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Books > Gardening > General
This 60-year-old back-to-the-land homesteading classic
introduces you to the basics of finding land; building a homestead;
growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs; raising livestock, fish, and
honey bees; building farm structures; harvesting your
ownfirewood;and much more."
'The best informed, liveliest and most innovative gardening writer
of our times' GUARDIAN 'Christopher Lloyd ranks with Gertrude
Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West as one of the major figures in
twentieth-century British gardening' THE TIMES In this gardening
classic the forever adventurous Christopher Lloyd takes us on a
tour through the garden, to encourage, to reveal and to overturn
the old and accepted when experience prompts him. He advises on
cuttings, pruning, the art of compromise and takes another look at
Miss Jekyll. Gardening was a passion, and throughout his life he
developed Great Dixter to be one of Britain's greatest gardens. For
Christo gardening is nothing if not fun and - pointing out that 'to
be roused into an argumentative frame of mind is in itself no bad
thing' - he makes it equally stimulating and enjoyable for his
readers.
In seventeenth-century Britain, a new breed of 'curious' gardeners
were pushing at the frontiers of knowledge and new plants were
stealing into Europe from East and West. John Tradescant and his
son were at the vanguard of this change - as gardeners, as
collectors and above all as exemplars of an age that began in
wonder and ended with the dawning of science. Jennifer Potter's
book vividly evokes the drama of their lives and takes its readers
to the edge of an expanding universe. Strange Blooms is a
magnificent pleasure for gardeners and non-gardeners alike. This
'wonderful book' (Jane Stevenson, Daily Telegraph) describes the
remarkable lives and times of the John Tradescants.
After decades of fantasizing and saving, of working multiple jobs
and embracing frugality in the midst of Manhattan, Martha Leb
Molnar and her husband had found their farm. Determined to turn an
overgrown and unproductive Vermont apple orchard into a thriving
and beautiful landscape, they decided to restore this patch of land
to a pristine meadow and build a safe haven for their family and
nearby wildlife.Once they cleared the gnarled and dying trees away,
Molnar was forced to wage war on the invasive species that have
sprung up around the property. Propelled by the heated debates
surrounding non-native species and her own complicated family
history and migration, she was driven to research the Vermont
landscape, turning to scientific literature, experts in botany and
environmental science, and locals who have long tended the land in
search of answers. At turns funny, thoughtful, and conversational,
Playing God in the Meadow follows this big city transplant as she
learned to make peace with rural life and an evolving landscape
that she cannot entirely control.
A handy guide to quick and effective first-aid treatments for
commonly occurring accidents and complaints, derived from garden,
pantry and under-sink sources. From a thorn prick to heatstroke,
from chapped hands to heart attack, from pesticide poisoning to
wasp stings: all of these can be treated on site with what you
grow. The resource is on your doorstep: the plant beside you as
your work or relax in the garden can be the answer to the hive,
ache or watery eye. It is written by a professional gardener with a
lifetime of experience of accidents that can happen in the garden
and of how to cure/respond within the garden context using plants
and items at hand in the garden. All the dots are joined, you won't
need a book on herbs, a book on homemade remedy preparation and a
garden plant reference - they are all combined in the first aid
advice in this book.
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