The ultimate guide to gardening under glass.

Thinking of buying a greenhouse but aren’t sure what to grow in it, or how? Or maybe you've inherited a garden with a greenhouse, but haven’t got a clue what to do with it? Whatever your journey to growing under glass, this book gives a clear, inspiring, and brilliantly illustrated approach to all things greenhouse.

A protected growing environment provides shelter and warmth to a broad range of tender plants, both edible and ornamental, and can open up a fascinating new world of gardening. Starting plants off early under glass also enables you to extend the growing season, providing additional weeks and months of home-grown, sustainable produce to enjoy and flowers to admire.

From initial planning considerations and ongoing maintenance, to all the exciting and unusual plants that can be grown; from overwintering exotics, to hardening off seedlings and protecting summer crops against pests and diseases, there is a wealth of information to be shared. And you don't need a large garden: with a patio greenhouse, cold frame, and cloches, anyone with outside space can enjoy growing under glass.

For avid gardeners, the biggest down-side of the hobby is the limited growing season in much of the country. Gardening during the winter is often reduced to tending house-plants and browsing seed catalogues for next summer's tomato choices. Master Gardener and builder Roger Marshall enthusiastically presents his case for home greenhouses with a thorough examination of everything the potential builder needs to know. Marshall's coverage of the subject begins with a careful consideration of the various purposes served by greenhouses. Will the structure be used as a damp, warm hothouse for rare orchids? A tropical paradise for banana and citrus trees? A friendlier environment in which to get a jump on a summer vegetable garden is the goal for many gardeners, while an inviting setting for a year-round hot tub surrounded by lush greenery has an undeniable appeal. What ever its eventual use will be, Marshall helps the reader examine every option and make an informed choice. After determining the type and style of the structure, Marshall progresses, chapter by chapter, through the construction elements of the greenhouse - from choosing a site, to laying the foundation and determining which glazing material will work best. Plumbing, heating, supplemental lighting, misting, and automatic venting systems are also covered for the truly committed reader/gardener. The final section-of the book includes detailed plans for nine actual greenhouses, from a simple cold frame to an elaborately detailed framed, detached structure. Whatever the greenhouse goal, Marshall opens the way to longer growing seasons, abundant organically grown fruits and vegetables, and many more happy months playing in the dirt!

The book carries 17 s dealing with space saving, maximizing the efficiency of fertigation, mulching, integrated pest, disease and nutrient management (IPDNM) and engineering aspects of structures.Net houses, poly houses, rain shelters, poly tunnels, uses of plastics in horticulture and cold chains for storage and marketing are elaborated. Hydroponics and aeroponics are discussed.

Over 320 beautiful color photos and concise text address reclaiming lost outdoor areas and transitioning them into useful, enjoyable spaces. This delightful book provides ideas to create outdoor rooms for lounging, dining, kitchens, and children's spaces in front and back yards. "Before" and "After" images help readers visualize the myriad possibilities they can create. Professionals will find inspiration with specific examples of design details and solutions for their clients, because "good design is in the details." Homeowners, landscape designers, architects, and do-it-yourselfers all will find ideas they can use.

This title helps you discover the versatility of a beautiful courtyard garden, for entertaining, relaxing and extending your living space. It offers ideas for paths and paving with bricks, tiles, cobbles, gravel, railway sleepers and mosaics, and how to use walls, fences, plants, furniture, lighting and ornaments. It features a range of sites, including sunny, shady and windy, as well as structures suitable for children and pets. It includes suggestions for planting low-growing shrubs, pretty foliage plants, and flowers for seasonal interest. A well-designed courtyard gives years of pleasure. This useful handbook is packed with inspirational advice on creating the most attractive outdoor spaces. It considers the practical aspects of planning, as well as restrictions such as lack of light or space. It is full of ideas for overhauling the basic components of your garden, including surfaces, fences and plants, and describes how to make the most of special features such as ornaments and lighting to create the desired atmosphere. With illustrated examples, clear text and over 100 beautiful photographs, this is an essential guide for anyone wishing to maximize the potential of their patio or terrace.

Fresh, local nutrient-dense fruits vegetables are hard to find in winter in cold climates. Growing warm-weather crops like tomatoes, bananas, avocados, and other perennials is nearly impossible using conventional structures. The solution for millions of backyard and small-scale commercial growers is self-heating solar greenhouses. The Year-round Solar Greenhouse is the one-stop guide to designing and building greenhouses that harness and store energy from the sun to create naturally heated, lush growing environments even in the depths of winter, covering principles of solar greenhouse design and siting, glazing material properties and selection, controlling heat loss, ventilation, and construction methods. Additionally, an in-depth section covers sustainable ways of heating the greenhouse without fossil fuels, including using thermal mass and storing heat underground with a ground to air heat exchanger. Variations include attached solar greenhouses, earth sheltered greenhouses, plus integrating hydroponics and aquaponics. More than a dozen case studies from across North America provide inspiration and demonstrate specific challenges and solutions for growing year-round in any climate. Grow your own food, anytime, anywhere using the power of the sun! Lindsey Schiller is a greenhouse designer and with co-author Marc Plinke, co-owner of Ceres Greenhouse Solutions. Lindsey has designed, toured and helped build hundreds of energy-efficient greenhouses spanning small residential structures to acre-size commercial facilities. Marc Plinke is an inventor-innovator with a PhD in engineering who has focused his engineering mindset on building innovative, energy-efficient and smarter greenhouses, with the intention of enabling people to grow their own food sustainably and year-round.

Have you just joined the cactus craze? Do you want to know how to make your little bundle of spikes thrive, flower and breed? This quirky pocket-sized book is your essential guide to pleasing your prickly pet. Your cactus may be surviving, but is it happy? There's so much more to these little green plants than just keeping them alive. Happy Cactus gets right to the point with practical advice from potting to propagating. Unearth the secrets of different cacti and succulents, with profiles on more than 105 popular varieties - from the cute, flowering pincushion cactus to the wacky prickly pear, discover what makes your plant unique and how it might behave when treated with a little bit of love. Find out where to put it, when to water it, what to feed it, what to look out for and how to encourage its distinctive traits, from flower stalks to fast growth. Flick through inspirational features to help you create a show-stopping cactus display. Whether you're a young urbanite seeking a stylish houseplant for your flat but struggling to keep more temperamental plants alive, or a green-fingered cactus enthusiast determined to get your precious plant to grow and flower this year, Happy Cactus is here to answer all your questions.

Welcome to modern matchmaking - for plants! All you need to do is be honest about what you can invest into your plant relationship (attentiveness, experience ... sunlight) and voila - The Modern Gardener will suggest the best matched plant partner for you. Nothing livens up a room, windowsill or small yard like the presence of leafy Swiss cheese plants, angular succulents, perennial peonies or your own little herb garden. And this comprehensive reference book starts by covering all the best types of plants and planting for every type of indoor room, patio and balcony - from decorative and beneficial, low maintenance or useful edible plants - you'll find everything you need to know about how to find the perfect plants for you and your lifestyle, and how help them to thrive. The second half of the book - the Personal Plant Selector - features an extensive directory of over 100 plants, in which you will be introduced to each species and their characteristics, benefits and needs, including quick facts on potting and repotting, correct care and more. This beautifully designed encyclopedia of plants also includes a comprehensive index and a cross-referencing system, to make it easy to find information quickly. It's the ultimate guide to your personal plant kingdom!

This title includes over 60 stage-by-stage construction and planting sequences, garden case studies, a comprehensive directory of plants and over 850 photographs. It shows you how to plan, design and plant up beautiful and easy-to-maintain garden courtyards, walled spaces, patios, terraces and enclosed backyards. You can create a courtyard in any style - a traditional patio, a Mediterranean-style terrace, an outdoor living and dining space, a productive area for growing fruit and vegetables, a peaceful retreat, or an ultra-modern design. It features step-by-step advice on all the practicalities, from planning a suitable layout and preparing the site, to sourcing all the elements and choosing the plants. This beautiful book is packed with creative ideas for making a successful courtyard space. There is advice on flooring, walls and screens, containers, structures, furniture, ornaments, water features and lighting. Inspirational examples are presented alongside step-by-step instructions to explain the features shown. Case studies with detailed plans explore the dynamics of the different designed spaces, and a plant directory gives a comprehensive listing of planting options. A section on maintenance shows how to keep your courtyard looking its best. If you have a space to design from scratch or one that needs an overhaul, this book provides all the advice you will need.

The Royal Horticultural Society's definitive guide to propagating, nurturing, and designing with more than 200 cacti and succulents.

How can you encourage your bunny ear cactus to flower and flourish? What is the best method for propagating an echeveria or kalanchoe? What exactly are living stones, and where do they grow in the wild?

RHS Practical Cactus & Succulent Book is the ultimate reference book for cactus and succulent enthusiasts. An extensive illustrated plant directory profiles more than 200 succulent and cactus varieties, with instructions on how to grow each one.

Show off your plants with inspirational display ideas and step-by-step projects. Follow simple propagation steps to increase your cacti and succulent collection for free. Keep your plants healthy with advice and tips for care and cultivation.

Drawing on the unrivalled expertise of the Royal Horticultural Society, RHS Practical Cactus & Succulent Book is everything a cactus-lover needs.

This title shows you how to design and plant an outside space, with practical advice and 550 inspiring step-by-step photographs. It shows you how to create lovely and easy-to-maintain garden courtyards, patios, terraces and backyards. There are decorative ideas to suit all kinds of outdoor spaces from urban backyards to small garden spaces. You can choose a style to suit you - Traditional Lines, Mediterranean Warmth, Outdoor Living, The Edible Garden, A Peaceful Oasis and Modern Spaces - or select elements from each to create your own vision. It features more than 40 step-by-step techniques that provide practical guidance for making key decorative features, such as laying brick pavers, training a grapevine, planting a wall basket, making a parterre, fixing wattle hurdles, constructing a raised bed with sleepers, and lighting plants with uplighters. A final section on maintaining your patio shows how to keep the space looking beautiful, including gardening advice on deadheading, pruning and training, and seasonal jobs. Whether your patio is a tiny backyard hidden in the urban jungle or a terraced area in a larger garden, it is a personal space where you can garden, relax and simply escape everyday life for a while. This inspiring and practical book offers creative but achievable ideas for your patio space. Six chapters on favourite styles each offer advice on approaches for flooring, walls and screens, plants and containers, structures and furniture, ornament and water features, and lighting. An essential how-to manual and packed with lively ideas, you can use this book to transform your patio into a delightful personal space to give pleasure all year round.

You know you should be doing something to help save our planet, but it sounds hard, something that you will tackle another day.

Going green all at once is too much for almost anyone to achieve. Instead, try to make just one change, or add one new sustainable habit, each week. After one year you will be amazed at how much you have accomplished.

A Greener Tomorrow will give you tips on simple things that you can start doing straight away – be it at work, at home, and in your garden. Let’s all do our part in saving this planet – allowing our children’s grandchildren to still live in a world that is beautiful.

A Greener Tomorrow contains over 150 bite-sized chunks of greening advice from the likes of eco-friendly South Africans Arthur Goldstuck; Ashley Hayden; Barry Ronge; Brand Pretorius; Bryan Habana; Casey B. Dolan; Caspe De Vries; Damon Galgut; Gary Kirsten; Jan Braai; Jane Griffiths; Jassy Mackenzie; John van de Ruit; Marc Lottering; Max du Preez; Michiel Heyns; Paige Nick; Romy Titus; Tanit Phoenix; Tony Leon and more.

The greenhouse is one of the most useful tools a gardener can have. It is a place to propagate seedlings, nurture young plants, experiment with exotic planting and hide from the rain. This book provides all the information and advice you will need to decide which greenhouse is right for you, set it up and get your planting going, and all under the watchful eye of the nation's favourite gardener. Includes: * guidance on selecting, installing and maintaining a greenhouse * recommended vegetables, fruit, herbs and ornamental plants for growing under cover * practical advice on general care, harvesting, storage, propagation and pest control * seasonal management guide * step-by-step illustrations showing essential techniques Alan Titchmarsh imparts a lifetime of expertise in these definitive guides for beginners and experienced gardeners. Step-by-step illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions guide you through the basic gardening skills and on to the advanced techniques, providing everything you need to get the most from your greenhouse.

The Little Book of Crops in Small Spots introduces newbie gardeners to the art of growing successfully. Particularly focused on small space gardening, this book is the ideal modern guide for those with a compact urban gardens, courtyard, patio or even just a balcony. Including a handy directory of the best 40 fruit and vegetables to grow no matter how small your space, Jane will show you how to get started with her expert tips and indispensable gardening advice to becoming more self-sufficient. Discover how to maximise your growing power and enjoy getting stuck in as you produce crops to harvest all year round.