A veritable encyclopedia and easy how-to guide on all that is natural and necessary in the world of gardening and small fruit, vegetable, and herb preparation, in The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide: A practical vegetable and herb garden encyclopedia, Stephen Albert leaves no stone-collard green, leek, or potato-unearthed in this absolutely amazing field guide that greenhorns, old hands, weekend gardeners, and chefs should not be without. From the soil to the plate, this manual is exceptionally penned and easy to follow. It provides answers to basic and in-depth growing questions. It includes how to plant, how to grow and care for crops, how to harvest, how to store, and how to prepare vegetables and herbs. From asparagus and beet greens to Belgian endive and strawberries, this book helps readers organize a small garden close to the kitchen that offers their favorite, fresh-picked-at-the-peak-of-ripeness small crop-and the template on how to orchestrate the effort.

Both field guide and gardener's handbook, this book covers all 45 species of trilliums worldwide. The authors trekked all over North America to photograph the 38 American species in the wild.

Replicating the climate of an orchid's native habitat is a key to the successful culture of a species and its hybrids. This ingenious book provides monthly rainfall and temperature data for the varied habitats of more than 1200 species of "Dendrobium," supplemented by detailed cultural recommendations based on the observations of experienced growers.

Includes: Names, Classification, Structure, Planting, Care, Enemies, Propagation, Hybridism, Shipping, Uses.

The book takes a comprehensive approach to the complex process of Planting Design. It shows how to choose and combine plants for specific effects: for year-round colour and interest; for drama and movement; and to overcome site difficulties. From initial vision to finished planting, the book clearly explains the practical steps, considerations, opportunities and decisions that need to be taken. This process can be applied to readers' own gardens, and it will also allow them to take their skills further into other people's gardens.

The rise of the perfect lawn represents one of the most profound transformations in the history of the American landscape. American Green, Ted Steinberg's witty expose of this bizarre phenomenon, traces the history of the lawn from its explosion in the postwar suburban community of Levittown to the present love affair with turf colorants, leaf blowers, and riding mowers."

Stinging nettles are, for many of us, nothing more than persistent weeds with a painful sting. But apart from having an important role in the web of life, nettles are an incredibly useful plant to mankind. They have been put to myriad uses by our ancestors, and many of these are still valid today. Already stinging nettle products are growing in popularity in the field of alternative medicine, as their wide range of health benefits becomes better known. This unique book explores the diverse uses of this fascinating plant - in the garden and the kitchen, for their medical and fibrous properties and so on. It is packed with practical suggestions, as well as a guide to the botany of stinging nettles, and how to collect and store them. For example, you will discover how to use nettles to: make a liquid plant fertiliser brew an unusual beer make a dandruff treatment protect beehives flavour an omelette make friendship bracelets repel flies naturally make green or yellow fabric dyes keep yourself warm in the winter and much more ... The many health benefits of taking nettles in various forms include relief from: hay fever and other allergies; acne and other skin conditions; arthritis and rheumatism; asthma; stress; high blood pressure; depression; enlarged prostate gland. The book also features Digital Nettle Art

The moving or transplanting of trees and shrubs is an activity probably as old as mankind. Basically, the process of moving growing plants from one place to another is little changed from early times, but our increased understanding of the processes of nature through recent research and investigations in the broad fields of horticulture, arboriculture, and forestry, and the development of better machinery and equipment have brought about many improvements in the technique of moving trees and shrubs. Today, the moving of trees 12 to 18 inches in diameter is a matter of routine, and trees several times as large frequently are transplanted with success. The cost of such operations is relatively high and seldom in national park work is it justifiable, except under special conditions. The transplanting of small- to medium-sized trees and shrubs, however, is a constantly recurring activity in areas under Service jurisdiction, and it is to aid the planners and supervisors of such work that this bulletin is issued. Because of the varying conditions of climate, soil, temperature, species, etc., encountered in national park areas, it is impossible to lay down rigid rules for transplanting. The principles involved, however, are the same in Maine as they are in Texas, and it is hoped that a codification and explanation of some of these principles and descriptions of certain techniques will prove to be adaptable and of value under many of the various conditions encountered.

In clear, concise detail this book shows how to look at your plot, assess it for size, aspect and soil structure and makes the best of the features it offers.

The perfect purchase for anyone wanting to garden on a shoestring - and grow your own garden from scratch, Grow Your Own Garden is an inspirational, accessible and practical gardening guide that will have great appeal to novices and more experienced gardeners alike. Full of beautiful colour photography and expert advice from the BBC's Carol Klein. 'Buy it or drop big hints ... you will not be disappointed' -- ***** Reader review 'Covers pretty much everything a gardener needs to know' -- ***** Reader review 'Quite inspirational' -- ***** Reader review 'Wonderful book written by a very knowledgeable lady' -- ***** Reader review 'Brilliant book - so informative' -- ***** Reader review ***************************************************************************************** Carol Klein is passionate about propagation. Her own garden, as seen on Gardeners' World, is almost grown entirely from cuttings and seeds and in this book she's on a mission to share her joy in working with nature to cultivate the plants she loves. Too often gardeners are intimidated by propagation, assume it's not for them and go for ready-grown plants from the garden centre. But Carol, a gifted communicator with her infectious enthusiasm, boundless horticultural expertise and easy practical explanations, shows just how simple and satisfying it is to grow your own plants, not to mention sustainable and cheap. She demonstrates, step-by-step, how to divide herbaceous perennials, nurture seedlings or grow new stock from root cuttings, stems or leaves, showing how there is no mystique involved and anybody can do it.

This volume offers the reader all the guidance necessary to choose suitable plants so the garden looks good, no matter what the season.

Stefan Buczacki sets out a blueprint for commonsense down-to-earth gardening - an approach that is based on an understanding of the environment and also relates to gardeners and their lifestyle: what gardeners need and want from their gardens and how they can set about getting it. The author looks at the basics of gardening, examining such topics as soil, fertilizers, pesticides and pruning, revealing his knowledge derived from years of practical gardening experience. He then proceeds to a detailed discussion of the commonsense approach to tree and shrub gardening, kitchen gardening, gardening and ornamentals, water gardening and wildlife gardening, ending with a chapter on garden design.

Identify some of the most magnificent tropical plants in lush color photographs and in-depth descriptions. While many ornamental species add a little tropical atmosphere to our homes, the full splendor of their seductively fragrant blossoms and luxuriant foliage is hardly ever reached outside their natural setting due to a lack of light or humidity. Whether you're planning a journey to an exotic place or a visit to your nearby botanical garden, the information on these plants will prove both fascinating and useful.

The ultimate plant guide, updated to include current RHS Awards of Garden Merit so you know which plants are RHS recommended. Whether you are growing roses or growing French beans, choose plants with confidence with the RHS Good Plant Guide. This book recommends over 3,000 trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, bedding plants, fruits and vegetables for every garden situation - all readily available from nurseries and garden centres - and with more than 1,500 photos and illustrations, it will ensure your garden flourishes all year round. Whether you are a green-fingered guru or just starting out, enjoy good plants throughout the year with the RHS Good Plant Guide, now in paperback (previous ISBN 9781405362986).

John Bryan's substantive revision to his original magnum opus published in 1989 -- selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 great American gardening books-- provides expanded coverage of some 230 genera and a staggering number of species, varieties, and cultivars. Genera are treated with detail appropriate to their importance, with information on history, classification, culture, propagation, pests and diseases, uses, and species and cultivars. Detailed encyclopedic plant listings are complemented by an equally comprehensive pictorial presentation. Not only are there more than 1100 color photographs -- many showing the plants in their natural habitats -- but there are also 43 color reproductions of botanical illustrations from 19th-century issues of "Curtis's Botanical Magazine" and other publications, taken from the author's extensive collection.

Americans love their lawns with a passion rarely seen in other countries; fifty-eight million Americans enthusiastically plant, weed, water, spray, and mow an estimated twenty million acres of lawn. But is our dedication to these lawns contributing to the serious environmental problems facing the planet? The authors in this book state that the lawn may be an ecological anachronism, and they argue that we must rethink the way we care for our lawns so that these small pieces of the environment will demonstrate our commitment to a more ecologically sound world. The authors outline the origins of ideas about the lawn and the reasons for its enduring popularity. They describe the development of ideas about its form and the making of the lawn into an object of beauty. They explain how the lawn industry has encouraged the spread of the "industrial" lawn to sustain high sales of mowers, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation equipment. However, say the authors, Industrial Lawns can have high environmental costs: for example, power motors contribute to regional air pollution and global warming; excess fertilizers and pesticides wash off our lawns and run into our wells, streams, and lakes; grass clippings that are bagged and hauled away are major contributors to solid waste problems; and the watering of lawns depletes scarce water supplies. How can we create environmentally sound lawns? The authors offer a variety of ideas - such as moderation in our use of lawn supplements, ecological use of grass varieties, the substitution of hand mowers for power motors, and the use of grass clippings to fertilize the lawn. These strategies can help us to care for conventional lawns in ways lessdangerous to the environment. They also propose two more radical alternatives: Freedom Lawns that allow natural and unrestricted growth of grasses, clover, wildflowers, and other broad-leafed herbaceous plants; and total replacement of the lawn with new landscape designs. By choosing these alternatives - which can be aesthetically pleasing as well as ecologically correct - we can unite our environmental concerns with direct personal action, acting locally while thinking globally and creating a new garden aesthetic in the process.

Botany for gardeners offers an explanation of how plants grow. What happens inside a seed after it is planted? How are plants structured? How do plants adapt to their environment? How is water transported from soil to leaves? Why are minerals, air and light important for healthy plant growth? How do plants reproduce? The answers to these and other questions about complex plant processes, written in everyday language, allow gardeners and horticulturists to understand plants from the "plant's point of view". An appendix on plant taxonomy, glossary and make this an essential reference book for serious gardeners.