Whether you have a roof terrace, a tiny balcony or just a window sill, there's no excuse not to do some gardening. In Modern Container Gardening, Isabelle Palmer shows just how easy it is to get started in the garden - and how to make the most of every little space. Modern Container Gardening is the perfect book for novice gardeners who may have mastered the art of indoor plants and are ready to take it outside. The chapters include the basics, how to make a garden in a day, weekend projects, one-pot wonders, window boxes and finishing touches. It features 28 projects with a mix of small gardens, singular containers and window boxes, all of which are stylish and easy to manage. Isabelle also offers advice on how to upgrade store-bought containers with a lick of paint, transforming the look of your plants. With clear step-by-step instructions and advice on which plants suit your space, as well as how to care for them, this is an accessible book for anyone looking to start their own small garden.

This inspirational book from Kew's orchid experts reveals the easiest, most attractive and most popular plants to grow today. Orchids come from the second largest plant family (with 28,000 members) and have a reputation for diversity and trickiness - but expert Philip Seaton chooses 60 of the best species to become permanent and happy members of your home. Through a combination of 12 projects and easy to follow practical advice he shows how to welcome new plants, to revive their flagging spirits as well as their basic care and cultivation. He shows how to produce and train flowers, to collect and sow their seed, and how to plant and display them in a terrarium, or on bark or in a basket. Find out when to water them, how to repot them and the ideal room and conditions that each orchid needs to thrive. The combination of botanical beauty and practical advice will inspire beginners and experienced growers to grow new species in many different ways. This book is from the Kew Experts series, in which the top gardeners and botanical scientists from Royal Botanic Kew Gardens offer up advice and information as well as suggesting handy projects on a range of gardening topics. Other titles include: Companion to Medicinal Plants, Guide to Growing Bulbs, Guide to Growing Fruit, Guide to Growing Herbs, Guide to Growing Roses, Guide to Growing Succulents and Cacti, Guide to Growing Trees, Guide to Growing Vegetables and Guide to Growing House Plants.

Using seasonal checklists and Charles Dowding's expert no-dig advice, this month-by-month journal helps you plan bumper harvests the no-dig way. From tomatoes to basil, carrots to coriander, Charles Dowding, the UK's leading no-dig guru shows you how to grow a year's worth of healthy, organic crops while preserving the soil's integrity in this complete and comprehensive guide. Follow simple steps to find success, growing more than 35 vegetables and herbs in a range of easy and accessible projects suited to all kinds of spaces and environments. Start a no-dig vegetable plot on virgin or dug ground, improve the soil and become an expert mulcher and weeder, as well as learning the techniques for intercropping, companion planting, seed viability and crop succession. This easy-to-follow step-by-step guide by one of Britain's top gardeners is illustrated with photos to help you learn how to plan a vegetable garden, construct a raised bed, sow seed indoors and outdoors in spring, grow on young crops, protect plants from the weather and pests through the season and, finally, celebrate the joy of harvesting. Organised monthly from January to December, this journal is full of key dates for sowing, staking, harvesting and storing, as well as time-saving monthly checklists to help ensure a successful no-dig harvest.

A comprehensive, single source of information on the plants and animals that live alongside us. This updated edition features new material on climate change, recycling and wild spaces in gardens. This friendly handbook is full of practical advice on attracting wildlife to your garden and encouraging creatures to stick around. A helpful introductory section includes expert tips on green gardening, seasonal planting, how to deal with garden predators and how to get children involved in gardening. A DIY chapter, with a step-by-step guide on creating projects for your garden - from building nest, bat and hedgehog boxes to making your own pond - is also included. From foxes to finches and from lizards to ladybirds, colour photographs illustrate almost 400 garden species, including mammals, birds, insects, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, flowers, trees, shrubs and fungi, while the comprehensive text explains everything you need to cultivate a haven for nature.

Learn how to make and use nourishing compost for your garden with this handy little guidebook from an experienced National Trust head gardener. It's packed with useful tips for successful composting, from deciding what to put in your kitchen compost caddy to how to use the final product in your garden. The author discusses the various composting set-ups you can choose, from simple plastic cone-shaped 'Dalek' bins to ingenious hand-rotated barrels and elaborate solar-powered hot composting systems, and gives full instructions to make a professional-looking three-bay compost heap from old pallets. Also covered are unusual and innovative techniques such as keyhole gardening and lasagne planting, and there's a guide to wormeries and, for the very adventurous, snaileries. He also reveals the many uses to which compost can be put in your garden, and not just to grow plants in - as a top dressing to keep your lawn looking fresh and green, as mulch for your flower beds, or, in liquid form, as a powerfully nutritious plant feed. And there's a handy guide to which bits of kitchen waste you can put into your compost, and which you really shouldn't. Finally, if you've always wanted an exceptionally environmentally friendly composting toilet, instructions are here. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this practical guide contains all the advice you'll ever need to get your compost going and use it to help your garden thrive.

DK brings you an all-encompassing horticultural handbook to fulfil your every leaf and legume! Get your gardening gloves on, as best-selling author Huw Richards takes you on a green-fingered journey to be an undefeated veg-grower! A recent study suggests 38% of British adults use their gardens to grow herbs and vegetables. But with the ever-growing pressure of balancing family life with a career, a lot of today's green-fingered gardeners simply lack time for vegetable growing. Huw is on a mission to change that! Whatever your horticultural hopes may be, Huw Richards brings you a veg-growing guide that is sure to shape the next generation of green-fingered gardeners like never before, full of top tips on smart gardening, without compromising on time, effort or money. With passion in every page, you can enjoy: -Tons of tips and tricks to maximise efficiency of your vegetable gardens -Skillful and solid information to disparage the common myth that gardening requires too much time and effort -Easy to follow step-by-step instructions of fundamental gardening techniques -Visual representations of Huw's innovative ideas to easily apply to your own vegetable garden After the immeasurable success of his first two gardening books 'Veg in One Bed' and 'Grow Food for Free', Huw brings you a riveting third release, full of simple yet effective strategies to leave you with a patch to be proud of! By applying a strategic approach to your veggie patch, from choosing the right compost to using the correct cultivation tools, Huw assures that even the most hapless of gardeners can unearth the endless potential that all gardens possess, no matter the shape or size! Why not stand out from the crowd with this fully-illustrated veggie handbook, and start your intuitive gardening journey today to reap the benefits of a more bountiful harvest. An ideal gift for the green-fingered gardener or budding botanist in your life! With over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, Huw Richards is keen to share his 17 years' experience on maximising productivity of vegetable patches, so get those gloves on, and join the journey today! Ready, set, let's grow!

The Ecological Farm is a breakthrough resource for ecological fruit and vegetable growers at every scale who want to go beyond organic. Through a unique ecosystem-balancing approach focusing on reduced tillage, minimising farm and garden inputs and pest control, you’ll learn how to build higher soil quality and fertility by using fewer harmful inputs.   Farmer, consultant, and educator Helen Atthowe (along with her late husband, Carl Rosato) have decades of farming experience which is shared in this essential book. They guide readers on how to reduce or eliminate the use of outside inputs of fertiliser or pesticides – even those that are commonly used on certified organic orchards and market gardens. With clear, easy to action language and colour photography, charts, and graphs throughout, The Ecological Farm emphasizes the importance of managing the details of an entire growing system over the full life of an enterprise. The Ecological Farm features a crop-by-crop guide to growing more than 25 of the most popular and profitable vegetables and fruits, including specific management advice for dealing with pests and diseases. You’ll also learn how to: design a system that establishes a year-round root-in-soil system for microbial health strengthen the “immune system� of a farm or garden supply crop needs using only on-farm inputs such as cover crops and living mulch maximise the presence of beneficial insects and microbes minimise ecological impact in dealing with insect pest and disease problems The Ecological Farm makes complex, sometimes messy, ecological concepts and practices understandable to all growers, and makes healthy farming, in which nature is invited to participate, possible.

Making a garden that can withstand summer drought without being watered is the dream of many who wish to garden in harmony with the environment. In this classic work on gardening in dry climates, first published in 2008, Olivier Filippi offers practical advice to achieve this goal based on his, and his wife Clara's, experience of working with mediterranean-region plants for over 30 years. The first part of the book examines the behaviour of plants that face drought in their natural habitat. What is drought and how do plants manage to survive when little water is available? The second part is concerned with gardening techniques in a dry climate. How do you prepare the soil, when do you plant, how do you maintain a dry garden? The third and longest part describes in detail no less than 500 rewarding plants that are marvellously well adapted to dry gardens. This book is essential reading for gardeners who live in one of the world's mediterranean climate zones and will also be of interest to gardeners in areas where drought is becoming a recurring problem. Armed with a new palette of plants and liberated from the hose and the sprinkler this book invites you on a pioneering adventure that paves the way to a new style of gardening.

Douglas W. Tallamy's first book, Bringing Nature Home, sparked a national conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human well-being. In his new book Nature's Best Hope, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. Tallamy advocates for homeowners everywhere to turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats and mitigate the effects of development and corporate agriculture. This home-based approach doesn't rely on the federal government and protects the environment from the whims of politics. It is also easy to do, and readers will walk away with specific suggestions they can incorporate into their own yards. Nature's Best Hope is nature writing at its best - rooted in history, progressive in its advocacy, and above all, actionable and hopeful. By proposing practical measures that ordinary people easily can do, Tallamy gives us reason to believe that the planet can be preserved for future generations.

This book brings together the best advice for cultivating fruit trees, berries and shrubs using biodynamic methods, with the aim of harvesting healthy fruit free of pesticides. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer discusses the principles of tree biology before describing the measures that can be taken to develop a pest-free orchard without the use of chemicals, including soil preparation, the selection of trees for planting, issues of transplanting and pruning, the application of pastes, green cover crops, and pest control. Michael Maltas ran fruit tree experiments on his biodynamic farm in Missouri for four years. The results are recorded in a highly practical annual spraying schedule for orchards, which is reproduced in this book. A month-by-month calendar gives information on specific methods and controls, based on Maltas's extensive experience. This is an invaluable book with practical advice on all aspects of planning and maintaining a healthy orchard. This is a thoroughly revised and updated combined edition of 'Biodynamic Treatment of Fruit Trees, Berries and Shrubs' by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer and 'Orchard Pest Management and Spray Schedule' by Michael Maltas. Published in association with the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association of North America.

Ehrenfried Pfeiffer was a pioneer of biodynamics in North America. This short but comprehensive book is a collection of three key articles introducing the concepts, principles and practice of the biodynamic method, as well as an overview of its early history. The book also includes a short biography of Ehrenfried Pfeiffer by Herbert H. Koepf.

The interest in organic fruit and vegetables has never been greater. As people grow ever more suspicious of the chemicals used in food production, more and more gardeners are keen to grow their own vegetables and fruit while steering away from synthetic insecticides and pesticides. In this book John Fedor draws on both his training as a biochemist and his extensive gardening experience to explain exactly why and how to garden organically. He includes ground plans for gardens of all sizes, all the information you need on organic techniques such as soil care and composting, and an extensive illustrated directory of fruit and vegetables, with cultural information and recommended varieties. This is a book for beginners and experienced gardeners alike and set to become the standard reference manual on organic gardening.

Written by commercial-scale grower Mel Thomas, "Cannabis Cultivation" divulges the expertise, tips, and insight he learned at the helm of one of the world's largest marijuana growing operations. Ideal for beginners and anyone interested in learning more about growing marijuana indoors, the book is free of technical jargon and boring theory, and its step-by-step directions enable anyone to grow and harvest the highest quality marijuana using simple techniques and inexpensive, everyday gardening tools. All of the important factors that influence growth rate, yield, and potency are covered, including lighting, planting mediums, pH, nutrients, water systems, air, and temperature. With extra focus on small gardens and security, this is the perfect book for the home grower and medical growers.

Offering a broad perspective on how to make the best of the precious resource of water in your garden, this book reveals how conserving water in your garden does not necessarily restrict the gardener to dry gravel beds, but can also involve lawns, leafy crops, and flowery borders. Topics covered include the natural science of water-efficient gardening, choosing a style and design, water-efficient plants, and techniques to save on water.

If you want a vibrant, chemical-free vegetable garden, companion planting is the solution. Did you know tomatoes produce a natural insecticide that can help protect carrots against pests? Or that planting mint near lettuce can repel slugs? Every gardener knows that the key to an abundant harvest in their vegetable garden is controlling pests and disease, while still maintaining a healthy growing environment. But it is possible to have a healthy, thriving vegetable garden without using dangerous chemicals? It is, as long as you know how to pair up the right plants. Organic gardeners have known for years that planting the right plants together is the key to minimizing pests, improving soil quality, and increasing the yield of their gardens, and almost any vegetable you can grow likely has a beneficial companion. Companion planting is the ideal way to avoid using chemicals, while still increasing the efficiency of your garden. Expert organic gardener Brian Lowell will teach you how to use plants to create a beautiful, vibrant vegetable garden that will be free of toxic chemicals. Here's what you'll find inside: Handy companion planting pairings for all of the most common garden vegetables Practical, simple photography and colorful illustrations for dozens of beneficial planting configurations Expert advice from a master gardener that is specifically designed for beginners Loads of troubleshooting tips for fixing common issues with companion-planted gardens Tips for setting up the perfect vegetable garden, including practical advice on watering, soil management, troubleshooting, and more

Turn your garden into a wildlife haven by growing the right plants to encourage beneficial insects, aquatic life, backyard birds and animals. This title includes illustrated directories of over 200 plant species, from annuals, bulbs and pond plants, to shrubs, trees and climbers, with practical advice on cultivation and uses. It features 80 of the most common garden bird species, with identification illustrations and natural history information on distribution, size, distinguishing characteristics, nesting, eggs and feeding habits. It shows how to create beautiful borders, ponds and meadows, and how to make all kinds of birdhouses, birdbaths, bird tables and wildlife stacks. It is illustrated with over 1700 stunning practical photographs. One of the most enjoyable aspects of creating and maintaining a garden lies in the feeling of closeness to nature. These two books, written by award-winning gardening experts, give advice on how to create a range of wildlife gardens, with suggestions for the best flowers, shrubs, hedges and trees to grow. There are 25 projects for tables, nest boxes and birdbaths, as well as directories of over 200 wildlife-friendly garden plants, from woodland and countryside locations to town and city environments. With its helpful practical advice and over 1700 beautiful photographs and illustrations, this is the ideal source book for gardeners, bird lovers and wildlife enthusiasts.

In this beautiful book, Diana Yakeley shows how to choose and use plants to the best effect, taking into account scale and proportion, style and placement, form and shape, colour, scent and texture. A section on interior ideas explores a range of different rooms and the plants that are most suited to them. There then follows a chapter on planting schemes, including 6 step-by-step projects that reveal how to create your own special displays. The practical aspects of indoor gardening are covered in the final chapter, which contains information on light levels and humidity, potting and pruning, problem busting, containers and tools. There is also a directory, which gives detailed horticultural information on a range of different plants.

"By harnessing the power of plants to grow more plants, my garden - which at the outset was always intended to be organic - quietly became vegan by stealth. Realising I had crafted a vibrant, nature-filled and no-dig garden from scratch, and was able to sustain it without lifting a forkful of manure, or any of the other grisly by-products (dried blood, bonemeal) of the animal-exploiting meat, dairy, poultry and fishery industries, filled me with an unexpected buzz. That same buzz has taken my growing, as well as my thinking about how what I do in my garden affects our natural world, way beyond just organic gardening. My vegan-organic gardening journey delights and surprises and teaches me something new each day, and I know of no better way to bring beauty and abundance into our beleaguered, changing world." Our natural living world is undergoing profound change, with implications for every living thing on earth. To meet this challenge we must rethink many aspects of our everyday lives, including the way in which we cultivate our gardens. This book explains a mindful, gentle, yet powerful way of gardening that is in harmony with nature. Vegan gardening builds on the spirit and philosophy of organic gardening - but goes way beyond it. We discover how our garden (or backyard) is actually a living, dynamic ecosystem in its own right, and how wildlife, in all its guises, is crucial to creating a healthy ecological balance. Climate-friendly gardening is explored with examples of how to take practical steps to reduce our 'gardening footprint'. Peat composts deplete the world of non-renewable resources, but there are effective (and easy) alternatives and solutions for flourishing plants. Pests only need to be contained, not killed - and beneficial wildlife can be encouraged.The no-dig approach is better for the soil and the plants - as well as your back! The concept of a vegan-organic, closed-loop garden, self-sufficient in everything it needs - from soil-building compost to plant supports - is shown in action.

Take your garden to the next level-organic, native, and natural! Permaculture is an important but often misunderstood method of growing food and building homes in a manner that works with nature, rather than against it, to create beautiful, healthy, and useful gardens. Blending ecology, organic agriculture, green home design, appropriate technology, and biology can be confusing and overwhelming, but Permaculture for Beginners simplifies this vast field for practical application. This is a hands-on guide, taking the beginner through each step of the design process, so that anyone can apply permaculture principles to their own life. While the principles are simple, the in-depth topics cover every aspect of permaculture, including: Building green homes and passive solar design Growing edible plant communities and forest gardens Using no-till and natural farming methods Creating microclimates for extended growing seasons Raising livestock with ecological foraging techniques Transforming urban backyards into food-abundant oases This is a commonsense approach to sustainable living that creates a self-sufficient and low-effort home for the people that live there, whether in the city or the country. Permaculture for Beginners isn't a philosophy book, or a dissertation on theory. It is a step-by-step, complete guide to every aspect of permaculture.

In this book, Sharon Amos explains how to design and create a beautiful garden for little or no money, offering tips on bartering for clippings, getting a bargain at garage sales or neighbourhood fairs, digging up suckers or adapting wild species and controlling them in a garden environment. She provides a comprehensive directory of 80 plants including detailed advice on where and how to grow a wide variety of garden favourites, from snowdrops to poppies. With beautiful illustrations, Plants for Free is the perfect gift book for cultivating your garden on a budget of next-to-nothing.