipline has tended to focus on centralization with a different set of interests. Economists have been very much concerned with the causes and the consequences of the concentration of economic resources. Polit ical scientists have long sought to understand the origins and conse quences of dictatorship and democracy. Sociologists have focused on inequalities in the distribution of power.

Live a more sustainable lifestyle Historically referred to as a government program for revitalizing undesirable living areas, "homesteading" today has come to mean the pursuit of a self-sufficient lifestyle. Homesteading can include everything from keeping bees, growing vegetables, and composting to installing solar panels, creating a rain barrel, and canning your own food, --plus much more. Backyard Homesteading All-in-One For Dummies has a little bit of everything for the homesteader in all of us. It walks you through the basics of creating your own sustainable homestead and offers expert tips and tricks for making it as easy and successful as possible. Raise chickens Keep bees Compost Can and preserve This book gives you everything you need to embark on your own homesteading adventure.

Gardens across the globe come in many sizes and styles, but for the most part they share a remarkable number of similar components. Suzanne Staubach revels in this interconnectivity in A Garden Miscellany. In short essays meant to be dipped in and out of, Staubach shares the history, evolution, and contemporary use of all the parts and pieces that make up a home garden - from borders, compost bins, and decks to pergolas, roof gardens, statues, and troughs. Readers will learn that fairy gardens have their roots in the Tang Dynasty, the difference between an arbor and a pergola, how geometry plays a role in garden design, what a ha-ha is (a ditch deep enough to be a barrier that doesn't interrupt a view), and much more. Featuring bold and whimsical illustrations by Julia Yellow and filled with interesting facts and anecdotes, A Garden Miscellany is a fun and informative gift book for gardeners, plant lovers, and the naturally curious everywhere.

Deepen your love of the garden with Lorene Edwards Forkner's inspirational advice on gardening, mindfulness, and life-plus easy instructions for capturing favorite botanical colors with a few simple brushstrokes If you love flowers and the rich hues of the garden, Color In and Out of the Garden is for you. Author and garden expert Lorene Edwards Forkner shares her gardening wisdom and life advice in this delightfully useful and addictively readable little book. Along the way, she also demonstrates quick and easy techniques for keeping a garden journal so you can record your favorite plants with just a few simple brushstrokes. Arranged by color, each chapter helps readers be in the moment, sharpen their powers of observation, and capture nature's most lovely hues. Plant profiles, practical advice, and personal reflections mingle with creative prompts for creating a simple watercolor that helps focus one's attention. Color symbolism, such as red representing energy, yellow for memory, and green for growth, is also explored. Illustrated with beautiful photographs, the book invites readers to slow down, look attentively, and to appreciate the world around them. Both a mindfulness exercise for seeing garden colors and an easy guide to reproducing them on the page, Color In and Out of the Garden is as satisfying to read as it is to use. Forkner guides readers through the spectrum with her own watercolors while offering color inspiration and a delightful garden respite from everyday stress.

A follow-up to Black Dog's bestselling "Country Wisdom and Know-How," the "Country Wisdom Almanac" provides hundreds of ideas and methods for living the good and simple life, plus information on weather, gardening, buying produce and cooking by season, holidays, frost dates, moon phases, and more.
Divided into the four seasons and then organized into 373 individual tips, the "Country Wisdom Almanac" presents a wide variety of ways to live a simpler, more self-sustained life year round. Each season offers home-improvement ideas (wallpaper a room in the Fall or build a stone wall in the Spring), crafts (create gorgeous homemade decorations for Christmas, Halloween, or the Fourth of July), recipes (use seasonal produce to create fresh, healthy meals), gardening advice (what and when to plant in order to get the maximum results from your land), and more.
Also included is year-round advice on caring for pets, creating your own health and beauty remedies, canning and preserving food, and more. Each season opens with a list of holidays and a guide to in-season produce. Appendices cover average weather by city and month, frost dates, and moon phases.

Medicinal plants and plant-derived medicine are widely used in traditional cultures all over the world and they are becoming increasingly popular in modern society as natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals. As more and more natural remedies are being commercialised, there is a need for a user-friendly reference guide to the plants and their products. The book gives the reader a bird's eye view of more than 350 of the best known medicinal plants of the world and their uses, in a compact, colourful and scientifically accurate reference text. It provides quick answers to the most obvious questions: Where does this plant originate? What does it look like? In which culture is it traditionally used? What is it used for? Which chemical compounds does it contain? How safe is it? What is known about its pharmacological activity? What evidence is there that it is effective? The authors also provide short overviews of the various health conditions for which medicinal plants are used and the active compounds (secondary metabolites) found in the plants and their modes of actions. This new edition has an additional 30 plant species, many new and improved photographs and the text has been fully updated to reflect the latest regulatory status of each plant.

"An invaluable resource for the home or commercial gardener who wishes to plant native species."--Edward W. Chester, Austin Peay State University
The natural landscape of Tennessee represents a unique treasure for gardeners and nature lovers. Encompassing several geographically distinctive regions, from the 6,000-foot peaks of the Unaka Mountains to the swampy floodplain of the Mississippi River, the state boasts nearly 3,000 native plant species. This stunning diversity of life owes much to Tennessee's prime location at the crossroads of mountain and prairie ecosystems and in the transition area between northern and southern climate patterns.
In Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee, Margie Hunter gives gardeners the knowledge they need in order to nurture this natural heritage in their own gardens. Beginning with a survey of the state's ecology--including geology, geography, plant life and animal species--Hunter takes a holistic approach to the process of gardening with native plants. The book's main section provides detailed accounts of 450 species of wildflowers, ferns, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees native to Tennessee and adjacent states. These descriptions, arranged according to plant type, include both scientific and common name, flowering and fruiting times, propagation methods, soil and light requirements, and distribution patterns within the state. Nearly 400 color photographs illustrate the species discussions.
No other book designed for the home gardener includes such area-specific information on native species or such a comprehensive listing of plants. Appendixes refer readers to other sources of information and seeds, including mail-order nurseries, botanical gardens, state agencies, native plant organizations, and subject-specific conferences. A detailed bibliography also contributes to the reference value of this book for gardeners, landscapers, and nature lovers throughout Tennessee and in neighboring states.
The Author: Margie Hunter, a long-time volunteer at Cheekwood Botanical Garden, lives in Nashville.

The royal Parisian botanical garden, the Jardin du Roi, was a jewel in the crown of the French Old Regime, praised by both rulers and scientific practitioners. Yet unlike many such institutions, the Jardin not only survived the French Revolution but by 1800 had become the world's leading public establishment of natural history: the Mus 9um d'Histoire Naturelle.
E. C. Spary traces the scientific, administrative, and political strategies that enabled the foundation of the Mus 9um, arguing that agriculture and animal breeding rank alongside classification and collections in explaining why natural history was important for French rulers. But the Mus 9um's success was also a consequence of its employees' Revolutionary rhetoric: by displaying the natural order, they suggested, the institution could assist in fashioning a self-educating, self-policing Republican people. Natural history was presented as an indispensable source of national prosperity and individual virtue.
Spary's fascinating account opens a new chapter in the history of France, science, and the Enlightenment.

In the DONE IN A DAY series, a step-by-step instruction book containing twelve basic projects for the garden, each of which can be completed in one day. Each project can be personalized by variations and is illustrated with photographs and exploded diagrams.

Gardening doesn't have to be difficult, and Kate Frey - expert gardener and designer - makes it easier than ever with her new book, Ground Rules. Frey distills the vital lessons gardening into 100 simple rules that, if followed, will yield a gorgeous, healthy, and thriving home garden. New home gardeners will discover tips on garden design, care and maintenance, healthy soil, and the best ways to water. They'll learn how create a garden that encourages birds and butterflies, how to how to choose healthy plants at the garden center, how and when to re-pot a container, and much more. With bite-size chunks of expert information and nearly 100 inspiring photographs, Ground Rules packs a lot of value into its playful package and will be a go-to resource for gardeners everywhere.

Presents the latest information on applied topics in horticultural science.* Numerous essays provide easy, time-saving and cost-effective access to the primary literature.* Sponsored by the American Society of Horticultural Science.

For over four decades, John Coykendall's passion has been preserving the farm heritage of a small community in rural southeastern Louisiana. A Tennessee native and longtime master gardener at Blackberry Farm, Coykendall has become a celebrity in a growing movement that places a premium on farm-to-table cuisine with locally sourced, organic, and heirloom foods and flavors. While his work takes him around the world searching for seeds and the cultural knowledge of how to grow them, what inspires him most is his annual pilgrimage to Louisiana. Drawn to the Washington Parish area as a college student, Coykendall forged long-lasting friendships with local farmers and gardeners. Over the decades, he has recorded oral histories, recipes, tall tales, agricultural knowledge, and wisdom from generations past in more than eighty illustrated and handwritten journals. At the same time, he has unearthed and safeguarded rare varieties of food crops once grown in the area, then handed them back to the community. In Preserving Our Roots: My Journey to Save Seeds and Stories, Coykendall shares a wealth of materials collected in his journals, ensuring they are passed on to future generations. organised by season, the book offers a narrative chronicle of Coykendall's visits to Washington Parish since 1973. He highlights staple crops, agricultural practices, and favourite recipes from the families and friends who have hosted him. Accompanied by a rich selection of drawings, journal pages, and photographs, along with over forty recipes, Preserving Our Roots chronicles Coykendall's passion for recording foods and narratives that capture the rhythms of daily life on farms, in kitchens, and across generations.

A game-changing book with more than sixty simple and sustainable gardening activities, recipes and weekend fun for every season, The Little Grower's Cookbook is the perfect way to tempt kids away from screens and out into the green for some creative and eco-friendly family time together. Whether it's a rainy day, the weekend or a holiday, there are fun-filled activities to suit everyone. Simple step-by-step instructions, colourful photos and plenty of tips and tricks make seasonal growing, harvesting and cooking exciting and easy. Have you ever tried to grow veggies in an old welly boot, made a butterfly banquet or tasted a snail sandwich? With no need for a large garden or a big budget, these projects will teach and inspire children to look at what's around them in the natural world and have fun with it. They will learn, play and experiment with nature's bounty through planet-friendly projects that re-use repurposed and recycled materials.

This charming insight into what each season and month of the year brings for a cottage garden will capture the imagination and inspire any gardener (expert or novice) to get out and about, grab a spade and get your hands dirty! Written by the BBC's Carol Klein, full of practical advice and tips, and full of stunning photography, this is a book truly to savour... 'Her energy, knowledge and enthusiasm are an inspiration in every month of the year, and this very special book will be a real gem for all garden lovers.' -- Radio Times 'Beautifully designed, this one is too good to miss!' -- Home & Country 'Vibrant, informative, inspirational and personal... Klein's heartfelt love poem to her beautiful garden.' -- Gardens Magazine 'A delight to read' -- ***** Reader review 'A wonderful garden book from a wonderful gardener' -- ***** Reader review 'What can I say? I bought it when it first came out in 2011 and it STILL hasn't made it on to a bookshelf as I am constantly dipping into it' -- ***** Reader review 'A must have for gardeners old and new' -- ***** Reader review 'A wonderful book which I found hard to put down' -- ***** Reader review 'So inspiring!' -- ***** Reader review *********************************************************************************************** In this wonderful gardening journal, the BBC's Carol Klein, with characteristic warmth, eloquence and infectious enthusiasm, tells us the story of a year in her beautiful garden at Glebe Cottage. With superb photography throughout, she takes us on a procession through the seasons, as she plans and plants, sows seeds and nurtures cuttings, tends the borders, and harvests her crops. Her energy, knowledge and passion will be an inspiration to gardeners old and new alike in every month of the year.

Why do so many people love gardening? What does your garden say about you? What is guerrilla gardening? The Psychology of Gardening delves into the huge benefits that gardening can have on our health and emotional well-being, and how this could impact on the entire public health of a country. It also explores what our gardens can tell us about our personalities, how we can link gardening to mindfulness and restoration, and what motivates someone to become a professional gardener. With gardening being an ever popular pastime, The Psychology of Gardening provides a fascinating insight into our relationships with our gardens.

You know you're a gardening fanatic when... ... you favour your ride-on lawnmower over your Ferrari. ... you think talking dirty means whispering the word 'compost'. If this sounds all too familiar, read on to discover whether you've really gone to seed or you're just one petal short of a flower!

Discover the joys and self-nurturing benefits of plant parenthood, from learning how to begin building your own lush plant family to getting into those fun tips on how to care for your green gurls, with this beautiful, illustrated guide from the dazzling creator of the @plantkween Instagram account. "We all love some new growth, dahling." Six years ago, Christopher Griffin was just beginning the plant parenthood journey with one small Marble Queen Pothos. Today, this Black Queer non-binary femme plant influencer known as Plant Kween tends to a family of more than 200 healthy green gurls in the Brooklyn apartment they call home. You Grow, Gurl! is Kween's fun and fabulous guide to becoming a plant parent and keeping your green gurls growing and thriving. Anyone can be a plant parent! It's all about TLC-taking the time and energy to focus on a plant's needs, and ultimately your own. Featuring 200 full-color photos and illustrations, practical instructions and tips-on everything from propagating to measuring humidity to repotting-activities, and stories, this fun and joyful guide shows how to green-up any space and have it serving those lush lewks. Self-care takes many forms and tending to your plants' needs helps you grow too. In addition to information and advice on plant care, Kween provides meditations, mindfulness activities, playlists, and more to help you practice self-care through plant-care. As Kween says, "We can learn a lot about how we treat ourselves, how we treat others, and how we navigate the world from these green lil creatures." Healing and growing your heart, body, and soul takes time, love, and focus. Taking care of plants teaches you to apply that same attention and love to yourself and helps you find new pathways to explore on your own botanical adventure to self-love.

Creating beautiful botanical paintings has never been easier with these template outlines and art-quality watercolour paper. Perfect for absolute beginners in botanical art, the ready-to-use outlines allow you to focus on the painting and avoid the accuracy of composition drawings. Each outline includes a finished painting by artist Rachel Padder-Smith and a recommended colour palette, so all you have to worry about is enjoying the process! Included are step-by-step tutorials on all the essential tips and techniques you need to know, from painting different parts of the flower and shiny surfaces to perfecting the fine veins on leaves, as well as advice on how to correctly capture light. Rachel's stunning illustrations also include fruit and vegetables, so whether you're a lover of autumn leaves, spring daffodils, or even an onion or two, she has you covered. This detailed and visual art book is the perfect start for anyone looking to take up botanical art, refresh their skills, or simply appreciate the beauty of nature.

Too often gardening advice comes in the form of rules: do this, don't do that, buy this, don't buy that, plant this, don't plant that. But this kind of guidance can stifle cre ativity and personal expression, resulting in gardens that feel impersonal and generic. With Fearless Gardening, Loree Bohl - founder of the popular blog The Danger Garden, has written a call to arms that urges home gardeners to grow what they love. Readers will discover advice on gardening outside their zone, shopping for unique plants, and taking risks in gar den design. They will also find tips on how to discover their personal style and expand their plant palette. Bohl profiles exemplary gardens from across North America that showcase each gardener's unique taste and style and will inspire home gardeners to discover their own.

Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes presents the life and work of one of the foremost landscape designers of the early 1900s. Born into a prominent New York family (she was the niece of Edith Wharton), Farrand eschewed the traditional social life of the Gilded Age to pursue her passion for landscape and plants. Many of her clients were members of the highest echelon of society with estates in Newport, the Berkshires, and Maine, but Farrand ultimately became a consultant for university campuses, including Yale and Princeton, and for public gardens, including the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and the Rose Garden at The New York Botanical Garden. Perhaps her best-known work is the extensive garden at Dumbarton Oaks, originally a private residence and now a research institute of Harvard University. Deeply influenced by the English landscape designer Gertrude Jekyll, Farrand was known for broad expanses of lawn with deep swaths of borders planted in a subtle palette of foliage and flowers. Her gardens have been photographed at their peak especially for this book, and these lush illustrations are complemented by beautiful watercolor wash renderings of her designs, now preserved at the library of the University of California at Berkeley.

A classic in the field, this comprehensive reference provides current information for readers who need to estimate the construction costs of landscape architecture projects. Written by a professor of landscape architecture at Iowa State University, this guide provides unit prices easily combined to fit specific job requirements. Coverage includes per diems, crew and equipment, installation, and materials.

Christopher Lloyd has been writing a weekly column in "Country Life" since 1963 and, until now, this wealth of garden literature has been denied to a wider public. There are many garden writers, but few whose work can be considered to have the status of literature. There is only one who has achieved this at the same time as delivering horticultural information which enlightens even the most erudite of plantsmen, and that is Christopher Lloyd. His prose is exciting; his knowledge is vast; his ideas are provocative, and what is the true test of a writer who has transcended his medium, he makes you laugh out loud. In this selection from the storehouse of Christopher Lloyd's prose it will be apparent to what a high degree he has influenced gardening in our times. The book will capture the essence of Christopher Lloyd and of his garden at Great Dixter.

Practically all books written on interior landscape address the needs of home gardeners or the more detailed needs of business owners and researchers. Technicians, trainees, and advanced personnel alike--those who must maintain large interior installations on a commercial level--have not had ready access to information often critical to performing their job successfully. Finally, here is a dictionary specifically compiled for the interior landscape professional. It fills the gap in the literature by covering all terms that apply to interior landscaping. Definitions of more than 1,000 interior landscape terms are listed in alphabetical order for easy access. Each definition is brief but thorough to provide the right depth needed by the working professional. Although terms are described at a level that requires no background in the science of horticulture, the Interior Landscape Dictionary also provides technical terminology for those who require it. Nearly 130 illustrations--including 70 photographs--make it easy to identify specific plants and treatment for various plant diseases and pests. Detailed appendices cover both Latin and common plant nomenclature, pronunciation of Latin names, and lists of additional reading materials for reference. Unlike other botanical dictionaries that have too few illustrations and too many complex definitions, the Interior Landscape Dictionary has the right blend of information and format for the daily needs of interior landscapers. It is a valuable reference source for professionals and trainees in the fields of landscape architecture and management, interior design, horticulture, architecture, and plant science.