Natural and wild gardening Books

Book SynopsisAn indispensable and lavishly illustrated guide to creating a garden that attracts and sustains butterfliesButterfly gardening creates habitats that support butterflies, connecting us with some of the most beautiful creatures in the natural world and bringing new levels of excitement and joy to gardening. In this engaging and accessible guide,Trade Review"The North American Butterfly Association offers a lavish guide to remedying their plight in Butterfly Gardening, by Jane Hurwitz. It’s helpfully organized by region, and so straightforward and reasonable that there should soon be many more nectar banquets for these important pollinators."---Dominique Brown, New York Times Book Review"Butterfly Gardening by Jane Hurwitz is another beautiful gardening book that . . . will get beginners started and serve as an inspiration for experienced lepidopterists."---Tina Winstead, Daily Star"If you weren’t already inclined to devote some gardening efforts to butterflies, the more than 200 stunning color photos of eggs, caterpillars, and butterflies-and the lovely gardens that support them-that fill advocate Jane Hurwitz’s book would nudge you in that direction."---Andrea F. Siegel, Washington Gardener"Gorgeous photographs of butterflies and plants dress up the text and graphs, making it a pleasure to read."---Jean Greenlaw, Denton Record-Chronicle

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Book SynopsisWeeds are wild plants that have survived in the face of centuries of hostility. Many gardeners who are unfamiliar with the versatility of weeds think of them as a nuisance. They can be good, bad, dangerous or beautiful. Above all, they are tough. This essential guide explores the virtues of good weeds, including how they can protect soil and add to soil fertility; act as companion plants in gardens; provide food for farm livestock; support wild life; provide herbal remedies for minor ailments; yield vegetable dyes and finally, give us weed cuisine: nutritious food and drink for free.

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Book SynopsisGarden Wildlife is a book that looks at the habitats in our gardens from the point of view of wild animal and plants. If we understand our gardens in this way, then we can appreciate that different parts of our gardens essentially mimic wild habitats in microcosm. This means that we can provide places for wild animals and plants to flourish in our gardens, whether they happen to be in rural, suburban or urban settings. Above all, we need to get away from the current obsession with tidiness and sterility in our gardens, and allow odd corners to go wild, so that our native species can live alongside us in the modern world. Without wildlife to discover and observe in our gardens, our lives are impoverished, so we have a duty to ourselves and our children to invite nature back into our outside spaces.

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Book SynopsisGive pollinators a fighting chance! Transform your landscape into a breathtaking pollinator paradise with the practical solutions in this New York Times–featured guide. The passion and urgency that inspired WWI and WWII Victory Gardens is needed today to meet another threat to our food supply and our environment—the steep decline of pollinators. In The Pollinator Victory Garden, environmental horticulturalist, landscape designer, and New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden teacher Kim Eierman offers accessible, actionable information and tips for winning the war against the demise of these essential animals. Pollinators are critical to our food supply and responsible for the pollination of the vast majority of all flowering plants on our planet. Pollinators include not just bees, but many different types of animals, including insects and mammals. Beetles, bats, birds, butterflies, moths, flies, and wasps can be pollinators. But, many pollinators are in trouble, and the reality is that most of our landscapes have little to offer them. Our residential and commercial landscapes are filled with vast green pollinator deserts, better known as lawns. These monotonous green expanses are ecological wastelands for bees and other pollinators. With The Pollinator Victory Garden, learn how to transition your landscape into a pollinator haven by creating a habitat that includes pollinator nutrition, larval host plants for butterflies and moths, and areas for egg laying, nesting, sheltering, overwintering, resting, and warming. Perfect for beginner to intermediate gardeners, this guide offers a wealth of information to support pollinators while improving the environment around you: The importance of pollinators and the specific threats to their survival How to provide food for pollinators using native perennials, trees, and shrubs that bloom in succession Detailed profiles of the major pollinator types and how to attract and support each one Tips for creating and growing a Pollinator Victory Garden, including site assessment, planning, and planting goals Project ideas like pollinator islands, enriched landscape edges, revamped foundation plantings, meadowscapes, and other pollinator-friendly lawn alternatives A Pollinator Victory Garden checklist to help you plan and implement the steps needed to have a thriving pollinator garden Plant lists of native tree and shrub species organized by pollinator type and bloom time The time is right for a new gardening movement. Every yard, community garden, rooftop, porch, patio, commercial, and municipal landscape can help to win the war against pollinator decline with The Pollinator Victory Garden.Trade Review“Ms. Eierman […] lays out nature-friendly tips in her book The Pollinator Victory Garden.” * The New York Times *"This book provides an in-depth education of how pollination works and what pollinators need to thrive, and then translates that information into actionable steps to take in the garden." * Horticulture Magazine *"It’s a well written, well laid out book with lots of tips to help even a first time gardener. It’s a book anyone who wants to help should have in their library." * Broken Teepee *"...packed with useful information, charts, diagrams, and gorgeous photos." * Dear Author *"...provides all the advice and information you'll need to get started on your own pollinator project." * Connecticut Gardener *"With The Pollinator Victory Garden by Kim Eierman you can give pollinators a fighting chance. Provides a wealth of information to support pollinators while improving the environment." * Green Profit *"Every beekeeper should be thinking like this. Kim goes a long, long way to making it possible to make it happen for you. Try this book this year." -- Kim Flottum * Bee Culture *"If you want to learn how to protect your pollinators and make sure they are taken care of throughout the year, I highly recommend getting The Pollinator Victory Garden!" -- Susan Bewley * Budget Earth *"With Eierman’s guidance, easy to read charts, plants list, and even a Pollinator Victory Garden checklist, you can create a bio-diverse native habitat that can make a difference to the pollinators of the world." * EcoLandscaping.org *"...shares a wealth of information to support pollinators while also improving the environment around you." * Michigan Gardener *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1 Essentials of Pollinators and Pollination Chapter 2 Providing Pollinators with a Place to Live Chapter 3 Providing Pollinators with Food to Eat Chapter 4 Parade of Pollinators: Meet the Pollinators Chapter 5 Creating and Growing a Pollinator Victory Garden Appendix Ten Tips for a Thriving Pollinator Victory Garden Pollinator Victory Garden Checklist Plant Lists Early-Blooming Native Trees and Shrubs for Bees Native Flowering Plants for Native Pollinators Native Flowering Plants for Honey Bees Native Flowering Plants for Hummingbirds Recommended Books Index About the Author

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