Easy and effective remedies are explained in a clear and practical way; step-by-step photographs show how to store water when it rains using water butts, containers and ponds, and how to conserve water used in the home. Practical advice is given on using compost to conserve water, and on lawn treatments. Special treatments and planting methods are covered in detail and help is given on grouping plants, correct watering and drought resistant plants. This is a book for all gardeners. It is superbly illustrated throughout and it contains all you need to know about creating a perfect garden when there is a water shortage.

Loaded with plants that conjure visions of tropical islands and pina coladas, this book makes real every gardener's dream of living in a private Eden. Detailed, step-by-step instructions guide gardeners through the process of cultivating their own tropical gardens with thick foliage and bright, bold plants.

Easy-to-read information and full-color photography guide the readers to information on the best grasses that grow in the hot, humid South, and instructions on planting and maintenance for each season of the year.

Ponds and water features have been popular in gardens for thousands of years. This book is aimed at anyone who is thinking of building a pond, anyone who has bought some of the materials but doesn't know how to start or anyone who has a pond and needs to know how to keep it at its best.The book starts with the basics of assessing the garden, checking the site, planning and preparation, tools and materials and electrical wiring and safety. With the basics established the authors introduce the many different types of pond and how they can be created, maintained and enhanced.From split-level ponds to wildlife ponds, plant and fish and adding sculptures, bird houses, stones and bridges, each subject is presented in a clear way with box features, lists and questions and answers. The final chapter looks at water features - a rock pool or stream for a large garden or a small wall mask or trough for a tiny back garden.

Originally published in 1936, this book is a detailed guide to the cultivation of the mushroom. Full of detailed information and instruction on growing and harvesting, this book is still of great practical use to today's grower. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include: Introduction - The Nature of the Mushroom - Site and Soil - Buildings - Manures - Spawns - Making up Beds - Care of Beds - Diseases and Pests and Their Control - Picking and Packing - Exhibiting - Some Companion Crops - Marketing and Costings - Cooking Recipes

Grow your own cut flowers and you can fill your house with the gorgeous colours and heavenly scents of your favourite blooms, knowing that they haven't travelled thousands of miles - and you can make money while you do it! Combining boundless passion with down-to-earth guidance and practical advice, Georgie Newbery draws on her own experiences as an artisan flower farmer and florist as she takes you through: * how to start a cut-flower patch * what to grow * cutting, conditioning and presenting cut flowers * creating a hedgerow Christmas * starting a cut-flower business * where to sell * marketing and social media * a flower farmer's year planner. Whether you want to grow for your own pleasure or start your own business, The Flower Farmer's Year is the perfect guide.

Planting for Pollinators is an easy-to-use gardening guide to help you encourage different types of insect pollinators into your garden. Insect pollinators not only bring joy to our gardens, they also provide an essential service for our planet. Without bees, flies, hoverflies, butterflies, moths and beetles, some of our favourite foods, flowers and plants would cease to exist. Whether you have a large garden, an urban balcony or just a window box, planting to encourage pollinators is a fantastic and surprisingly easy first step in creating a wildlife-friendly space. Planting for Pollinators features a wide range of plants, with guidance on the best ways to nurture lawns and verges, pollinator predation and tips on watching and photographing wildlife. Beautifully illustrated throughout with images from award-winning wildlife photographer Heather Angel, this essential guide will show you how plants communicate with insects, and why it's so important to protect our pollinators. Organised by season and featuring more than 100 plant species - including bulbs, annuals, perennials, shrubs and climbers - this practical guide will help you to discover the short- and long-term benefits of having a variety of pollinators visit your garden.

Charles Dowding draws on his years of experience, to show how easy it is to start a new vegetable garden. Any plot - whether a building site, overgrown with weeds or unwanted lawn - can be turned into a beautiful and productive vegetable area. Charles's no-nonsense and straightforward advice is the perfect starting point for the beginner or experienced gardener. The book takes you step-by-step through: * Planning and early stages * Clearing the ground * Mulch - what, why, how? * Minimizing digging * Sowing and planting across the seasons * Growing in polytunnels and greenhouses It is filled with labour-saving ideas and the techniques that Charles uses to garden so successfully and is illustrated throughout with photos and tales from Charles's first year in his new vegetable garden.

This guide from the experts of Kew Royal Botanical Gardens is filled with tips and advice to help you grow your best vegetable garden ever! In this book Kew's Kitchen Gardener, Helena Dove, combines practical elements with inspiration and beauty to make a comprehensive and informative guide with all you need to know to master theart of growing vegetables. She shows how to grow some of the most popular staple crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, radishes and rocket, and also some more unusual and exciting choices such as oca, tomatillo, seakale and yacon. She gives easy to follow instructions on how to be a successful vegetable gardener, plus 12 exciting projects to try throughout the year including forcing rhubarb, creating an asparagus border and growing in raised beds. From sowing, to planting young plants, to hardening off and harvesting, find out what you need to do and when, to produce the most magnificent harvests. All the advice is underpinned by the expertise and authority of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and illustrated from Kew's world-famous botanical collection. With this book, you wil be able to reap a rich bounty of delicious vegetables from just a few packets of seed and some fertile ground! 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 Orchids, Guide to Growing Roses, Guide to Growing Succulents and Cacti, Guide to Growing Trees, Guide to Growing Herbs and Guide to Growing House Plants.

Originally published in 1881, this is a'Practical treatise on the cultivation of the most profitable outdoor crop known'. Wonderfully detailed, it presents a complete system for the growing, cutivating and harvesting of all types of mushrooms.

How do you design a landscape book suitable for its intended uses? How can the natural qualities of a landscape be enhanced with new features and focal points? How can you make pedestrians stay on the footpath? What kind of plant, path or wall should you put where, and what sort of contract should you choose for your client's contractor? This refreshingly down-to-earth introduction to the vast subject of landscape design and construction answers all these questions, guiding new students through the many facets of professional practice and welding together the artistic, legal, financial, environmental and management issues which can seem so dauntingly disconnected. Illustrated with original drawings, photographs, sample plans and facsimiles, including a new colour plate section, this readable classic has been fully revised and updated throughout. It opens with a completely new chapter which explains design and aesthetic principles, explores the history of our relationship to landscape, and shows how design principles can be applied to influence reactions to the finished site. The author then considers different elements of hard landscape and their relative merits in different situations. The soft landscape section includes coverage of the effects of mass and form, natural and abstract planting, and the difficult subject of plant selection. A step-by-step guide through all the stages of managing a project, from initial discussions with clients, site inspection, surveying and quoting, through tendering, contracting, contractual agreements, development from concept design to final plans and drawings, as well as maintenance, now includes the current information on CDM regulations and provides readers with a plain-speaking reference on client management and contractual administration. Added to the guide to drawing and lettering is an extensive section on computer-aided design. A bibliography and list of useful organization are also included.