This publication is the result of more than six years of hard work by a dedicated group of European urban forest and tree experts. The editors are indebted to the national experts of COST Action E12 Urban Forests and Trees and to the others who have contributed to the various chapters in this publication. Ultimately, 59 authors from 21 European countries feature in this book. The European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST) and in particular its Secretariat deserve our gratitude for their support in establishing an active European community of urban forestry experts. In our work to prepare this publication, we have been assisted by Karen Sejr, who provided crucial editorial support. We are also grateful to Jette Abel, Birgit Brynjolf, Jette Alsing Larsen, and other colleagues at the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning, KVL. Without their contributions, the work could never have been completed. Words of gratitude also go to the publisher, Springer, who have supported the idea to publish a first European reference book on urban forests and urban trees from the very start, and who showed patience during the long production process."

The outstanding social and ecological roles of urban forests in the growth of cities has become widely known. In many parts of the world, despite or even because of continuing suburbanization, initiatives are being put forth to preserve urban forests, to develop them further and to make them acc- sible to the public. This volume focuses on a particular component of the urban forest - trix urban wild woodlands. We understand these to be stands of woody plants, within the impact area of cities, whose form is characterized by trees and in which a large leeway for natural processes makes possible a convergence toward wilderness. The wilderness character of these urban woodlands can vary greatly. We differentiate between two kinds of w- derness. The old wilderness is the traditional one; it may return slowly to woodland areas when forestry use has been abandoned. The enhancement of wilderness is a task already demanded of urban and peri-urban forestry in many places. This book would like to direct the attention of the reader to a second kind of wilderness, which we call new wilderness. This arises on heavily altered urban-industrial areas where abandonment of use makes such change possible. The wild nature of urban abandoned areas was discovered in the 1970s through urban-ecological research. Since then, in a very short time, profound structural changes in industrial countries have led to h- dreds or thousands of hectares in urbanized areas becoming available for natural colonization processes."

Shrubs can form the backbone of a garden and add year-round interest in so many ways. This practical book covers all you need for the successful growth, maintenance and propagation of these versatile plants, including advice on selecting species to make the most of their different habits and forms, and utilizing their architectural qualities to best effect. The diverse range of foliage shape and hue and the many colourful flowers, berries and fruits give you the freedom to create a stunning garden that carries its beauty through every season. A fully illustrated directory lists popular species from 70 genera, including camelia, daphne, garrya, magnolia, potentilla, senecio and yucca. Notes on average height, flower type, flowering time, and cultural requirements help you choose the right plants for your garden to achieve colour and interest throughout the year.

Martin Crawford is an internationally acknowledged expert on growing perennial food systems. It features a selection of the 100 best trees to grow. It includes appendices with lists of suitable trees for specific situations. Martin Crawford has researched and experimented with tree crops for 25 years and has selected over 100 of the best trees producing fruits, nuts, edible leaves and other useful products that can be grown in Europe and North America. The appendices makes choosing trees for your situation easy, with lists of suitable trees for specific situations plus flow charts to guide you. If you want to know about and use the large diversity of tree crops that are available in temperate and continental climates, then this book is both fascinating and essential reading by an internationally acknowledged expert.

The numerous species of hebe offer a huge variety in colour, shape, size and form, and are becoming increasingly popular with gardeners. This A-Z guide lists traditional and modern varieties of the versatile evergreen shrub, with colour photographs displaying the range available.

Farmers once knew how to make a living fence and fed their flocks on tree-branch hay. Rural people knew how to prune hazel to foster abundance: both of edible nuts and of straight, strong, flexible rods for bridges, walls and baskets. Townspeople cut beeches to make charcoal to fuel ironworks. Shipwrights shaped oaks to make hulls. In order tp prosper communities cut their trees so they would sprout again. Pruning the trees didn't destroy them. Rather, it created healthy, sustainable and diverse woodlands. From these woods came the poetic landscapes of Shakespeare's England and of ancient Japan. The trees lived longer. William Bryant Logan travels from the English fens to Spain, California and Japan to rediscover and celebrate what was once a common and practical ecology-finding hope that humans may again learn what the persistence and generosity of trees can teach.

A captivating A-Z treasury for the tree hugger in all of us Treepedia is an entertaining and fact-filled illustrated compendium of tree lore. Featuring nearly 100 entries-on topics ranging from tree ecology and conservation to the role of trees in religion, literature, art, and movies-this enticing collection is a celebration of all things arboreal. In this charming book, Joan Maloof explains the difference between a cedar and a cypress, and reveals where to find the most remarkable trees on the planet. She tells the story behind the venerable Bodhi Tree, and describes peculiar species like baobabs and Fitzroya. Maloof profiles legendary conservationists such as Julia "Butterfly" Hill, John Muir, Wangari Maathai, and Ken Wu. She discusses reforestation, proforestation, emerald ash borers, the ents from The Lord of the Rings, culturally modified trees, the ill-fated and controversial Redwood Summer, and much more. The book's portable size makes it the perfect travel companion no matter where your love of the forest may lead you. With enchanting illustrations by Maren Westfall, Treepedia is a fun and informative book that is guaranteed to inspire anyone who has ever enjoyed a walk in the woods. Features a real cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design Uses 100 percent recycled, uncoated, wood-free paper

The ideal, easy-to-use resource for growing healthy, resilient, low-maintenance trees, shrubs, vines and other fruiting plants from around the world - perfect for farmers, gardeners and landscapers at every scale. Illustrated with more than 200 colour photographs and covering 50 productive edible crops - from Arctic kiwi to jujebe, medlar to heartnut - this is the go-to guide for growers interested in creating diversity in their growing spaces. Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts is a one-stop compendium of the most productive, edible fruit-and nut-bearing crops that push the boundaries of what can survive winters in cold-temperate growing regions. While most nurseries and guidebooks feature plants that are riddled with pest problems (such as apples and peaches), veteran growers and founders of the Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano, focus on both common and unfamiliar fruits that have few, if any, pest or disease problems and an overall higher level of resilience. Inside Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts you'll find: Taste profiles for all fifty hardy fruits and nuts, with notes on harvesting and uses Plant descriptions and natural histories Recommended cultivars, both new and classic Propagation methods for increasing plants Nut profiles including almonds, chestnuts, walnuts and pecans Fertilisation needs and soil/site requirements And much more! With beautiful and instructive colour photographs throughout, the book is also full of concise, clearly written botanical and cultural information based on the authors' years of growing experience. The fifty fruits and nuts featured provide a nice balance of the familiar and the exotic: from almonds and pecans to more unexpected fruits like maypop and Himalayan chocolate berry. Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts gives adventurous gardeners all they need to get growing. Both experienced and novice gardeners who are interested in creating a sustainable landscape with a greater diversity of plant life - while also providing healthy foods - will find this book an invaluable resource.

This handy handbook, which can be used independently or as a companion to "The Trees of Florida" and "The Shrubs and Woody Vines of Florida," makes it possible to easily identify all of Florida's native and naturalized woody plants. The text is formatted as a traditional botanical key, offering a series of either/or decisions leading to the precise identification of a plant in hand. Designed primarily for field use and targeted to both amateurs and professionals, the keys are clear, concise, non-technical, and rely on conspicuous and easily seen features with emphasis on characteristics that are observable year-round. An important addition to any plant lover's field gear.

For gardeners lucky enough to live in the subtropical and tropical zones, here are 83 shrubs they can count on to display beautiful flowers and/or colorful, interesting leaves. Stunning color photos and practical advice make this book an inspiration as well as a how-to manual for those who want their gardens to put on a tropical show throughout the year. Learn how to use shrubs in garden design for hedges, borders, screens, bank covers, mass plantings, containers, as well as bird and butterfly attractors. You'll also learn how to maintain a healthy garden. In her straightforward style, Amanda Jarrett covers the basics of planting, watering, fertilizing, pruning, mulching, and controlling insects and diseases. Just follow Amanda's common-sense advice, and your garden will blossom for years to come.

Towns and cities are where most of us live, work and play, and although we recognize the value of the trees standing on the corner, or in the park, or framing the cathedral, most of us are unaware that they are a vital part of our urban life-support system. Discusses what trees do for us, and traces the development of urban trees in Britain. Considers all aspects of the damaging impact of urban conditions on trees. Examines urban tree management with reference to basic principles, planning tools, species selection, and site evaluation and modification. Analyses the planting of trees in towns and cities, pruning methods, the establishment and maintenance of urban trees, and inspection, monitoring and assessment procedures. Covers tree management on streets and highways, parks, woods and other public locations, as well as in private places including homes, offices, factories and wildlife conservation sites. Summarizes the law in the UK as it relates to trees. Briefly outlines the impact of climate change on trees in urban areas and on arboriculture in general. This invaluable book is essential reading for all those who wish to discover why trees are present in our population centres, how urban life in Britain has engulfed them in the last 200 years, why life is so difficult for urban trees, what their role is, and how we should care for them and include them in our urban future.

Eucalyptus, a genus of over 800 species, is a multiproduct crop par excellence. Not only is it grown for timber, pulp and fuelwood but, as the Aborigines discovered thousands of years ago, it has numerous medicinal and aromatic properties. Since the first commercial distillation of eucalyptus oil 150 years ago, a vast array of eucalyptus-based products has entered the marketplace, mainly for pharmaceutical, fragrance and flavour use.
This book provides an invaluable reference for all those with an interest in Eucalyptus - in academia and industry alike, for researchers as well as producers, processors, importers and end users - but there are also issues discussed and lessons learnt which extend to medicinal and aromatic plants generally.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203219430

The relationship between nature and culture has become a popular focus in social science, but there have been few grounded accounts of trees. Providing shelter, fuel, food and tools, trees have played a vital role in human life from the earliest times, but their role in symbolic expression has been largely overlooked. For example, trees are often used to express nationalistic feelings. Germans drew heavily on tree and forest imagery in nation-building, and the idea of 'hearts of oak' has been central to concepts of English identity. Classic scenes of ghoulish trees coming to life and forests closing in on unsuspecting passers-by commonly feature in the media. In other instances, trees are used to represent paradisical landscapes and symbolize the ideologies of conservation and concern for nature.
Offering new theoretical ideas, this book looks at trees as agents that co-constitute places and cultures in relationship with human agency. What happens when trees connect with human labour, technology, retail and consumption systems? What are the ethical dimensions of these connections? The authors discuss how trees can affect and even define notions of place, and the ways that particular places are recognized culturally. Working trees, companion trees, wild trees and collected or conserved trees are considered in relation to the dynamic politics of conservation and development that affect the values given to trees in the contemporary world.
Building on the growing field of landscape study, this book offers rich insights into the symbolic and practical roles of trees. It will be vital reading for anyone interested in the anthropology of landscape, forestry, conservation and development, and for those concerned with the social science of nature.

Making the most of Indigenous Trees is undoubtedly the most significant, useful and practical book ever to be published on this subject in South Africa. This third and revised edition contains 22 more tree species. The 163 tree species are alphabetically arranged according to the botanical name, illustrated with more than 850 photographs in full colour and discussed in detail. The following information is provided: An introduction section on tree propagation by seed, cuttings and truncheons. A detailed species description, diagnostic features, natural distribution and habitat. The ecological role and utilisation by mammals, birds and insects. Economic value and use by people, including use in gardens and on the farm, as a source of food for humans and animals, fibre and medicine. Properties of the wood and its utilisation by people. Specific guidelines on propagation and cultivation of each species. A map indicating the distribution of each species. More than 850 carefully selected colour photographs complement and illustrate the text. A table on the utilisation of indigenous trees by wildlife, references for further reading and an index to the common and botanical names are included. This valuable guide to indigenous trees should be within reach of every gardener, farmer, naturalist, nurseryman, forester and conservationist - in fact, anyone with a love and appreciation of trees.

Griselda Kerr has drawn on over 20 years of gardening knowledge and experience to create the book that she wishes she had had access to when, as a complete beginner, she started to revive the "dismal looking" plants in her garden - an indispensable, practical guide to how and when to look after more than 700 garden plants. No coffee table book this, it is designed for constant quick reference, to be used, perhaps as a stand-in for a knowledgeable friend, for advice on specific plants. Look up each plant in a specially formatted index spread across the year and a page reference will take you to a short, clearly written entry on what to do in a particular month - whether to clip, deadhead or divide, cut right down, feed, mulch or leave well alone. Each of these gardening techniques is also explained in a comprehensive glossary The Apprehensive Gardener is an attractive, durable, easy-to-use guide to plant care which will be referred to over and over again and will stand the test of time.

A beautifully illustrated guide to the marvellous and varied world of trees, and a fascinating introduction to the hidden secrets of 52 British species. Botanist and ecologist Ros Bennett has spent a lifetime helping people understand and identify plants and always hoped her daughter Nell would grow up to share her love of the natural world. During Nell's childhood years they spent much time exploring the local woods together. Here, Nell discovered the visual and tactile beauty of trees. In Tree-spotting, Ros and Nell have combined their backgrounds and talents to show you - through Ros's extensive experience and Nell's exquisite illustrations - how to identify 52 British trees simply and confidently. A beautiful and captivating insight into the wonderful world of trees, Tree-spotting burrows down into the history and hidden secrets of each species. It explores how our relationship with trees can be very personal, and will bring you closer to the natural world around you.

Growing beautiful Christmas trees is a great way to generate off-season farm income and make better use of your land. From selecting a site and planting the right species to marketing and selling trees, this Storey BASICS(R) guide shows you how to build and maintain your own small tree nursery. Including handy tips for making handcrafted kissing balls and holiday wreaths, Growing Christmas Trees covers everything you need to know to successfully cultivate stunning evergreens that will provide income and bring holiday cheer.

A one-stop treasure trove from the experts at RHS that covers every aspect of gardening! Dreaming of having the perfect garden? Does it have a vegetable patch? Classic borders or flowers to attract wildlife? A picturesque garden for all to marvel at is achievable with this gardening guide giving you the vital tools to achieve whatever you desire for your dream garden. Delve into this concise and practical guide to find all the gardening ideas and advice you need to create a spectacular, thriving garden. Here's what you'll find inside: - A comprehensive guide covering everything from growing in containers to planting a garden from scratch - Fully illustrated with detailed step-by-steps and inspirational gardening ideas - Detailed beginner's guide to garden design, including step-by-step instructions for simple hard landscaping such as building a raised bed, creating a pond, or laying a patio - Covers all aspects of planting styles, including "recipes" to make the most of different types of plants - Easy-to-follow guides on how to water, feed, prune and propagate your garden - Advice on problem-solving and controlling weeds and pests - A chapter full of Plant Chooser galleries to help you grow the right plant in the right place at the right time Learn how to plan, sow, plant, and protect your garden throughout the year with expert tips and techniques that will see your garden flourish. Discover how to design with plants by using colour and texture to create inspirational displays, and keep them at their best with jargon-free guides to pruning and preventing pests and diseases. Undertake a new endeavour of DIY landscaping projects, which include laying your own patio or lawn, or building a raised bed ready for you to grow your own fruit and vegetables. Choose from a catalogue of hundreds of different ornamental plants to find varieties that will thrive in your garden's climate and provide seasonal interest throughout the year. The Complete Gardener's Manual is the perfect all-around practical book for gardening beginners, also for those looking for a step up from a beginners' gardening book.

Farmers once knew how to make a living fence and fed their flocks on tree-branch hay. Rural people knew how to prune hazel to foster abundance: both of edible nuts and of straight, strong, flexible rods for bridges, walls and baskets. Townspeople cut beeches to make charcoal to fuel ironworks. Shipwrights shaped oaks to make hulls. In order to prosper communities cut their trees so they would sprout again. Pruning the trees didn't destroy them. Rather, it created healthy, sustainable and diverse woodlands. From these woods came the poetic landscapes of Shakespeare's England and of ancient Japan. The trees lived longer. William Bryant Logan travels from the English fens to Spain, California and Japan to rediscover and celebrate what was once a common and practical ecology-finding hope that humans may again learn what the persistence and generosity of trees can teach.