Gardens are often crawling with all kinds of garden bugs, and even the smallest plot can be an important haven for wildlife. But can you distinguish between a Garden Snail and a Strawberry Snail? Or can you tell a False Widow Spider from a Harvestman? These are just some of the more than 2,000 different species of garden bugs that are found in the British Isles, many of which we depend on for our own survival. RSPB ID Spotlight Garden Bugs is a reliable fold-out chart that presents illustrations of more than 50 of our most widespread and familiar garden bugs by renowned artist Richard Lewington. - Species are grouped by family and helpfully labelled to assist with identification - Artworks are shown side-by-side for quick comparison and easy reference at home or in the field - The reverse of the chart provides information on the habitats, behaviour, life cycles and diets of our garden bugs, as well as the conservation issues they are facing and how the RSPB and other conservation charities are working to support them - Practical tips on bug houses and implementing wildlife-friendly garden practices are also included The ID Spotlight charts help wildlife enthusiasts identify and learn more about our most common species using accurate colour illustrations and informative, accessible text.

With over 300 beautiful color photos and an informative text offers practical knowledge for the planning, building, and care of water features in gardens. From design to maintenance, all necessary steps are made clear, including planning, building processes, material uses and techniques, and using rainwater as they apply to fountains, biotopes, brooks, swimming pools and ponds, plants and animals. Step-by-step instructions, informative suggestions, maintenance tips, lists of plants, and plans are included. This book is essential for anyone intending to include a water feature in their landscape design.

Novelist and nature writer Richard Horan embarked on an adventure across America to reveal that farming is still the vibrant beating heart of our nation. Horan went from coast to coast, visiting organic family farms and working the harvests of more than a dozen essential or unusual food crops--from Kansas wheat and Michigan wild rice to Maine potatoes, California walnuts, and Cape Cod cranberries--in search of connections with the farmers, the soil, the seasons, and the lifeblood of America.

Sparkling with lively prose and a winning blend of profound seriousness and delightful humor, Harvest carries the reader on an eyeopening and transformational journey across the length and breadth of this remarkable land, offering a powerful national portrait of challenge and diligence, and an inspiring message of hope.

Discover more than 100 ideas to help you become an eco-friendly gardener. RHS Do Bees Need Weeds is packed with more than 100 practical questions and answers to help you become a more eco-friendly gardener, and show you how to adopt a more sustainable way of gardening. The book includes simple, low-cost ideas, from fun projects such as how to build a wormery or a homemade water butt to advice on which plants suit bees best and how to achieve a zero-waste garden. In these pages you will find dozens of solutions to common garden problems as well as inspiring innovations that reduce your gardening consumption, tackle waste and help the environment. Filled with fascinating facts and ideas that will help you make a real difference to the green credentials of your garden, this book is both informative and entertaining, with plenty of I-never-knew-that mini-features. This is a book you and your family need, and one that you'll all enjoy, too. Includes questions such as: - Which features will make my garden greener? - Are my garden lights harmful? - How can a lawn be wildlife-friendly? - Is it ever OK to have a bonfire? - Are there alternatives to plastic? - Can I grow year-round crops? - Is it OK to buy compost?

Forest Gardening (or agroforestry) is a way of growing edible crops with nature doing most of the work. A forest garden imitates young natural woodland, with a wide range of crops grown in vertical layers. Species are chosen for their beneficial effects on each other, creating a healthy system that maintains its own fertility, with little need for digging, weeding or pest control. The result of this largely perennial planting is a tranquil, beautiful and productive space. This book is a bible for permaculture and forest gardening, with practical advice on how to create a forest garden, from planning and design to planting and maintenance. It explains how a forest garden is designed from the top down: the canopy layer first, then the shrub layer, the perennial ground-cover layer, the annuals & biennials next, the climbers and nitrogen fixers and finally the clearings, living spaces and paths. Whether in a small back garden or in a larger plot, the environmental benefits of growing this way are great. Forest Gardens are a viable solution to the challenge of a changing climate: we can grow food sustainably in them without compromising soil health, food quality or biodiversity. Forest gardens: store carbon dioxide in the soil and in the woody biomass of the trees and shrubs. enable the soil to store more water after heavy rains, minimizing flooding and erosion. boost the health of the ecosystem, ensuring a balance of predators and beneficial insects because mixed planting is crucial to the scheme. allows the soil to thrive because it is covered with plants all year round. Creating a Forest Garden includes a detailed directory of over 500 trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals, root crops and climbers. As well as more familiar plants such as fig and apple trees, blackcurrants and rosemary shrubs, you can grow your own chokeberries, goji berries, yams, heartnuts, bamboo shoots and buffalo currants. Forest gardens produce fruits, nuts, vegetables, seeds, salads, herbs, spices, firewood, mushrooms, medicinal herbs, dye plants, soap plants, and honey from bees. This book tells you everything you need to create your own forest garden with beautiful illustrations and helpful tips throughout.