Your garden could be even better for you. Discover... How certain plants can form a barrier against air and noise pollution Which birdsong alleviates anxiety How plants can help to save energy Why green is so good for us Learn how connecting with nature can reduce stress and improve wellbeing. You don't even need a garden - even a balcony or houseplants can help to boost your mood. Every recommendation is backed by scientific research, drawn together by the team of RHS scientists and experts. Favourite garden designer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Matt Keightley then suggests how to translate the science into ideas for your green space. With this groundbreaking book, find out how, in sometimes very simple ways, you can create an outdoor space that nourishes your mind and body, and is good for our planet too.

Fruit trees, shrubs, and vines are true two-for-one plants. Many varieties are strikingly beautiful - well suited to doing double duty as delicious sources of sweet, organic fruit and as ornamental additions to the home landscape. Backyard fruit plants also tie in perfectly with the growing locavore movement. It's difficult to find food that's more local than one's own backyard!
"Luscious landscaping," as author Lee Reich calls it, takes fruit-bearing plants off the commercial farm and replants the prettiest and tastiest specimens in suburban and rural yards. Spring blossoms, summer and fall fruit, and the year-round presence of the plants themselves bring a special magic to the home landscape. Pillowy pink blossoms on peach branches or the bright orange fruit of persimmon trees perk up their surroundings with color and drama.
Beautiful plants, yes, but these landscaping additions also provide sweet, nutritious fruit. Homegrown, organic varieties bear almost no resemblance to commercially produced fruits, which are bred and selected to withstand shipping and refrigerated storage conditions. It's hard to believe that Alpine strawberries and those grown in California and shipped across the country are even related!
Fruitscaping is a complete, no-nonsense guide to growing temperate-zone fruit, with information on everything from planting and pruning to pest control and harvesting. Readers will find all the basics of landscaping with fruit - site analysis, climate assessment, understanding soil and sun, plant selection, and optimizing growing conditions. An encyclopedia of 38 plants includes information for each entry on hardiness, size, potential pests, special care andpruning, harvesting, and visual appeal.

Cultivate a mindful new habit in 2023 with Be More Bonsai, and discover how the art of growing bonsai trees can lead to a happier, more mindful way of life Amid the chaos of modern life, the ancient art of tending to bonsai can bring calm and perspective. The central tenets of this beautiful, meditative practice teach us patience, focus, calmness, perspective, planning, mindfulness and many more traits that can help us in our busy, challenging everyday lives. This calming companion will guide you through: * Caring for your own bonsai tree * Applying the mindfulness of cultivating bonsai to everyday life * The ancient Eastern philosophy of tending to bonsai From the shedding of leaves representing the letting go of material possessions, to carefully tending to the bonsai roots just as we should our own core values, Be More Bonsai is filled with wisdom that you'll cherish every day. Through the pages of this unique book, drawing on thousands of years of wisdom, elegant philosophy and a simpler, ancient way of life, we can all learn to Be More Bonsai.