Trees and shrubs bring permanence and structure to home landscapes, adding character and beauty to the entire property. They can impart an immediate sense of geography; act as background staging for flower gardens, outdoor living spaces, and children's play areas; and provide cool shadows and privacy from neighbors and passers-by. They are essential to every beautiful yard, yet many homeowners do not give them the attention that flowers and lawns traditionally receive.
Penny O'Sullivan gives trees and shrubs the respect they deserve in her lively, comprehensive book, "The Homeowner's Complete Tree & Shrub Handbook." Woody plants, she maintains, can be the heart and soul of the home landscape plan. Their contribution to the yard might include a springtime canopy of blossoms; colorful, delicious summer fruit; a regal year-round silhouette; rough and rugged bark; or seasonally changing foliage. Their presence is a soothing anchor in the ever-changing environment of a typical yard.
In three sections -- design, plant profiles, and care -- this handbook covers every essential consideration of tree and shrub gardening. After an introduction to the principles of garden design, O'Sullivan guides readers through tree and shrub selection, with special considerations for owner expectations and growing conditions.
The heart of the book is the extensive encyclopedia of hundreds of tree and shrub portraits. Each profile covers ease of cultivation, availability, history, hardiness, size, growth rate, and special characteristics. O'Sullivan also includes warnings about plants not to grow, such as invasive exotics and disease-prone trees and shrubs.
The final section covers care and maintenance, with thorough advice on buying and planting; siting; pruning; fertilizing; and coping with diseases, pests, and environmental problems.
Adding trees and shrubs to a home landscape can be an expensive proposition. To make their purchases and protect their investment, homeowners will constantly refer to this book for O'Sullivan's wise advice.

The text reflects the passions of the author and gives full details of the plants, from the latest nomenclatural changes to revisionist thinking on the ever-expanding limits of cold hardiness. Mike Dirr is a legend in the horticultural world, widely acknowledged as a leading expert on trees and shrubs for landscapes. Add to that more than 3500 color photographs, and indispensable backmatter lists for choosing exactly the right plant for the right purpose, and you have an unsurpassed resource for tree and shrub identification and selection, one that will be embraced by garden designers, landscape architects, urban foresters, park managers, nursery professionals---anyone who values hardiness, disease resistance, and beauty in their woody plants.

While the act of pruning is simple enough, knowing where and when to prune can confound even experienced gardeners. For more than half a century, Robert Sanford Martin's "How to Prune Fruit Trees" has been the go-to guide for pruners of all levels of expertise. As one reviewer noted, "This book simplifies what other books complicate. It has a small amount of text paired with line drawings that help break pruning tasks down into something you can easily understand." Martin has judiciously pruned his words to make his advice as clear and simple as possible. His guidance in the art of cutting back and thinning out has been responsible for the preservation of countless healthy trees and orchards. Maximize your fruit production-whether you are growing apples, almonds, plums, pomegranates, or any of over 40 varieties of fruit trees discussed in this book-by making the right cut every time.

In this enhanced edition, additional information from H. H. Thomas's "Pruning Made Easy" explores the treatment of roots, side shoots, sub-laterals, standards, cordon trees, and other aspects of plant care. Well illustrated and clear, this book will become your indispensable guide for year-round pruning success and should have a place in the library of both seasoned and amateur gardeners.

The ancient art of bonsai is thoroughly explored in this book. With the aid of this title, you'll discover the varied and intricate artistic paths to creating a bonsai in its many different finished forms. You'll also find practical instructions on starting and training your own bonsai and the special care and display needs of these plants. A final section describes in encyclopedia format those plants that have been proven to grow successfully and attractively under bonsai treatment.

A food forest is a productive landscape developed around a mix of trees and perennials. Rooted in permaculture principles, this integrated approach to gardening incorporates a variety of plants such as fruit and nut trees, shrubs, vines, and perennial herbs and vegetables. Food forests can help increase biodiversity, protect valuable habitat for beneficial insects, and promote food security and resilience, all while providing an abundant harvest. The Food Forest Handbook is a practical manual for the design and management of a home-scale perennial polyculture garden. Simple, straightforward instructions guide the reader through: Getting started - site assessment and planning Tending the forest garden - maintaining soil health, succession planning, , mulching, pruning and more The fruits of your labor - crop profiles, harvest, storage, nutrition and recipes. This timely book makes the concept of food forests accessible to everyone. Focusing on the potential of perennial polyculture to enhance local food systems, The Food Forest Handbook shows the reader how to mix and match plants in unique combinations to establish bountiful landscapes and create genuine self-reliance in years to come. Darrell Frey is the owner and manager of Three Sisters Farm, a five-acre permaculture farm, solar greenhouse and market garden located in Western Pennsylvania. He has been permaculture teacher for thirty years, and is the author of Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm. Michelle Czolba is co-owner of Pittsburgh Permaculture and co-founded the Hazelwood Food Forest. She has extensive experience in the design and maintenance of perennial polyculture.

With this manual for choosing the right trees in the central valley region of California, prospective planters can weigh their options and pick the trees that best suit their sites. Healthy, mature trees can add substantial value to property; sickly trees, however, can cost an equally substantial amount. The expertise of a professional arborist is collected and made accessible here for any reader who wishes to invest in trees for landscaping. Plenty of troubleshooting tips cover problems from blight to bugs, and each of the 40 featured species has a complete entry describing its benefits for both land and landowner.

Begin your lifelong love affair with the mindful art of bonsai. Do you know your shari from your nebari? Can you tell literati styling from informal upright? Want to know how to create that gnarled and twisted look? Let Happy Bonsai guide you along the path to enlightenment, with care and display profiles for 40 top trees and fully illustrated step-by-steps of more than 20 bonsai techniques and styles. Find your perfect tree and discover how to prune, shape, and tend to its needs to create a beautiful living sculpture. Fall in love with this most meditative of garden crafts.

Vertical gardening adds an extra dimension to gardens and this book will cover the ins and outs of growing climbers and wall plants to get the very best in terms of cover, cropping and flowering. It will look at flowering plants, fruit and some vegetable plants, and how to make the most of every available space in your garden. Includes: * creative ideas for using climbing plants and wall shrubs effectively in the garden * quick lists of climbing plants for specific purposes, conditions or effects * A-Z profiles of recommended plants * practical advice on training, pruning and propagation * illustrated step-by-step guides to essential techniques Alan Titchmarsh imparts a lifetime of expertise in these definitive practical 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 successfully grow climbers and wall shrubs.

The book covers all the technical aspects of planting trees, such as how to incorporate them into the garden design; mixed border plantings; group plantings and woodland schemes, avenues; hedges, screens and windbreaks; and in tree collections. There are also useful how-to sections that explore the practicalities of growing and propagating trees.