This handy pocket guide introduces local gardening enthusiasts to some of southern Africa’s most beautiful, beneficial and easy- to-care-for indigenous plants, giving guidance on how best to use them and how to ensure that they flourish.

It offers:

• A selection of 145 garden-friendly, low-maintenance trees, shrubs and bedding plants perfectly adapted to our local soils and weather conditions
• Text that’s direct and simple
• Full-colour photographs that show plant details and ‘in context’ planting
• Icons indicating at a glance whether a species is evergreen or deciduous, frost-hardy, suitable for a sunny or shaded position, fast or slow-growing, water wise, fragrant and attractive to insects or birds.

An essential handbook for easy-care beautiful gardening.

The author, Glenice Ebedes, is the owner of Grounded Landscaping. She is a graduate of Lifestyle College and an active member of the Guild of Landscape Designers. She specializes in indigenous, wildlife-friendly gardens and her gardens regularly feature in magazines.

'n Klein tuin bied sy eie uitdagings, of dit nou 'n lang, smal strook, 'n klam skaduryke binnehof, 'n klein stukkie ground of 'n windverwaaide balkon is. Of jy nou 'n oorvloed blomme wil he, 'n tuin wat min onderhoud verg, 'n speelplek vir kinders of 'n veelsydige ontspanningasarea - noukeurige beplanning is noodsaaklik om die plek wat jy tot jou beskikking het ten beste te benut. Klein tuine is deesdae die reel liewer as die uitsondering en daar is 'n oorvloed plante beskikbaar vir elke denkbare behoefte. Kruistelers en tuinboukundiges het bykans elke groot struik, boom en plant gekutiveer om kleiner, meer kompakte en dwergvariasies van klassieke gunstelinge daar te stel. Hierdie titel vertel jou meer daarvan, asook hoe om 'n pragtuin in jou klein ruimte te skep.

This book helps you in choosing the perfect plant for every location in your garden, with 120 photographs. You can understand the properties of different soils, from acid and alkaline to light sand and heavy clay. You can make the most of various different locations within your garden, including moist, shady, dry and sunny. It includes advice on making the best choices and using the right planting and growing techniques - from mulching and feeding to deadheading and pruning - to ensure stunning, healthy plants in every area of the garden. It includes a quick reference chart of the most popular garden plants and their individual requirements. Putting a plant in the right location and soil will ensure that it has the best possible start and chance of long-term health. This book explains how to successfully match plants to the conditions in your garden. It covers the basics of ground preparation, sowing and planting, as well as offering tips on plant maintenance. All the different soil types are described and illustrated, showing how they influence the types of plants that can be grown. A chart of popular plants provides information on preferred soil types, position, planting and flowering times, ensuring that you choose the right varieties for the specific soil and climate conditions in your garden.

Giant perennials are show-stoppers in the garden. There is something magical about the fact that starting from nothing in spring they rise to towering heights by midsummer only to disappear again for the winter. These are plants that make a statement and can be used to provide a backdrop to a herbaceous border or as specimens to draw the eye and amaze the visitor. From the astounding gunnera, 2.4m (8ft) with its leaves as big as the biggest golf umbrella, to the spectacular verbascum (giant mullein) as tall as a tree at 1.8-2.7m (6-9ft), or the socking great Eupatorium purpureum, with 2.1m (7ft) tall stems and cinnamon pink flowers. Quite simply these plants make us feel like Lilliputians. Covering a wide range of herbaceous perennials, including some biennials and bulbs, Giant Perennials provides at-a-glance information for everything you need to know about these amazing plants. In addition to design ideas and planting suggestions, Giant Perennials has an extensive directory of these majestic plants with easy-to-use symbols that show you size, spread, planting situation, cultivation needs and hardiness. Whether you have a large country garden or a small town plot, you can give you

Show nature the kindness it deserves Whether you long to see butterflies flit across your flowerbeds or hear birdsong all year round, there's something endlessly rewarding about playing host to wildlife. With practical projects and helpful tips for gardens big and small, this guide will help boost local biodiversity and benefit countless native species. Learn how to: Choose the best type of bird feeder and seed for your feathered friends Build natural habitats and provide shelter for all manner of insects Make sugaring recipes to attract butterflies and moths Select the right pollinator plants for bees in every season Wherever you do it - on a balcony, in a garden or across acres of land - you too can create the perfect sanctuary for an abundance of creatures.

Get ready for the shocking truth about botanical sex. Who knew that bee orchids trick insects into having sex with them, avocado flowers are female one day and male the next, and some flowers are the insect equivalent of nightclubs where males and females meet and mate? Bestselling popular science author Mike Allaby reveals over 200 of nature's most unseemly creations in this sensational expose. The sexual antics of plants are far more varied than those of people and plants have preferences and techniques for which we have no equivalent. Being rooted to the spot, many rely on pollinators for assistance and forget birds and bees, we're talking kangaroos, giraffes, and vampire bats. Botanical illustrations throw light on the gallery of pimps, hookers and gigolos who may be lurking in your back garden and spice up this compendium of scurrilous botany which - be warned - may shock the worldliest of gardeners.

The enduring appeal of English gardens is beautifully realised by Clive Nichols, one of Europe's leading garden photographers. From the green hills of the north to the bleached landscapes of the south, twenty-eight gardens transport the reader into a timeless, golden age. Each page is filled with herbaceous borders overflowing with vibrant flower combinations, kitchen gardens that burgeon with rows of apple blossom, vegetables and sweet peas, water that cascades forever into pools and fountains and emerald-green topiary which frames a vista to a sunlit upland. Many of the finest landscape architects in England whose work is featured include Emma Keswick at Rockcliffe Hall, Julianne Fernandez at Tyger Barn, Angel Collins at Bruern Abbey, Piet Oudolf at Hauser and Wirth and many more, with text that explains and clarifies their design sensibilities. This book offers total immersion and sheer delight for any garden design and photography enthusiast.

This title shows you how and when to prune all the key plants in your garden, with step-by-step photographs. It clearly explains the different methods of pruning, such as deadheading, shaping, clipping and trimming. It describes specific pruning techniques for different types of plants, including roses, shrubs, climbers and hedges. You can learn how to restrict the size of evergreens, trim vines, rejuvenate conifers, train apple trees and shorten the growth on soft fruit bushes to maximize their yield. It includes an at-a-glance seasonal chart to remind you when to prune, and a list of plants' common names. Most plants benefit from a prune for healthy growth and visual appeal, but many gardeners approach the task with trepidation. This accessible handbook provides a clear, easy-to-follow guide through the complexities, explaining why we prune, and giving step-by-step instructions on the different techniques. There is also advice on selecting and using equipment, an extensive section on pruning specific types of plants, and two useful charts showing methods of pruning and seasonal pruning. The book contains all the information you need to keep your plants beautifully healthy, flowering and fruiting prolifically, and looking just as you want them.

This book takes the houseplant look outside by exploring the wonders of lush, green, foliage plants that are hardy in the garden. Unlike flowers which fade, these big-leaved, larger-than-life plants provide year-round impact for decades and small, urban gardens that are well protected are the perfect home for them. Expert horticulturist Philip Oostenbrink has been an enthusiastic grower for years and in this book recommends the best hardy, foliage plants for texture, leaf shape and colour. Jungle gardens can be shady and immersive, sunny and open or somewhere in between and there are plants suited to all these environments including purple-leaved bananas, desert-island palms, spiky agaves, architectural Pseudopanax and succulents such as Echeveria and Aeonium. Beautiful special photography by Sarah Cuttle features standout jungle gardens that demonstrate how to combine foliage plants effectively and create backdrops and container displays that make the plants pop. This book is the irresistible next step for all houseplant addicts and for all who are ready to embark on their very own jungle adventure.