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Books > Gardening > Specialized gardening methods
Bonsai are ornate, exquisitely formed trees; they are not merely
plants, but elaborate works of art. In this practical and
handy-sized guide, the intricate process of bonsai is demystified
and made accessible to everyone. The book is packed with projects
on how to grow and care for these miniature trees. Practical advice
on how to start a bonsai from seed or from cuttings is given, as
well as detailed steps on how to prune and shape different tree
types. Guidance is offered on how to care for your trees through
the seasons, and what tools and materials to work with. There are
also useful tips on what pots and containers should be used to
create the best effects. With its accessible step-by-step format,
this book provides all the information gardeners will need to
master this intriguing, stimulating and spiritually creative art.
One tree, in one garden. Can it really make a difference? In RHS
The Tree in My Garden, award-winning wildlife author Kate Bradbury
reveals the amazing effect planting a single tree in your garden
can have - and dares to imagine what would happen if every gardener
up and down the country did the same. Combining practical gardening
advice, eye-opening scientific research, reflections on the
cultural importance of different species, and evocative accounts of
how vital trees are for countless different forms of wildlife, this
book will leave you in no doubt that every garden needs a tree!
This terrific tree book features a directory of 50 key species,
each one beautifully illustrated by Lucille Clerc and packed with
information about each tree's appearance, care needs, and the
wildlife it supports - to help you choose the best tree for your
own garden, or learn more about the trees you may already have.
Dive into the pages of this tree identification book to discover: -
50 illustrated profiles of a wide range of trees suitable for
different gardens and preferences - Eye-opening accounts of the
importance of trees for our planet, our wildlife, and ourselves -
Essential practical information to help readers choose, plant,
prune, and care for their tree - Ideas for making your own leaf
mould and ways to get involved in community planting projects -
Stunning illustrations by Lucille Clerc that convey the beauty and
the mystery of trees This book is perfect for anyone wanting to
attract more wildlife to their garden! So whether you're an
environmentalist intent on reducing your carbon footprint, a
budding gardener looking to choose the best tree for your outdoor
space or you're simply seeking a guide about the natural history of
the trees in your garden, RHS The Tree In My Garden is something
the whole family can explore, discover and love. No garden should
be without a tree. Plant one, watch it grow - and become part of
something bigger!
Dry weather defines the southwest, and it's getting dryer. A water
becomes more precious, our gardens suffer. If we want to keep
gardening, we need to revolutionize our plant choices and garden
practices. Hot Colour, Dry Garden provides home gardeners with a
joyful, colour-filled way to exuberantly garden in low-water
conditions. Garden expert Nan Sterman highlights inspiring examples
of brilliant gardens filled with water-smart plants. Gardeners will
find advice for adding colour to the garden, information about
designing for structure and texture, and a plant directory that
features drought-tolerant plants that dazzle. Hot Colour, Garden is
a must-have guide for gardeners in the Southwest and other areas
affected by drought and low-water conditions.
Discover everything you need to know to grow your garden in
containers. Even if you only have a balcony or small patio, you can
grow more than you ever thought possible in pots, wall planters and
hanging baskets! This is your no-fuss guide to container gardening.
Are you interested in making your outdoor space greener but don't
know where to start? This urban gardening guide for beginners will
help you choose and care for more than 80 different plant
varieties, all specially chosen for their ability to thrive in
containers. Discover the quickest way to bring nature into your
home all year round! From suntraps to shady corners, this easy
gardening guide will show you how to brighten up even the trickiest
areas with beautiful plants. You don't have to be a horticulture
expert to get started, this indispensable reference book will take
you through every single step! It includes: - Tips on how to care
for more than 80 different container plant varieties - Packed with
practical, jargon-free know-how and simple gardening techniques -
Easy-to-follow format to help grow your gardening knowledge Let It
Grow! Gorgeous, full-colour photography provides plenty of
inspiration and styling ideas! Expert tips and step-by-step
instructions on every page help make sure that you care for your
plants in the right way for them to flourish. Grow Containers shows
you how to leverage every square inch of your gardening space. It's
perfect for first-time gardeners, especially renters and small
homeowners with paved-over gardens. Complete the Series: Make your
green-fingered dreams a reality with the Grow series from DK. Learn
how to sow, grow and harvest vegetables successfully in Grow Easy
Veg, or discover how to garden more sustainably in Grow
Eco-Gardening. Alternatively, there are more titles to explore such
as Grow Pruning & Training and Grow Houseplants.
The right kind of stone and how you incorporate it in your
landscape and garden can make all the difference. Stone, a broad
term that includes pavers, fieldstones, bricks, rocks and boulders,
and stone veneer, can be used to create a distinct yet practical
component to any yard. And with the variety of natural and
manufactured stone products widely available today, incorporating
stone in the landscape is no longer out of reach.
"Stonescaping Idea Book" showcases a wide range of inspiring and
practical ideas for using stone in all types of landscape settings
and for all budgets and regions of the country. Along with
tried-and-true designs for inviting walkways and beautiful walls,
new ways of using stone in gardens and patio spaces are also
presented. You'll discover ideas for creating graceful streams,
waterfalls, or even simple fountains that will help transform your
backyard into a private retreat. And you'll find a wide range of
outdoor living spaces that family and friends can enjoy for years
to come. As the examples in the book demonstrate, there is a world
of stone to explore; this book will help get you started on the
right path.
Topics covered include:
Patios & Terraces
Paths, Walks & Steps
Walls
Pools & Ponds
Seating & Sculpture
"[A] tome that holds the secrets to science-based organic and
sustainable food crops. It joins a handful of essential books on
the topic, and delves deeper and in more granular detail into the
process of gardening with nature than any other book I know
of."-Jeff Cox, author of From Vines to Wines and The Organic Cook's
Bible, and contributing editor of Horticulture magazine Dismantle
your gardening myths. Grow a garden grounded in fact. Edible
landscaping pioneer Robert Kourik deftly guides the reader through
the mysteries of growing plants and designing landscapes in
temperate climates and suburbs, and the use of all-natural,
sustainable methods to grow and maintain a healthy variety of
plants. Would you like to garden without digging, composting,
buying fertilizers, spraying with pesticides, or lamenting low
yields? If so, Sustainable Food Gardening is the book you've been
waiting for, with over 450 pages, 13 chapters, and 487 color
photos, illustrations, charts, and graphs. Author Robert Kourik
began his career in natural landscape design and maintenance in
1974, with one of the first sustainably oriented organic gardening
businesses in the country. In Sustainable Food Gardening, you'll
learn to: Design your own "edible landscapes." Use no-till
techniques to preserve the integrity of your soil Adapt your
growing space to fit into a wide range of USDA garden zones Review
alternative ways to change "guilds' (well-intended clusters of
trees and shrubs jumbled together) to more effective and
labor-saving plantings. Grow new kinds of beautiful and productive
Victory gardens Plant Native American "Three-Sisters" gardens that
actually work Learn many myths about roots, and what to do to help
them thrive Attract many beneficial insects to your garden with
strategic flower plantings Here are some of the other topics
covered in depth: Rainwater catchment/cisterns. Hugelkulturs (do
you really need raised garden beds filled with rotten wood?).
Options for better, faster ways to maximize and improve soil.
"Dynamic accumulation"-a myth with some useful guidelines. Avoiding
hours of tree-pruning and encouraging fruiting with a few dozen
clothespins. Clever ways to install and simplify drip irrigation
Using plants to lure good insects that prey upon pests. Promoting
beneficial soil life. Adding food crops to a native-looking
landscape. In Sustainable Food Gardening you'll learn how to
achieve that Holy Grail of gardening-productivity, tasty food, and
a beautiful, sustainable garden, yard, or landscape.
The new movement in contemporary gardening is about going back to
the wilderness, creatively landscaping with native plants to enrich
their environments and seamlessly merge with their natural
surroundings. Politely rejecting traditional manicured, hedged and
pruned gardening aesthetics to invite an alternative kind of
beauty: wildly bursting with indigenous plants, old-growth trees,
vibrant patches of wildflowers and perennials, succulents,
un-pruned bushes and ornamental grasses. New York City s Highline
is a famous example and this landscaping approach is becoming
increasingly popular for private homeowners. This book surveys
twelve such breath-taking gardens captured by award winning
photographer Andre Baranowski. The featured gardens range from
small private residencies to large properties, by renowned
landscapers such as Oehme van Sweden, Fernando Caruncho, Jorge
Sanchez, and Piet Oudolf. The texts detail each project s approach
and the hurdles presented by its landscape, providing the reader
with an array of instructional ideas from an insider s mindset.
Guaranteed to be a boundless source of inspiration and treasured by
lovers of gardens worldwide.
Grow amazing plants from the comfort of your own home.
This book will teach you the basics of growing fruit, vegetables, herbs, and the very best indoor flowers, as well as tips and tricks to reuse your food scraps and reduce your waste as you experiment with seeds.
Did you know that you can grow a beautiful houseplant from an avocado seed? Or regrow lettuce in a matter of weeks, just in an inch of water? And you can create a windowsill of delicious herbs simply from cuttings?
You don't need a complicated toolkit to start sowing; just spades of enthusiasm and any spare containers you have lying around your home. And here's the best part: as your windowsills begin to burst with greenery, you will reap the health benefits too - from anti-oxidants to air purifiers, as well as plants which aid good sleep, your plants will transform every aspect of your lifestyle.
This gorgeous book celebrates the joy of creating something from scratch and infusing the home-grown mentality into all aspects of your lifestyle, from your mealtimes to your home d�cor and your wellbeing. So, just pick up a pot and start sowing your own!
Grow up! If you have limited outdoor space and would like to grow
your food, this practical illustrated guide will help you transform
previously plant-free zones into thriving, beneficial and utterly
beautiful food-growing areas. Using special containers, either
bought or home-made, as well as conventional methods such as
containers on a roof or growing plants up walls, you can grow a
wide range of edible crops - and grab a salad for lunch without
getting your feet wet. This book includes: * Creating edible roof
gardens * Planning and growing crops on green roofs, including on
sheds * Using a wide variety of containers, e.g. ladder allotments
and growing frames, with details of how to make them * Making the
most of wall boxes and hanging baskets * A directory of plants
suitable for vertical growing - fruit, flowers and herbs as well as
vegetables - with advice on how to cultivate them. Whether you have
an apartment with just a wall, windowsill, balcony or small flat
roof; a school with nothing but a tarmac playground; or just a
paved courtyard in your community centre, this book will get you
started on a new way of growing.
This lavishly illustrated book celebrates water gardening in all
its forms. How to create a wealth of water features, with advice on
incorporating them stylishly into the garden. Over 300 glorious
photographs show ideas, examples and how to achieve the practical
results you want.
The Gardener's Guide to Succulents is a stunning visual reference
identifying over 125 plants from 40 different genera of succulents
and cacti. Fleshy, spiny, hairy, flowering--and coming in every
imaginable shape, color and size--this plant family has captured
the affection of plant enthusiasts all over the world. This book
provides a beautiful overview of the diversity that succulents have
to offer, presenting a wide variety of popular plants to help you
create striking, aesthetically pleasing compositions. This
succulent guide includes information about: What each variety needs
and where it thrives Plant characteristics, with ratings on ease of
growth and maintenance requirements Ideas for group plantings and
illustrated tips on indoor planting Striking identification photos,
rich in color and contrast This succulent encyclopedia is a useful
resource for everyone--from cacti beginners looking to decorate
their living space to serious gardeners hoping to expand their
succulent plantings.
If you love the joys of eating home-garden vegetables but always
thought those joys had to stop at the end of summer, this book is
for you. Eliot Coleman introduces the surprising fact that most of
the United States has more winter sunshine than the south of
France. He shows how North American gardeners can successfully use
that sun to raise a wide variety of traditional winter vegetables
in backyard cold frames and plastic covered tunnel greenhouses
without supplementary heat. Coleman expands upon his own
experiences with new ideas learned on a winter-vegetable pilgrimage
across the ocean to the acknowledged kingdom of vegetable cuisine,
the southern part of France, which lies on the 44th parallel, the
same latitude as his farm in Maine. This story of sunshine, weather
patterns, old limitations and expectations, and new realities is
delightfully innovative in the best gardening tradition.
Four-Season Harvest will have you feasting on fresh produce from
your garden all through the winter. To learn more about the
possibility of a four-season farm, please visit Coleman's website
www.fourseasonfarm.com.
*** 'So you know you want to start gardening but you have no idea
where to begin? ... Simon Akeroyd gives step-by-step guidance on
everything from creating a cactus collection to growing fruit in
hanging baskets. The book turns what is often a daunting task into
bite-size steps that can often be done in an afternoon.' George
Hudson, Evening Standard, favourite garden publications of the year
Aimed at first-time gardeners, those in rented accommodation or
anyone with limited outdoor space, this book teaches how to take
stock of an environment and start a garden. With ideas for gardens,
patio spaces, courtyards, balconies and interiors, these 50
easy-to-adopt ideas provide the steps to success for even the most
inexperienced gardeners. Contents include: - Create a floral
display with bulbs that last all year - Grow pet-friendly plants -
Create a vegetable harvest in pots - Add height in flat spaces -
Make a mow-free lawn - Hang plants around your home
Interest in the environment has never been greater and yet most of
us have little knowledge of the 4 billion years of history that
formed it. This book explains the principles of geology, geography
and geomorphology, and shows how a basic understanding of
geological timescales, plate tectonics and landforms can help you
'read' the great outdoors. This is a highly illustrated book with a
very accessible text that beautifully illuminates the landscape
around us.
With fans far and wide, cacti and succulents come in myriad shapes
and sizes too. These firm favourites of Instagram influencers are
perfect for adding greenery indoors, and can add structure and
detail to outdoor spaces as well. Smaller plants are companions for
'generation rent', since they are easily moved from place to place.
Generally low-maintenance, being 'plant mum' to one or two of these
tiny plants often starts a life-long fascination, and an ever
growing horde. The Little Book of Cacti and Succulents is an
inspiring and indispensable guide to growing these fascinating
plants. Detailed Plant Profiles are divided into sections according
to style and shape, from beautiful trailing plants to intricately
formed rosettes. At the beginning of the book, you'll find
practical advice on getting started, caring for the plants through
the year and how best to show your plants off. You can also
discover how to grow your collection using various propagation
techniques with step-by-step guidance. Cacti and succulents provide
year-round interest for very little input, and caring for their
fascinating forms is an enchanting hobby. Full of beautiful
photography and sweet illustrations, The Little Book of Cacti and
Succulents is an encouraging and down-to-earth guide to these weird
and wonderful plants.
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