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Books > Gardening > Gardening: plants > General
Greenhouses fuse together cultures and countries under one glass roof. In their debut book, photographers India Hobson and Magnus Edmondson take you on a worldwide journey through their favourite botanical spaces. The Haarkon Greenhouse Tour began as a self-initiated adventure in Oxford s botanic garden four years ago. Since then, Magnus and India have visited countless locations in the UK, Europe, America, Asia and beyond in search of dream glasshouses and greenhouses, capturing dramatic palm houses, tropical hothouses and private potting sheds along the way. Divided into seven thematic chapters History, Specimen, Community, Research, Pleasure, Hobbyist and Architecture the featured spaces in Glasshouse / Greenhouse are depicted via a series of photo-essays that draw out the style, plant collections and character of each space.
The first in what is an excellent series of books photographed by Geoff Nicholls. A beautifully illustrated guide to 107 plants and some of the butterflies, birds and mammals found in forests of South Africa. The text provides notes on the plants, utilization and gardening, as well as scientific and common names in local languages. This lightweight 72 page book with 170 full colour photographs will be a delight to gardeners, tourists, environmentalist and educationalists alike. This book is designed to cover plants in the forests of South Africa and highlight the beauty, value and importance of our forests with a view to promoting long term conservation and sustainable management. It provides an easy introduction to the plants and main animals of this forest biome. A biome is a large natural region or ecological community, each with its own distinctive vegetation shaped by differences in climate and topography. There are nine biomes in South Africa: desert, fynbos, nama-karroo, succulent karroo, succulent thicket, Indian Ocean coastal belt, grassland, savanna and forest. Forest is the smallest biome, only 1/2% of the land mass. Additional information on each plant will also be found in Elsa Pooley's best selling field guides to Trees which is out of print and currently under revision, also Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-Natal, and Mountain Flowers of the Drakensberg and Lesotho.
A plant a day brings beauty your way. So why not make the most of your garden with 365 of the very best plant varieties - one for every day of the year! From spring blooms to winter interest and everything in between, each plant has been personally selected by expert horticulturist Phil Clayton, who draws on his nearly 20 years of RHS experience, along with his own garden favourites, to showcase a vast array of planting choices. With a range of plants as broad as Phil's knowledge is vast, A Plant for Every Day of the Year is like taking a walk with an accomplished gardener as they show you their favourite plants. Each profile comes complete with stunning photography and an at-a-glance guide to height, spread, hardiness, and other must-know information, so you too can make the most of every season in your own garden. Turn the pages of this plant book to discover: - Unique structure gives the reader a whole year of plants, day by day. - Phil Clayton's unrivalled knowledge and personal approach are apparent throughout, allowing the reader to absorb his experience and expertise. - Easy-to-follow text and clear photography present the plants in an accessible and enjoyable format. A must-have volume for existing gardeners and plant lovers who want to enjoy Phil's personal and insightful commentary on a wide range of plants, alongside individuals who don't know what plants to grow and want to seek advice from a reputable gardener such as Phil. Doubling up as the perfect gardening book for budding botanists, who are looking to achieve their garden or indoor space's fullest potential all year round, A Plant For Every Day of the Year is sure to delight.
From spring green to winter gold, the drama of grasses is nonstop. There are the striking yellow-and-green ostrich plumes of Zebra Grass. The fine-textured leaves of Blue Oat Grass. Flame Grass's dazzling red-orange leaves, Fountain Grass's coppery brushes, the rich brown nuggets of Northern Sea Oats, the feathery purple haze of Switch Grass. Whether on their own or as backdrops for colorful garden flowers, ornamental grasses are admired for their color, form, movement, and texture. They also aid in erosion control, soil stabilization, and water retention, making them great conservation tools for gardeners in all hardiness zones. Although grasses are widely available at garden centers all over North America, few books advise the gardener on how to use them in the garden - and especially how to combine them with perennials and other plants. GRASSES features plans and practical advice for more than 24 unique gardens. It's complete with an identification and growing guide to the plants, and it features more than 150 full-color photographs, illustrations, and landscape plans.
This work offers a new approach to planning and planting. It shows how to throw caution to the wind and orchestrate colours, textures, scale and scent to spectacular effect from spring until autumn. The key is colour: intense, strong and voluptuous - deep crimsons combined with acid green and incandescent orange, for example. Integral to Sarak Raven's vision is a feeling for dramatic scale: plants with huge presence, architectural foliage, strong, sculptural shapes. To complete the effect, she includes flowers with silken and velvety textures and describes how to flood the garden with scent. There are schemes for sunny, open beds and borders for shady areas, for damp soils and to clothe walls and fences - many of which include lots of quick-growing annuals and take only a season to achieve.
A VITAL YOUNG VOICE IN THE GARDENING SCENE teaches a new generation of Southerners to love gardening and to make it a focal point of their lifestyle. James Farmer III teaches respect for the age-old rules of flower and vegetable gardening in the Deep South (e.g., plant in spring for fall blooms, plant in fall for spring blooms), in a fresh voice that resonates love of life and entertaining at home. Also included are delicious recipes for seasonal meals, as well as suggestions for floral arrangements and centerpieces from the garden. Captures Southern indoor/outdoor living traditions for a new generation.
With its intoxicating scent, gorgeous wands of purple flowers, and silvery foliage, lavender is one of the most sought-after plants. But the horticultural reasons for choosing lavender go far beyond its beauty. Lavender attracts beneficial insects, requires little water once established, and is deer resistant. In "The Lavender Lover's Handbook," lavender grower Sarah Bader teaches gardeners how they can successfully grow this beloved plant. Featuring the 100 easiest, most stunning lavenders available today, this beginner's guide provides a complete checklist of the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of each plant, in addition to basic pruning, spacing, and planting requirements. The text is rounded out with tips on how to harvest, cook, and craft with this wonderful herb. Its abundant variety, hardiness, fragrance, and culinary uses make lavender one of the most popular and versatile plants. And now, with this practical and accessible guide in hand, it's easier than ever to grow at home.
Southern Africa is home to more than 2,000 introduced (not indigenous) trees. These non-native species are encountered daily and form a familiar part of our urban landscapes, growing successfully in parks, gardens, along road sides, and in other open spaces. This guide features nearly 600 of the most common and familiar of these and, using the same model of identification as FG Trees of Southern Africa, facilitates ID based on leaf and stem features. The book provides the country of origin for each species and offers key information on cultivation and uses. Each entry is supported by colour images that depict key features, and a shaded map that shows the plant’s cold tolerance (where the species can grow). An essential guide for landscapers and gardeners as well as tree enthusiasts who will struggle to find these trees in their guide to indigenous trees.
'Root to Stem is a seasonal and holistic approach to health that puts plants, herbs and nature at the heart of how we live and eat. It is a new kind of guide that links individual health to our communities and the planet's health to sustain us all.' This perfect companion to the seasons, this book will show you how to take greater control over your own health and well-being, treat everyday ailments, and ensure the sustainability of the planet through discovering how to forage, grow, or shop for plant- and herb-based foods and products. Including: Detox in the spring with sorrel, cleavers and nettles. Harvest summer lime leaf shoots to soothe digestive upsets and feed gut microbes. Bake a Lammas loaf to celebrate the autumnal equinox. Boost your winter immunity with red berries, purple potatoes and rosehips. Root-to-stem eating encourages you to use every edible part of plant, including the leaves, skin, seeds and stalks. Travelling through the four seasons, expert medical herbalist Alex Laird shares the natural ingredients that are available on your doorstep, simple delicious recipes and easy-to-make herbal remedies.
The top 50 indoor houseplants for brightening your interiors - what's best and how to keep them alive. Bring the outdoors in and breathe new life to your home with plants! House plants are well and truly back on trend - they instantly lift an area, make a room feel fresh and welcoming, and brighten your mood. On top of this, indoor plants are great for purifying the air and creating a healthier home.Together with microbes in the soil, plants work wonders to reduce harmful pollutants released from indoor furniture. (It's true: look at the study conducted by the University of Technology, Sydney.) If you feel like your rooms need a splash of colour and a breath of life, there's no better starting point than this book. Whether your style is dramatic jungle plants or to sweetly shaped succulents, you'll find something to suit. With loads of glorious illustrations for inspiration, data on which plants are suitable where, and clear advice on how to pot, prune and pet your plants, this is the perfect guide for bringing the outdoors in - no matter what your level of gardening skill!
A hands-on guide to using flower essences in magick, spellcraft, alchemy, and healing * Provides detailed instructions for making single-flower essences and magickal and therapeutic essence blends * Shares new magickal uses for flower essences, from creating sacred space to dressing candles to preparing incense, as well as how to use essences in meditation, potions, spells, spagyrics, and ritual * Includes a detailed directory of 100 flower and plant essences, complete with astrological, elemental, and magickal correspondences In this practical guide to using flower essences in witchcraft, alchemy, and healing, Nicholas Pearson provides detailed instructions for making and using flower essences based on traditional Western magick practices. He shares new uses for essences--from creating sacred space to dressing candles to preparing incense--and explains how to use them in meditation, potions, spells, spagyrics, and ritual. He shares exercises for connecting more deeply to the energies of the green world and exploring how essences can be used in traditional sacraments of witchcraft like the Great Rite. In the hands-on formulary, the author provides recipes for essence combinations for the eight sabbats and formulas based on familiar blends like traditional flying ointments of European witchcraft. He shares his method for creating flower essence spagyrics--alchemical preparations made from the body, mind, and soul of the plant that offer the highest vibrational potency for therapeutic and spiritual uses. Pearson also provides a detailed directory of 100 flower and plant essences, complete with astrological, elemental, and magickal correspondences and the therapeutic indications for each essence. Weaving together magickal herbalism, traditional plant lore, and flower essence therapy, this guide allows you to see flower essences not just as vibrational remedies but also as powerful tools for transformation, magick, and spiritual practice.
Anyone who loves their garden knows that there's something happening in nature every day of the year. Whether it's the first crocus of spring, summer's explosion of colors, fall's abundant harvest, or the renewing dormancy of winter these outdoor sanctuaries offer daily opportunities for investigation, contemplation, and appreciation. This stunning daybook offers 365 elegant photos of some of the world's most exquisite gardens, following the yearly cycle of growth and rebirth. Each photo is accompanied by engaging texts such as planting tips, design techniques, natural history, and botanical facts that provide both ideas and helpful information. In addition, there is room on each spread for gardeners to record and preserve their own daily observations and reflections. The perfect keepsake for gardeners of all levels of expertise, this beautiful daybook deepens the rewards of gardening all year round.
This stunning series of pocketbooks from Kew offers a snapshot into the diverse and beautiful world of plants. Each book lavishly showcases choice examples from individual plant groups or collections, and in this pocketbook a selection of plants are showcased from Honzu Zufu, a Japanese 17th century multi-volume manual of medicinal plants with a unique botanical style. Published to coincide with the new Japan festival at Kew Gardens in October 2020. The Library, Art and Archives at Kew is one of the most extensive botanical libraries in the world, with the oldest item dating back to the 1370s. In this pocketbook series from Kew, each book presents 40 botanical paintings from the collection, illustrating the variety within each plant group, as well as the diversity of the collection and artistic styles. An introductory chapter by a Kew expert provides an overview of the plant group or theme, and extended captions accompany each painting. The luxury finish on these books make them a must-have gift item, printed on uncoated paper and with a cloth and foil finish.
A colourful, illustrated celebration of wild plants around the world, and why we should love them not loathe them, with 50 graphic illustrations by Paul Farrell. To call a plant a weed is doing it a real injustice. It's simply a wild plant that is not deliberately cultivated, growing where it is not wanted. By this definition, virtually any plant outside a carefully tended garden is a weed. The intolerance of weeds is a mark of how we have turned our backs on nature and urbanized our land and lives. In this enlightening survey, illustrator Paul Farrell uncovers the wild beauty in weeds and explains the benefits of rewilding ourselves a little. Weeds can be medicine, food, and an important aid for wildlife. One person's weed is another's wild beauty. Paul's brilliant modernist illustration style shows us dandelions, thistles and feverfew in a whole new light. Each of the 50 weeds featured is accompanied by a quirky history and its uses in medicine, cooking, arts and even industry. Sample contents: US/Canada weeds: Dandelion; Daisy; Groundsell; Chickweed; Nettle; Wild carrot; Sumac. UK/Europe weeds: Foxglove; Deadly nightshade; Yarrow; Rosebay willowherb; Herb Robert; Scarlet Pimpernel; Violet; Wood Sorrel; Red valerian; Common knapweed
This newly designed field guide features detailed descriptions of 387 species, arranged in six major groups by visual similarity. The 47 color plates and 5 text drawings show distinctive details needed for identification. Color photographs and 295 color range maps accompany the species descriptions.
Most botanical gardens include succulents in their collections; few are devoted solely to them. In Succulent Paradise, the reader is taken on a verbal and visual tour of twelve exceptional succulent gardens. See how a handful of landscaping and horticultural visionaries have juxtaposed indigenous and exotic plants with a blend of natural and created landscaping elements. Experience the impact and style of gardens in locations as diverse as steeply terraced Mediterranean cliffs, dusty Karoo plains, Mexico City’s metropolis, California’s canyons, and the red desert of Arizona. The authors have visited gardens around the world dedicated to the display, cultivation and propagation of succulent plants. In Succulent Paradise, they have expressed their love of these tenacious, yet surprisingly glamorous, plants as well as appreciation for those whose vision and persistence has created abundance, promoted conservation, and left a legacy for future generations.
In this book, Dan Torre explores the intriguing and multifaceted natural, cultural and social history of the orchid. Orchids are one of the largest families of plants - approximately 8 per cent of all the Earth's flowering species. They are known for their beautiful flowers with bright colours, delicate forms and delicate fragrances. However, when we look deeper into their world, we find that they are much more than an elegant flowering plant and behave in unexpected ways that no other flowers do. Philosophers have contemplated them; countless artists have celebrated them; millions of people have cultivated them, displayed them and even consumed them. Orchids occupy our thoughts, our stories, our societies, our greenhouses, our florists, our supermarkets and our homes. And that is merely the beginning.
Explore the magical world of moss, with this fully-illustrated and comprehensive guide. 'Moss is the height of fashion . . . for inspiration, as well as beautiful pictures of mossy forests and gardens, [this book] has a range of outdoor and indoor projects' The Sunday Times Moss is all around us. While it is most often associated with damp, shady spaces, it can be found in the most unexpected and far-flung places, from deserts to Antarctica. This book is a celebration of its quiet, unassuming beauty and a primer to understanding the secrets of the world's most ancient plant: * Discover the fascinating history of this soft and tactile plant * Learn how and where to identify and gather different moss species. * Take a tour of some of the most beautiful moss gardens in the UK, the US and Japan, where moss viewing has become a national phenomenon. * Learn how to cultivate moss, tie Japanese moss balls (kokedama) and plant moss landscapes in pots and terrariums. With stunning photography and botanical illustration, this is an utterly unique book that will be treasured by plant enthusiasts of all kinds. 'A whistlestop tour of the magical world of mosses, from Scandinavian craft projects to the animacy of carpeted Japanese gardens . . . It's a beautiful book, as happy on a coffee table as it might be on the potting bench' Gardens Illustrated
In the modern suburban landscape, beautiful, green lawns are
perhaps the most ubiquitous feature of all. It s difficult to
imagine a friendly neighborhood without broad, clean stretches of
neatly shorn grass. More and more in recent years, those lawns are
evolving into organic systems as homeowners concerned about the
long-term effects of chemicals on their children, their pets, and
the environment turn to natural methods to keep their yards healthy
and inviting, and, yes, still green and lush, too.
Every gardener loves perennials. Buy them and plant them, and most will flourish and even expand year after year. But in addition to reliability, perennials offer gardeners a wonderful opportunity to make a stunning visual statement in their home landscapes - if you know how to combine and arrange them. In THE PERENNIAL GARDENER'S DEISGN PRIMER, Stephanie Cohen and Nancy Ondra, two top garden writers and teachers, offer fun, organized, and - most important - attainable advice on how to create gorgeous gardens using these beloved plants. Cohen and Ondra walk the gardener step-by- step through the process of creating new gardens, as well as of bringing new life to gardens that have lost their lustre. They explain how to pick perennials that suit the site by making the most of plant colour, shape, size, and texture; and how to create eye-catching plant combinations. Beautiful illustrations accompany the new garden plans, and stunning photographs capture how Cohen and Ondra have redesigned their own gardens. Throughout the book, a lively dialogue between Cohen and Ondra encourages readers to experiment and to create their own satisfying designs. The authors also offer down-to-earth design solutions for 20 specific types of gardens, including everything from a minimum maintenance garden to a more complex container garden, from planting a formal border to indulging in the controlled chaos of a cottage garden. Whether you are breaking ground for a new garden, or revitalizing an existing bed, THE PERENNIAL GARDENER'S DESIGN PRIMER can help every gardener achieve great results - year after year.
"A flower is not a flower alone; a thousand thoughts invest
it."
Alpines have been a favourite plant for generations of gardeners and are as popular now as ever. Historically they were used in rockeries, but they offer far more potential for today's gardens, which are generally becoming smaller. Whether planted in troughs, window boxes, raised beds or between paving, alpines offer fantastic versatility and colour for nearly every month of the year. Topics covered include: traditional and contemporary settings for growing plants; ideas for incorporating alpine plants into a new or existing garden plot; advice on planting and maintenance and information on propagation methods and facilities. There is an A-Z of over 180 of the best alpine plants, with a useful table of flowering times. Aimed at both the beginner and the more experienced enthusiast this essential guide, new in paperback for 2022, contains a wealth of beautifully illustrated information. |
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