Specialised gardening methods Books

Book SynopsisStarting plants from a seed grants earlier harvests, greater variety, healthier seedlings, lower costs, and the undeniable sense of satisfaction and reward. For the most complete, up-to-date information on starting plants from seed, turn to The New Seed-Starter''s Handbook. Written by a gardener with 30 years of experience, this updated, easy-to-use reference explains everything you need to know to start seeds and raise healthy seedlings successfully. You''ll find:- The latest research in seed starting- The best growing media- The newest gardening materials- Solutions to seed-starting problems- Source lists for seeds and hard-to-find gardening suppliesThe robust encyclopedia section lists more than 200 plants—including vegetables and fruits, garden flowers, wildflowers, herbs, trees, and shrubs—with details on how to start each from seed.

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Book SynopsisBring your garden to life—and life to your garden Do you want a garden that makes a real difference? Choose plants native to our Northeast region. The rewards will benefit you, your yard, and the environment—from reducing maintenance tasks to attracting earth-friendly pollinators such as native birds, butterflies, and bees. Native plant expert Uli Lorimer of the Native Plant Trust makes adding these superstar plants easier than ever before, with proven advice that every home gardener can follow. This incomparable sourcebook includes 235 recommended native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, wildflowers, grasses, sedges, and annuals. It’s everything you need to know to create a beautiful and beneficial garden. This must-have handbook is for gardeners in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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Book SynopsisThe first book to be widely published in English by Dutch garden designer Jacqueline van der Kloet, one of the foremost gardeners in the New Perennial movement who has collaborated with Piet Oudolf. Growing Bulbs in the Natural Garden is the first guide of its kind showing how bulbs can be incorporated into gardens alongside perennial plants and grasses so they appear to have grown naturally, with a nonchalant style that takes bulbs out of an old-fashioned traditionalism into a looser design space. The book teaches home gardeners and designers how to plan for successive flowering periods that ensures that the same spot produces flowers again and again, with bulbs that flower early, in the middle of the season, and late into the fall. If these mixtures are assembled with bulbs that are suitable for naturalizing, or that will flower again many years in a row, the grower will benefit most, planting them once and then enjoying for years to come. Growing Bulbs in the Natural Garden is fully photographed, with tips on the basics of gardening with bulbs for both beginners and enthusiasts, including a brief history of bulbs, defining characteristics, colour considerations, garden planning, and planting tips for both traditional and modern styles in borders, containers, green roofs, and in grass as part of a meadow landscape. There is a chapter on notable examples of bulbs in van der Kloet's garden designs around the world: the Keukenhof Garden and Floriade Festival in the Netherlands, Clumber Park in the UK, the Lurie Garden in Chicago (which she collaborated on with Piet Oudolf), and Shinko Central Square in Japan. The final chapter is a selection of Jacqueline's favorite bulb varieties for each season. Written in a friendly, welcoming, elegant, and disarming style, Jacqueline van der Kloet is poised to make a memorable debut in the English language gardening and horticulture world.

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Book SynopsisForeword by Gillian Burke This is a lovely little book that could and should have a big impact....Let’s all get rebugging right away! Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Meet the intelligent insects, marvellous minibeasts and inspirational invertebrates that bring life to our planet. Discover how we can ‘rebug’ our attitudes and embrace these brilliant, essential insects, so that we can avoid an ‘insectageddon’ and help each other thrive. In Rebugging the Planet, Vicki Hird shows us that bugs are beautiful, inventive and economically invaluable. They are also responsible for pollinating plants, feeding birds, defending crops and cleaning water systems. But with 40% of insect species at risk of extinction and a third more endangered, our planet is headed towards an insect apocalypse. We have to start giving worms, spiders, beetles, ladybirds and butterflies the space they need to flourish! Discover how to: Grow your garden a little wild and plant weedkiller-free, wildlife-friendly plants Take your kids on a bug treasure hunt and build a bug palace in your garden Rebug parks, schools, pavements, verges and other green spaces Make bug-friendly food choices and support good farming practices Rebugging the Planet shows how small changes will have a big impact on our littlest allies – and our planet. Hird’s joy in bug life is infectious and her knowledge encyclopaedic...If you’ve ever asked what bugs have done for us, read this book! Caroline Lucas, Green Party MPTrade Review"This is a lovely little book that could and should have a big impact. The decline of insect life in the UK and globally is one of the biggest concerns of our biodiversity crisis. We often feel so helpless about nature loss, so it’s hugely inspiring to find out that there is something we can actually do about it. Let’s all get rebugging right away!"—Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, multi-award-winning writer and broadcaster"A bold and educational call to action and call to arms in one of the most crucial challenges facing society – halting the dreadful destruction of the amazingly little animals we call invertebrates or bugs. Time to get rebugging!"—Matt Shardlow, author and chief executive of Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust"Everyone should read Vicki’s delightful bug book! She’s been a committed environmentalist and campaigner for nature ever since the 1980s, when I first met her. Like me, she’s a Londoner, but unlike me, she’s realised that her lifelong fascination for nature in general and insects in particular can be explored in an urban setting. Her passion for bugs is palpable and wonderfully illuminated through individual bug stories, which makes this book totally accessible. Vicki has done a service to the planet and the insects we share it with."—Patrick Holden, CBE organic farmer, and founding director and chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust"What a fantastic, timely and important book! For too long, our society has taken bugs for granted when in reality they represent the very foundations of our food system, our economy, our civilisation. With her well-researched but personable and highly readable writing style, Vicki Hird offers an engaging and hopeful narrative about what we can and must do to make insects matter, and reverse the appalling declines in insect populations that have taken place these last few years. In doing so, she doesn’t just stick with the easy stuff like what needs to happen in your garden or local park – much as she covers this brilliantly. She also tackles the need for system level change; in agriculture, in politics, in the economy, in culture, if we’re going to succeed in rebugging the planet – all while gaining fascinating insights from the remarkable world of insects."—Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts"Rebugging the Planet is a joyous and impassioned song to the insect life on which we all depend. Brimming with wisdom but accessibly written, it is a call to arms to avert Insectaggedon. Without bugs, we’re in deep trouble!"—Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of Who Owns England?"A passionate, accessible, and in-depth introduction to the wonderful world of ‘bugs’. Packed with eye-opening facts and leaving not a stone unturned in her efforts to understand and explain the causes of their decline, Vicki inspires each and every one of us to re-evaluate our relationship with these magnificent minibeasts. Whoever we are, whatever our circumstances, there is always more that we can do to help if we only knew how. This book provides us with the tools and advice we need to ‘rebug’ our gardens, our lives and our world."—Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of Dancing with Bees"Hird’s joy in bug life is infectious and her knowledge encyclopaedic. I defy even the most bug-phobic reader not to finish Hird’s book without, if not sharing her love of them, at least joining in her admiration. Bugs are essential to a thriving natural world, and indeed to our own future on this planet, yet they’re under threat like never before. If you’ve ever asked what bugs have done for us, read this book – and then join the movement to protect them!"—Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP"In 1987 E.O. Wilson told us that ‘bugs’ were the little things that run the world. We didn’t listen and instead have forced millions of species of these essential creatures to the brink of extinction. Just in time, Vicki Hird tells us how and why we need to change our cultural relationship with ‘bugs’ and reverse these disastrous declines. Despite the serious nature of this subject matter, Rebugging the Planet is a light-hearted and delightful read."—Douglas W. Tallamy, author of Nature’s Best Hope"This book is a delightful exploration into the world of ‘bugs’ – broadly defined to include insects, spiders, centipedes, and even snails – replete with creative use of words like ‘rebug’, ‘rewild’, ‘insectageddon’, ‘invertosphere’, ‘entomophage’ (the practice of eating bugs) and ‘fog basking’ by the Namib beetle to obtain water. Full of colourful stories about specific novel species like the cockchafer, the hummingbird hawkmoth and money spiders, it is also a call to action to do everything we can to stop the modern assault on bugs. The author shows how so many aspects of modern life – chemical-based agriculture, EMFs, plastics and forever chemicals – are forcing many species into extinction, but she also warns that we will come to appreciate what bugs do for us best when we see the carnage left behind when they are gone."—Stephanie Seneff, author of Toxic LegacyPublishers Weekly— "Brimming with tips and tools, this [book] is sure to leave nature-lovers inspired."

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Book SynopsisBen Raskin’s wide-ranging work in varied locations makes The Woodchip Handbook a really useful overview of the possibilities afforded by woodchip. Charles Dowding, author of Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening The first and only complete guide to sourcing and using woodchip – an abundant, inexpensive and ecologically sustainable material – for savvy growers and landscapers at any scale, from farm to garden to greenhouse. The Woodchip Handbook is the essential guide to the many uses of woodchip both in regenerative agriculture and horticulture. Author Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry at the Soil Association, draws on his extensive practical experience using woodchip, provides the latest research from around the world and presents inspiring case studies from innovative farmers. The book explores and unlocks the tremendous potential of woodchip to enhance soil health and plant growth: As a natural mulch for weed suppression, temperature buffering and water conservation As a growing medium for propagating plants As a decomposing source of warmth for hotbeds in the greenhouse or hoop house As a carbon-rich compost ingredient that supports beneficial fungi and microorganisms As a powerful soil health booster when applied as small-sized ramial chipped wood As an ideal substrate for growing many kinds of edible or medicinal mushrooms As a sustainable, versatile and durable material for foot paths and ornamental landscaping Some of these techniques, like mulching – or the renewable harvest potential from coppicing and pollarding trees – have been around forever. Yet there is always new science to be discovered, such as the role that salicylic acid from willow woodchip can play in preventing tree diseases or promoting livestock health when used as a bedding material. Whether you are a commercial grower or farmer, a permaculture practitioner or a serious home gardener producing your own fruit and vegetables, The Woodchip Handbook will show you how to get the most out of this readily available and renewable material. I did not know the world needed a whole book on woodchip, but from the first chapter I could not put this book down. Alys Fowler, author of The Edible Garden and The Thrifty GardenerTrade Review‘In a world desperate for solutions that will allow us to get off the agro-chemical treadmill while tackling the climate challenges ahead, woodchip steps forward. Working with Ben, I’ve learned much over the last few years, and am amazed by the power of this humble resource. This trailblazing book will be invaluable in firing both our imagination and understanding of woodchip’s potential to grow and farm better.’—Helen Browning, chief executive, Soil Association‘I did not know the world needed a whole book on woodchip, but from the first chapter I could not put this book down. Raskin’s thorough, informed and well-referenced research is going to be a must for anyone who cares about soil. Woodchip has such potential to help us create more local, sustainable ways of growing, and this handbook is the resource needed to dispel myths and find the best method and scale for everyone from gardeners to large-scale farms.’—Alys Fowler, author of The Edible Garden and The Thrifty Gardener‘I use woodchip quite extensively in my garden and have for decades. It has been an important part of increasing our soil organic matter and carbon storage. The Woodchip Handbook addresses its many uses and all the technical questions of how to acquire and manage it. If you want to learn more about woodchip for your yard or farm, look no further.’—Eric Toensmeier, author of The Carbon Farming Solution and Perennial Vegetables‘Ben Raskin’s wide-ranging work in varied locations makes The Woodchip Handbook a really useful overview of the possibilities afforded by woodchip. It’s good for soil and good for plants, once you understand how it can work best for you, as he explains in this book.’—Charles Dowding, author of Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening‘In a time when the farming and gardening literature seems to be overflowing with information about soil mineralization with rock dusts, cover crop smorgasbords, foliar feeding, liquid carbon pathways and rotational grazing, it is great relief to finally have, in one place, a treasure that describes the missing piece of the complete soil creation process: coarse woody debris! You won’t find a better, more complete summary of the how, the why and the overall importance of woodchip in the process of building the ideal fertile soil for your garden, homestead or farm. Bravo, Ben Raskin!’—Mark Shepard, author of Restoration Agriculture‘Ben Raskin's latest book, on the many, many uses and benefits of woodchip, is the definitive guide to the subject. It’s something every climate-change-savvy gardener must read.’—Kim Stoddart, editor, The Organic Way magazine; coauthor of The Climate Change Garden‘A real “grower’s” guide: comprehensive, informed and, quite possibly, revolutionary. Raskin is a practitioner of soil, and woodchip is his medicine. Through astute observation and keen experimentation, he unravels the burgeoning possibilities of woodchip for soil health and regeneration. The secret to woodchip, Raskin says, is fungi: “Woodchip without fungi is like a sea without fish.” If the future of growing is fungi, this book is the prototype manual for practical application of its unique power.’—Matt Rees-Warren, garden designer and author of The Ecological Gardener‘Ben Raskin covers all the bases when it comes to woodchip. This very useful and abundant by-product improves the soil and the environment. Ben presents a wealth of information in a logical, clear and engaging manner. I’ve been a longtime user of woodchip; after reading this book, I will begin using even more of it in even more ways.’—Lee Reich, author of The Pruning Book and Weedless Gardening‘Woodchip is widely available in most cities and has much potential in container growing – as a sustainable source of nutrients, as an ingredient to help sustain the structure of compost over many years and as a brilliant mulch for fruit trees and other perennials. At last, thanks to Ben Raskin, we have the first authoritative, well-researched book on the subject, packed full of useful information and advice. A superb resource for anyone interested in the magic of woodchip.’—Mark Ridsdill Smith, author of The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening‘Before picking up this book, I considered woodchip simply a nice thing to have around as mulch, but the deep dive Ben Raskin offers really makes the case that this material is an essential and focal part of so many aspects when stewarding healthy plants, soil, livestock and fungi. Readers will find the research and case studies fascinating, and the extensive details helpful in answering some of the most commonly asked questions. In the end, if we are to get serious in the act of regenerative farming and ecosystem repair, it's clear that woodchip will play a critical role and it’s time we get more serious about utilizing it.’—Steve Gabriel, Wellspring Forest Farm; author of Silvopasture‘Tree ecosystems create long-term soil fertility. We tap into lignin potential and fungal doings in our own gardens and orchards by utilizing woodchip in a multitude of ways. Ben Raskin delves into the practical nuance of ramial chipped wood and more to inspire humus building efforts everywhere. Regenerate your soil with the woodchip!'—Michael Phillips, author of The Holistic Orchard and Mycorrhizal Planet‘This is a timely piece of work given the dramatic rise, access and popularity of woodchip technologies. Ben Raskin has done the subject proud: well researched and with a pragmatic approach, there is something for growers and gardeners of all shapes and sizes here. Woodchip is able to offer truly sustainable solutions to some of the problems facing horticulture, in particular the replacement of peat-based products. With woodchip we can now grow our own fertile soil and substrates. This manual gives some great information towards that goal.’—Iain Tolhurst, Tolhurst Organics‘Agriculture has been reinventing itself regularly over the past ten thousand years. The Woodchip Handbook is a practical guide for the next step in that transformation in our backyard gardens and orchards as well as on our largest farms. It’s also a great read. Let the trees lead the way!’—John Bunker, orchardist and author of Apples and the Art of Detection

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Book SynopsisA must-read for anyone who wants to know how to grow their own zero-food miles, pesticide-free veg, while treading gently upon our planet. Dave Goulson, author of The Garden Jungle and Gardening for Bumblebees Whether you’re an experienced gardener or have ambitious plans for your allotment, this A–Z, soil-to-table guide shows you how to reduce chemical inputs; naturally enrich your growing ecology; and create a hardy, nutrient-dense and delicious crop. In The Healthy Vegetable Garden, expert organic gardener Sally Morgan explains how to use natural approaches to cope with the challenges of a changing climate through principles from regenerative gardening, agroecology and permaculture – all to help your green space thrive. The Healthy Vegetable Garden shows you how to: Combat disease and keep pests at bay with natural predators, companion planting and trap and barrier crops Choose the right plants to attract pollinators and pest predators Build a healthy soil full of organic matter, earthworms and mycorrhizal fungi Regenerate soil through no-dig practices, composting, cover crops and mulching Boost biodiversity through the use of crop rotations and polyculture Rewild your garden by creating a range of habitats, making use of walls and fences, log piles, water features and wild corners Understand plant defences and use biocontrols Make natural barriers, traps and lures A healthy, productive garden should work in harmony with nature to produce and protect delicious fruits and vegetables as well as build a rich soil that is full of life. With The Healthy Vegetable Garden, growers of all levels will start reducing incidents of pests and diseases while creating a verdant habitat – all without the need for fertilizers, pesticides or weedkillers.Trade Review"A must read for anyone who wants to know how to grow their own zero–food miles, pesticide-free veg, while treading gently upon our planet."—Dave Goulson, author of The Garden Jungle and Gardening for Bumblebees"COVID has led to a renewed appreciation of nature for many people, and an interest in joining CSAs or growing their own produce. So this book could not be better timed, and given Sally’s lifetime experience of organic gardening, it’s bound to inspire all those who want to ‘grow back better’."—Helen Browning, chief executive, Soil Association"If you want to grow your own food while helping nature to thrive, this fascinating book is for you. I learnt a lot."—Alex Mitchell, author of Crops in Tight Spots"An invaluable addition to the gardening literature, Sally Morgan’s new book does a superb job of presenting a holistic, ecological approach to soil health as well as pest and disease management. Whereas many books may simply say, ‘Use X product to fight X issue’, Morgan describes in thorough detail what the gardener can do – from building habitats to improving soil conditions – to ensure that issue never has a chance to take hold. You will turn to this book time and again as a smart, non-dogmatic guide to producing consistently healthy crops and, in effect, a healthier environment."—Jesse Frost, author of The Living Soil Handbook"There are so many reasons to grow a healthy food garden, and expert gardener Sally Morgan shows you how. In this comprehensive guide, you will dig deep into the world of soil, natural pest control and companion plants, along with a range of options for your natural landscape. This clearly written book sets up a strong foundation for new gardeners while also offering advice for those with more experience, who seek tools for building and maintaining a healthy food garden from start to finish."—Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of The New Heirloom Garden"In The Healthy Vegetable Garden, Sally Morgan shares a wealth of information about growing healthy soil as the foundation for exceptional gardens which produce nutritional food with minimal pests. Her simple informative style empowers the reader to put these concepts into grounded action. She has created a fantastic resource for the success of the next generation gardeners."—Katrina Blair, author of The Wild Wisdom of Weeds"One thing I found refreshing about Sally Morgan’s book is that she doesn’t trade in the myth of the ‘perfectly balanced organic soil’ which, of course, is not to be found in this imperfect, constantly evolving world. She doesn’t aspire to a weed-free or pest-free garden, but rather one where problems are kept manageable without resorting to extreme or disruptive remedies. She cites a slew of strategies one might use to correct course: biocontrols, barriers repellents, and so on. However, she keeps returning to the basic premise that by fostering a diverse and resilient habitat, the soil and garden ecosystem can do a great deal to regenerate and maintain itself, making external fixes unnecessary."—Will Bonsall, author of Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening"There are few gardeners (or farmers) I know who wouldn’t benefit from reading Sally Morgan’s new book, The Healthy Vegetable Garden. For the novice grower, the book is a great introduction to the principles and methods of ecological gardening. And for the veteran grower, there is sure to be plenty of new information, including incredibly detailed sections on pest and disease control. . . .[This is] a detailed and indispensable resource."—Hobby Farms

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Book SynopsisFrom the creator of the wildly popular website "Vertical Veg" and with over 200k people in his online community of growers, comes the complete guide to growing delicious fruit, vegetables, herbs, and salad in containers, pots, and more--in any space, from window boxes to garden yards, no matter how small! [A] thorough and enthusiastic guide to vegetable gardening . . . both handy and hefty...Aspiring urban gardeners will want to give this a look.--Publishers Weekly If you long to grow your own tomatoes, zucchini, or strawberries, but thought you didn't have enough space, Mark Ridsdill Smith, aka the "Vertical Veg Man," will show you how to make the most of walls, balconies, patios, arches, and windowsills. Ridsdill Smith has spent over ten years teaching people to grow bountiful, edible crops in all kinds of containers in small spaces. Inside The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening, you'll find: Mark's "Eight Steps to Success" How to make the most of your space How to draw up a planning calendar so you can grow throughout the year Planting projects for beginners Compost recipes and wormery guide for the more experienced gardener Troubleshoots for specific challenges of growing in small spaces How growing food at home can contribute to wellbeing and the local community With quick, proven results from his own tests, failures, and successes, Mark will show you how gardening in containers is not just a hobby, but a way of creating a significant amount of delicious, low-cost, high nutrition food. Don't be confined by the space you have--grow all the food you want with Mark's Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening.

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Book SynopsisSimple Pleasures Throughout the Year “Simple Pleasures has become my go-to book for remembering to slow down and enjoy the little things in life.” —Becca Anderson, bestselling author of Badass Affirmations, The Book of Awesome Women, and moreAn abundant sourcebook of ideas, encouraging quotes, recipes, and soothing activitiesSimple Pleasures of the Garden shows you how to appreciate the simple things within your daily activities. The secret to living well year round can be found in the abundance of your home garden, so get to planting those seeds of simple joys and herbal healing! Nurture your mind, body, and soul. Sometimes finding the positive can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be. From the recipe for a homemade herbal bath for a spa day to quick and easy recommendations for an instant room makeover, the suggestions and home recipes collected in this book offer a new appreciation for the everyday activities that nurture and comfort you.Simplify your emotional self care. Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be expensive, unrealistic, or inaccessible. It can be as easy as tending to a green garden, making healing herbal tonics, sipping calming teas, or spending time with other natural energy boosters. Pleasures are made, not bought, so unlock new secrets to happiness with these touching stories, practical tips, and satisfying crafts. Inside this positive attitude book you’ll find: Ways to decorate your home with nature crafts, growing herbs, and an air of magic Advice on how to foster a routine for a rejuvenating self care year Tips on how to become the gardener of your moods and emotions If you liked seasonal self care books like A Year of Self-Care, Grow Your Own Medicine, or A Woman’s Garden, you’ll love Simple Pleasures of the Garden.Trade Review“Simple Pleasures has become my go-to book for remembering to slow down and enjoy the little things in life.”—Becca Anderson, Best-selling author of Badass Affirmations and The Book of Awesome Women, and moreTable of ContentsContents Earthly Delights Spring In the Garden With Family and Friends Into the Kitchen Beautifying Your Home Nourishing Body and Soul Summer In the Garden With Family and Friends Into the Kitchen Beautifying Your Home Nourishing Body and Soul Fall In the Garden With Family and Friends Into the Kitchen Beautifying Your Home Nourishing Body and Soul Winter In the Garden With Family and Friends Into the Kitchen Beautifying Your Home Nourishing Body and Soul Acknowledgments Index Resource Guide

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Book SynopsisOpen Miniscapes: Create your own terrarium and discover the creativity and fun of making your very own indoor garden encased in glass. Do you love the greener things in life but don't have the time or space for endless gardening? This is the book for you. Miniscapes has 16 projects covering four biomes (Desert, Forest, Carnivorous and Air plants), suitable for all skill levels. The book equips you with the knowledge you need about soil and rocks, moss, tools, propagation, choosing your plants and containers, and designing your tiny landscape. Between these covers is everything you need to create and maintain healthy, happy terrariums that are cheap to make and easy to maintain (you can even upcycle things you already have at home).

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Book Synopsis“A visitor from down south stared at my apple tree and said: ‘Those don’t grow here you know. It’s too cold.’ If the apricot tree in Highlands knew it couldn’t live here, it might stop scattering white blossoms over three lawns.” – Bert Almon Edmonton has a rich and diverse horticultural history. Vacant lot gardeners, rose gardeners, and horticultural societies have all contributed to the beautification of the capital city of Alberta, and through the enthusiasm of florists, seedsmen, and plant breeders the city has developed a distinct horticultural character. In this collection of nine essays, each with a different theme, Kathryn Chase Merrett depicts the development of Edmonton’s social, cultural, and physical landscape as it has been shaped by champions of both nature and the garden. Edmontonians and all urbanites interested in gardening and local history, as well as professors and students of history, cultural studies, and urban design, will delight in the colourful storytelling of Why Grow Here.Trade Review#8 on the Edmonton Journal's Bestsellers list (Edmonton Nonfiction) for the week of August 07, 2015 * Edmonton Journal *#10 on the Edmonton Journal's Bestsellers list (Edmonton Nonfiction) for the week of August 14, 2015 * The Edmonton Journal *"Why Grow Here [is a] lovely read that's full of details that anyone will enjoy." -- Mark Stumpf-Allen * Wildflower News *“…well-written, meticulously researched stand-alone essays that illustrate the long history of what [Kathryn Chase Merrett] calls horticultural optimism in Edmonton, Alberta, on the Great Plains’ northern edge. She interweaves major horticultural activities and the people who made Edmonton a garden city… Merrett traces a common North American horticultural story: a new settlement concentrates on survival and subsistence first, then slowly on beautification…. What makes Edmonton’s story a bit different? I think it is the passionate plant breeders (almost a who’s who of northern hybridists) who made it their life’s mission to create hardy roses to make Edmonton the “city of roses.” -- Edwinna von Baeyer * Great Plains Research Vol. 26 No. 2 *"For most Edmontonians and those with an interest in gardening, this book is a must." * Alberta History *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1 | Why Grow Here? 2 | Donald Ross: Edmonton’s “Father of Gardening” 3 | Nature’s Garden Transformed 4 | Among the First 5 | The Edmonton Horticultural Society: Working for the City Beautiful 6 | Waste Places: Vacant Lot Gardening in Edmonton 7 | Edmonton, the Rose City 8 | The Invisible Tapestry: Remembering Edmonton’s Chinese Gardeners 9 | Citizen Gardener Notes Sources Index

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Book SynopsisHerbs add fragrance, beauty and practicality to your garden -- and it's easy to grow a wide variety of them just about anywhere in Canada. This book, by veteran garden writer Laura Peters, offers handy tips and advice on growing 47 varieties of herbs perfect for Canadian conditions: * Starting, maintaining and harvesting herbs * Propagation and winter care * Solutions to common garden problems. * This practical book will help you contribute to the age-old tradition of using herbs to flavour foods, give seductive scents to potpourris and perfumes, and add healthful, healing qualities to lotions and lip blams: * Exotic herbs such as kaffir lime, lemongrass, red valerian, fenugreek and stevia can be grown easily across Canada * Edible flowers such as nasturtiums and calendula can be grown for salads and flavouring in teas, honeys and butters * Fragrant herbs such as basil, rosemary and sage can be used in infusions, herbal baths and soaps.

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Book SynopsisThis title offers 101 practical ideas and projects for stress-free, low-maintenance senior gardening, shown step by step in more than 500 photographs. It presents ideas and inspiration for older gardeners wanting to keep healthy and active in the garden for years to come. It considers the practical decisions that are required in any garden, strategies to cater for individual disabilities, and sensory features to stimulate sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. It explains how different types of garden, such as flower gardens and fruit and vegetable gardens, can be designed for good access, low-maintenance and ease of care, as well as creative impact and productivity. An extensive plant directory is packed with easy-care options for all types of garden. It features accessible techniques, step-by-step projects, garden plans and over 500 photographs. You can discover how easy it is to carry on gardening into and way beyond retirement. This book shows how to plan a garden that is suitable for older people. It gives an overview of plants that will stimulate all five senses, and covers flower and herb gardens, fruit and vegetable gardens, and gardens with flexible features, such as containers, upright structures and raised beds, and indoor gardens. There is an extensive directory of planting ideas, each with an ease-of-maintenance rating. The book will give all enthusiasts, whatever their age, the wherewithal to carry on gardening and enjoying their outside space for as long as it gives them pleasure - forever.

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Book SynopsisA timeless gardening classic by Christopher Lloyd, one of Britain's most highly respected plantsmen, updated for the 21st century. With a new foreword by Anna Pavord.This is a classic work by a gardener who combines a passionate love of his subject with a critical intelligence and a good helping of wit. THE WELL-TEMPERED GARDEN is packed with the sort of information keen gardeners crave - from planting, weeding and the pleasures of propagation to annuals, water lilies and vegetables. Hailed as a masterpiece when it was first published, THE WELL-TEMPERED GARDEN is as fresh, enlightening and necessary for gardeners in the 21st century as it was when it first appeared more than 40 years ago.Trade ReviewIt is THE gardening classic, as essential to every gardener as a sharp pair of secateurs or a good spadeThe most inspiring gardening book of the later twentieth century * Royal Horticultural Society *Christo never played it safe when it came to plant combinations - sometimes disastrously; often joyously. A generous host, a stimulating friend, young in outlook, he was the most interesting plantsman I have ever known -- Alan TitchmarshPacked with ideas you would never have thought of: observations you wish you had discovered yourself -- Beth Chatto * Gardens Illustrated *Christopher Lloyd's great classic, THE WELL-TEMPERED GARDEN, never disappoints me when I'm looking for inspiration ... Lloyd has a wonderful way of describing plants - I can't look at a rhododendron without calling to mind his description of the foliage as "lugubrious" * COUNTRY LIVING *Packed with the sort of information gardeners crave - from planting and propagation to the pleasures of wild gardening in grass, and fruit and vegetable specialities. He writes with gusto, giving his opinions, his likes and dislikes firmly without worrying whether we agree or disagree with him * COUNTRY HOUSE AND HOME *One of the definitive gardening books of the 20th century has been updated. When Christopher Lloyd, one of the UK's most respected plantsmen, wrote the book, he established himself as one of those rare breeds of garden writers who not only writes about plants, but writes what he feels and thinks about them too ... The book is far from "sanitised" - how refreshing! * WATER GARDENER *If you want a chatty, opinionated and highly readable book, you can do no better than turn to Christopher Lloyd's classic, which is still in print after many years * WAITROSE WEEKEND *The Well-Tempered Garden was an eye-opener when I first found it more than 30 years ago. Most of the other books around were technical, but here was a good read about the sort of gardening that I wanted to aspire to. Somehow, one knew it was the right way ... and there's nothing to match it for sound advice based on experience -- Penny HobhouseThe Well-Tempered Garden is as useful and as enjoyable today as the day it was written -- Stephen Anderton

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Book SynopsisUse this practical guide to imbue your garden with artistic expression, no matter the size. Having a beautiful garden shouldn't require hours of weeding and planting. Here, you will learn how to transform your garden with the clever use of decorative elements such as gravel, water and sculpture. Popular columnist Elspeth Thompson showcases seven distinctive gardens created from spaces ranging from terrace and city nook to suburban garden and country retreat, demonstrating how easily you can recreate your space. Utilizing decorative elements like topiaries, potted plants, mosses, rocks, lighting and art, Elspeth designs striking havens that can be adapted to suit your mood or the season.

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Book SynopsisGardening with the Moon & Stars brings biodynamics to the ordinary gardener. Elen Sentier is passionate about biodynamics. She feels it's vital to make organics and biodynamics available to as many people as possible if we are to help our earth cope with the increasing demands we humans place upon her. Biodynamics is easy, simple, cheap and super-effective; it's seriously good horticulture too, and it works in whatever size of garden you have, from a window box to several acres. This book is written in plain down-to-earth language with lots of tips and hints to help you learn how easy it is to use the preparations and work with the star calendar.

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Book Synopsis'Gardening is the best medicine for the mind' - the GuardianGardening, like mindfulness, is a way of finding a sense of calm in an otherwise chaotic world, a simpler existence, even if it is only for a few minutes. Both forge a connection to the world around us, to nature and wildlife, which can bring pleasure and peace. In this beautifully illustrated guide to gardening for mindfulness, horticulturalist and mindfulness practitioner Holly Farrell provides a blueprint for a more contemplative way to garden, including projects, meditations and inspiration.Projects for the mindful gardener, including growing something from seed, planting a tree and creating a mandala, put the theory of mindfulness into practice, while plant lists and design ideas aim to enhance mindfulness in the garden through the senses. Easy to follow and beautifully packaged in a new format, this is the perfect book for keen gardeners, devotees of mindfulness, or simply those looking for calm in a busy and hectic world.Trade ReviewStep into spring by getting your garden into shape in a contemplative way. Spring-cleaning for the mind, if you like, plus great projects, from tree-planting to mindfulness-enhancing designs. * The Lady *An inspirational guide to a more contemplative way to garden. [...] Beautifully illustrated, this is the perfect book for keen gardeners, devotees of mindfulness, or simply those looking for calm in a busy world. * The Garden magazine *

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Book SynopsisA fresh approach to gardening by bestselling author and the nation's favourite gardener Monty Don.'Think of your garden like a meal. When you select a recipe, you're choosing it based on inclination, experience and circumstance. Making a garden, big or small, uses exactly the same process.'If you are new to gardening, it can seem daunting - with Latin names, various soil types and seasonal requirements, it feels like a lot to learn. But with Monty Don's new book as a guide you will discover just how joyful and rewarding gardening can be.Whether you want to grow your own veg, create a child-friendly garden, connect with nature, or make the most of houseplants, Monty will help you unlock your space's potential, showing you what, where and when to plant. The Gardening Book gives you the basics to grow over 100 popular flowers, foods, shrubs, houseplants and more - each one has a clear, concise, format: what you need, timing, method, and step-by-step photos, all on one spread. It's a refreshingly accessible approach that will help you build a garden which best serves your needs and enhances your lifestyle.

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Book SynopsisEven with the best planning and care, every garden can run into a problem or two. Whether you are beset with beetles or blighted by blackspot, The Garden Problem Solver has the solution.Guided by the team of experts at Gardeners' World - including advice from Monty Don, Alan Titchmarsh, Carol Klein, Arit Anderson, Adam Frost and more - The Garden Problem Solver contains the practical tips, tricks and techniques to deal with the obstacles that every home gardener has to face.Broken down into easy-to-follow steps, this handy guide will help you anticipate, avoid and troubleshoot the most common garden problems which crop up when growing your favourite fruit, veg, flowers and more.With a foreword by Adam Frost and complemented with hand-drawn illustrations, The Garden Problem Solver holds the secrets to making your garden look its very best.

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Book SynopsisIn this age of high technology, GM foods and industrial farming, many people are looking for an alternative way to live, that honours and respects the natural world. The Druid Garden mines the deep seem of gardening through the ages and alternative modern developments, to bring the reader a method of gardening that is truly in touch with the Earth. Drawing on the knowledge of the Druids and other ancient cultures, Luke Eastwood has created a practical guide to organic and natural methods that are proven to work. Advice for the total beginner, through to the experienced, ties together Druidic wisdom with the best of gardening knowledge. Part of this book is a handy alphabetical guide to trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, giving a wealth of information on history and folklore, as well as practical details on plant care and growing from seed. This book is invaluable to anyone serious about organic gardening or those simply interested in how things were done in former ages, Celtic Europe in particular.

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Book SynopsisThe story of how Francis Pryor created a haven for people, plants and wildlife in a remote corner of the fens. A Fenland Garden is the story of the creation of a garden in a complex and fragile English landscape – the Fens of southern Lincolnshire – by a writer who has a very particular relationship with landscape and the soil, thanks to his distinguished career as an archaeologist and discoverer of some of England's earliest field systems. It describes the imagining, planning and building of a garden in an unfamiliar and sometimes hostile place, and the challenges, setbacks and joys these processes entail. This is a narrative of the making of a garden, but it is also about reclaiming a patch of ground for nature and wildlife – of repairing the damage done to a small slice of Fenland landscape by decades of intensive farming. A Fenland Garden is informed by the empirical wisdom of a practising gardener (and archaeologist) and by his deep understanding of the soil, landscape and weather of the region; Francis's account of the development of the garden is counterpointed by fascinating nuggets of Fenland lore and history, as well as by vignettes of the plantsman's trials and tribulations as he works an exceptionally demanding plot of land. Above all, this is the story of bringing something beautiful into being; of embedding a garden in the local landscape; and thereby of deepening and broadening the idea of home.Trade Review‘A gloriously bucolic fenland hymn celebrating one man’s love for his garden and his wife. Francis is a fine writer and visionary, with an intelligence as sharp as an archaeologist’s trowel. Time spent in his company in person or in print is well spent!’ * Tony Robinson *'Brings to life the sense of place, that mythical bond between a garden and its natural landscape.’ * George Plumptre, CEO of the National Garden Scheme *‘Pryor is clearly smitten with the Fens. A gently heroic account of one archaeologist’s attempts to transform a beloved but exhausted landscape into a place where nature thrives.’ * Sally Coulthard, author of A Short History of the World According to Sheep *The pleasure [Pryor] takes in old landscapes and farming practices, and in the poetic words that describe them... is palpable * The Times Literary Supplement *Francis Pryor and his archaeologist wife Maisie, share their thoughtful garden-making in A Fenland Garden. Through their love of the land, they unearth some great garden stories and historical insights... A marvellous chronicle * RHS Magzine *In this uplifting read, [Pryor] reclaims the land bit by bit to produce a garden where nature thrives once more. * Britain Magazine *Francis's account of the development of the garden is counterpointed by fascinating nuggets of Fenland lore and history, as well as snippets of the plantsman's trials and tribulations as he works an exceptionally demanding plot of land. * Countryside magazine *This is a charming story of a fruitful, resourceful partnership, which has produced a landscape of real quality, attractive both to wildlife and to visitors welcomed on charity open days. * Spectator *PRAISE FOR SCENES FROM PREHISTORIC LIFE: 'Decades worth of communicating archaeology on TV and screen and a recent foray into crime fiction writing help make this a highly compelling read' Spectator. 'An evocative foray into the prehistoric past... Pryor recreates [the prehistoric world] with an effortless narrative style' BBC Countryfile Magazine. 'Brings almost impossibly distant times into brilliant focus' Eastern Daily Press Norfolk. 'Pryor's colourful book makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing than the frenetic and anxious 21st century!' Daily Mail. 'Vividly relating what life was like in pre-Roman Britain' * Choice Magazine *

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Book SynopsisDaffodils and tulips herald the arrival of spring, but from the earliest snowdrops to autumn crocosmias, bulbs bring colour and interest to gardens all year round. They can be naturalized in lawns, planted in containers, fill gaps between shrubs or form the basis of stunning borders. This definitive guide gives you Alan Titchmarsh's advice on how to plant bulbs for best effect in your garden.* A-Z directory of Alan's recommended bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes* Easy-to-follow plans show how to use bulbs in various situations and at different times of year* Practical tips for growing bulbs in grass, rockeries, containers, indoors and for cutting* Planting and growing techniques* Seasonal planting for year-round colour and scent

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Book SynopsisThe exquisite art of bonsai is beautifully demonstrated in this authoritative, practical handbook, which takes the reader from a first foray into the world of miniature trees to a level of considerable expertise. The book, now made available again in paperback, covers both indoor and outdoor varieties and is full of practical information about cultivation, propagation and pruning. It is a guide both for newcomers to the art and for bonsai gardeners with some knowledge of the subject. The handbook describes, with clear text and step-by-step artworks and finely detailed photographs, the anatomy and the art of this classic hobby. It describes the rules - and also how they can be broken. It will enable beginners to start up their own bonsai collection, whether of home-grown or bought trees, and to keep their bonsai healthy and in good shape. It will answer questions for those who already have some experience with bonsai. All the tools and the skills needed are described, and a photographic compendium displays the top 24 species, both outdoor and indoor.Trade Review"Bonsai books abound, but [this] may convince me to try again. It combines aesthetic appreciation with lucid practical advice, along with helpful drawings. Prescott deals with almost every facet of the art-from the proper tools, to watering, feeding, root pruning, soil types, pots and branch wiring-in a way that is truly encouraging."--"Washington Post Book World"

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Book SynopsisWater-efficient Gardening offers a broad perspective on how to make the best of the precious resource of water in your garden. The 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.

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Book SynopsisGrow your own seasonal food in a low maintenance, nature-friendly garden that feels like a woodland glade. Scottish plant expert Alan Carter shows you how to plan and plant a temperate forest garden for any sized plot-from a small terrace garden to an allotment or smallholding. Learn how to successfully layer root crops, fruit, perennial vegetables and edible shrubs below tree crops, cultivating an edible garden that doesn't look like a traditional vegetable plot. A forest garden is wildlife friendly, provides nutrient-dense and often unusual food through every season, and requires minimal work to maintain. The first part of this in-depth, practical guide explains how a forest garden works, how to map your climate and design your own plot, and how to manage it with mulching, weeding and pruning. What's not to like about Alan's motto of "the more you pick, the more you get," and intriguing concepts such as the Panda Principle? The second half of the book is a detailed directory of more than 170 plants and fungi suitable for a wide range of temperate climates, complete with growing, harvesting and cooking tips based on over a decade of Alan's own experience. Learn how to incorporate traditional fruit and vegetable crops, such as strawberries and beans, into your forest garden, and how to weave in more unusual crops, such as shiitake mushrooms and ferns. Techniques from agro-ecology bring regenerative farming into the backyard, helping you to work towards greater self-sufficiency. Useful tips on seed saving and propagation help keep plant costs low, and there is practical advice on soil health, compost-essential for all no dig, organic gardeners-and pests and disease. A Food Forest in Your Garden will help you create your own productive forest gardens even in cooler climates.

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Book SynopsisIn a fast-paced world with mega upheaval, including climate crises and a global pandemic, the allure of growing your own food, being self-sufficient, and living green is immense. This yearning for not being wholly reliant on the supermarket, and the growing concerns over pesticides and food miles has led to the resurgence in seeking old-world skills. As showcased in Urban Homesteads, the benefits of a productive garden on your doorstep or within arm’s reach, tending to chickens, harvesting your own honey, and using eco-friendly water-harvesting techniques are clear: fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruit on tap, fresh eggs, delicious honey; plus living at a slower pace, better value for money, and a more soothing and mindful existence. Of course, a healthy garden and environment also attracts beneficial insects and birds. Get inspired with this book’s range of eco-friendly possibilities from around the globe. With beautiful full-colour photos, gathered here are stories of people who have set up their own productive and abundant back yard or patio, as well as examples of great vertical planters, indoor gardens, and those who have reached into the urban community allotment. Use this book to start your own journey with an urban homestead lifestyle, with lots of generous tips, modern green concepts as well as a twist of modern, technically savvy know-how. All the practical guidance you need on how to be the change you want to see.

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Book SynopsisEdible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations: concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable "plant matrix" that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species. Taken together, the two volumes of Edible Forest Gardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening-one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment. What is an edible forest garden? An edible forest garden is a perennial polyculture of multipurpose plants. Most plants regrow every year without replanting: perennials. Many species grow together: a polyculture. Each plant contributes to the success of the whole by fulfilling many functions: multipurpose. In other words, a forest garden is an edible ecosystem, a consciously designed community of mutually beneficial plants and animals intended for human food production. Edible forest gardens provide more than just a variety of foods. The seven F's apply here: food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, and "farmaceuticals," as well as fun. A beautiful, lush environment can be a conscious focus of your garden design, or a side benefit you enjoyTrade ReviewHortIdeas- We reviewed the first volume of this two-volume set in September 2005 HortIdeas--in fact, we were so impressed by it that we devoted that month's Book Reviews section entirely to it. Until Mycelium Running--another amazingly important and well-done book--appeared, we were considering doing the same this month for the second volume of Edible Forest Gardens, which is much thicker (by more than 270 pages!) than the first volume. The shorter length of this review certainly does not reflect the relative importance of the volumes--we recommend that anyone interested in experimenting with temperate-zone "gardening in the image of the forest" should study both. Although Volume 2 ostensibly emphasizes "practical" information building on the "theoretical" ideas in Volume 1, it is clear that both volumes are essentially theoretical. That's because (as we discussed in our review of Volume 1) nobody has yet convincingly shown the viability of forest gardening (relying heavily on perennial crops) in temperate areas as a sustainable alternative to conventional gardening (based mainly on annual crops). Jacke and Toensmeier are, admirably, attempting to disseminate ideas gathered from a variety of source that might enable such viability. Ultimately, at this stage development of temperate-zone forest gardening techniques, virtually all approaches are experimental and in need of validation. We simply do not currently know their limitations. Understanding that knowledge on "nest practices" for temperate-zone forest gardening needs to be established experimentally can be exciting for those willing and able to adopt the scientific attitude: no matter how they turn out, the results of an experiment, performed appropriately (meaning especially that adequate control treatments are provided), are never "bad." In other words, we think that would-be temperate-zone forest gardeners who are sincerely interested in helping to establish this novel form of agriculture should proceed by trying to test some of Jacke and Toensmeier's numerous design, site preparation, species choice and establishment, and management guidelines. We view Volume 2 of Edible Forest Gardens not as a recipe book for what works but rather as a compendium of possibilities for what could work--an invitation par excellence to experimentation instead of complacency. Right on!Plants and Gardens News--Patricia Jonas, Brooklyn Botanic Garden- But even if you grow enough organic food to feed yourself, are you doing what's best for the ecosystem? "Many drawbacks of modern agriculture persist in organic farming and gardening," Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier write in Edible Forest Gardens, because they do not "mimic the structure of natural systems, only selected functions." Even Quail Hill Farm members are still harvesting mostly annual crops grown in plowed fields. Jacke and Toensmeier offer a radical vision for stepping out of the conceptual continuum of conventional agriculture and organic farming. They point to the productivity of temperate forests--which is twice that of agricultural land in terms of net calories--and take that as their design model. Building on Robert Hart's classic book, Forest Gardening, and incorporating permaculture practice, Jacke and Toensmeier propose a garden where many species of edible perennial plants are grown together in a design that mimics forest structure and function. Edible Forest Gardens is an ambitious two-volume work whose influence should extend well beyond ecologists and permaculturists and, in the best of all outcomes, reach into the mainstream. Volume one lays out the "Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture," and it also includes a very useful analysis of existing forest gardens (one only 50 by 90 feet) and a tantalizing 30-page appendix of "top 100" species. As of this writing, volume two, which focuses on practical design and maintenance considerations, is just being released, but on the evidence of volume one, I have no doubt the set will be an indispensable reference for gardeners and farmers for decades. "When people have food gardens," the authors write, "they usually are tucked out of sight and out of view of the neighbors. They rely on external inputs of energy, nutrients, insect and disease controls, and water and are based primarily on annual plants. For some reason, growing food is considered unsightly, unseemly, possibly antisocial, and in some towns and cities, illegal! The tremendous infrastructure we have built in our cities and towns reflects a culture and horticulture of separation and isolation." The consequences of such attitudes about growing food have been disastrous, and each of us can contribute to the repair effort. Jacke and Toensmeier say that the principles of forest gardening can be applied even in a tiny urban yard or on a rooftop. Containers of edible perennials and annuals on a rooftop are not most farmers' idea of agriculture, but I grow nearly 20 percent of the authors' top 100 species and intend to look for ways to take this small start much further. And what about chocolate and oranges? Clearly there are foods that cannot be grown in a temperate forest. "We do not expect forest gardening to replace regular gardening or the foods we know and love," the authors admit. "Just how far we can take forest gardening in supplying food for ourselves is not yet determined." Finding the answer may be the most optimistic work gardeners and farmers can do."These will be the benchmark works in the field for many years. The level of scholarship and meticulous footnoting is unsurpassed by anything I've seen in permaculture literature."--Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's Garden"A tree de force! A must-have set of books for anyone serious about polyculture, integrated organic garden and landscape design, permaculture in the temperate zones and, of course, food forests. The charts of condensed information alone are worth the price of admission. The best book on these topics in years Keep these books within arm's reach at all times!"--Robert Kourick, author of Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally

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Book SynopsisOur climate is in a state of flux. Weather patterns are changing and therefore the way we manage our gardens are changing too. This offers a new and exciting challenge for all gardeners. This new book looks at the garden styles of nine regions which have always dealt superbly with heat, drought and water shortage - the Italianate Garden, the Islamic Garden, the Patio Garden, the Mediterranean Garden, the Gravel Garden, the Desert Garden, the Bush Garden, Cape Colour and the Jungle Garden. Each chapter explains the style and includes a practical tutorial, typical plant forms, a planting plan and a project. The final chapter is a useful plant directory introducing the key plants along with cultivation advice for growing them yourself. This is a critical read for gardeners, a practical and inspirational insight into the classic gardens defined by sunshine, humidity and lack of water that will continue to inform the gardens of tomorrow.

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Book SynopsisThis book breaks the work you need to do to keep your garden in perfect shape into daily five minute chunks. Following this little and often approach, you’ll be amazed how much you can achieve. Laetitia Maklouf is a garden writer and busy mother of three who has realised that the secret of gardening without becoming overwhelmed is to do something small every day. She’s packed this book with little bursts of activity – spruce, chop, nurture, fuss or tackle a larger project – that can all be managed in five-minute forays. Spruce the lawn by raking fallen leaves in October, or fuss with your snail defences in May. Nurture your hardy annual seedlings in December, and chop your hydrangeas in March. Every day, rain or shine, do something for your garden with whatever time you can spare. Before you know it, you will have a daily gardening habit and a beautiful garden you can enjoy all year round.Trade Review'Just what you need…the idea is clear and no-nonsense.' * Waitrose Weekend *'A brilliant way to keep you engaged with your garden all year round, rain or shine.' * Liz Earle Wellbeing *‘Written in a sweet breezy style, this is the guide to help you stop stressing about your garden.’ -- The Daily Mail'Packed with bite-sized, useful nuggets of advice, along with reassurances from the author that all will be well.' -- Irish Times

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Book SynopsisEdible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations: concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable "plant matrix" that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species. Taken together, the two volumes of Edible Forest Gardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening--one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment.Trade ReviewBookwatch- Don't expect the usual light gardening guide reading, Volume 1 of Edible Forest Gardens: Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture packs in serious surveys of the ancient practice of forest gardening, which offers homeowners and gardeners a new way of viewing modern home landscaping and nature. Useful plants can be blended to supply daily needs, the land can be 'untamed' to return support to healthy populations of plant and animal species. Years of experience goes into Edible Forest Gardens; this first volume provides a review of the ecological and cultural foundations for recognizing forest gardening as a viable ecological alternative in modern North America. Dave Jacke runs his own ecological design firm consulting on permaculture and landscapes around the world; his co-author Eric Toensmeier founded the former Perennial Vegetable Seed Company and has worked with the New England Small Farm Institute. A highly recommended pick; especially for college-level and serious collections on permaculture and horticulture.Plants and Gardens News--Patricia Jonas, Brooklyn Botanic Garden- But even if you grow enough organic food to feed yourself, are you doing what's best for the ecosystem? "Many drawbacks of modern agriculture persist in organic farming and gardening," Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier write in Edible Forest Gardens, because they do not "mimic the structure of natural systems, only selected functions." Even Quail Hill Farm members are still harvesting mostly annual crops grown in plowed fields. Jacke and Toensmeier offer a radical vision for stepping out of the conceptual continuum of conventional agriculture and organic farming. They point to the productivity of temperate forests--which is twice that of agricultural land in terms of net calories--and take that as their design model. Building on Robert Hart's classic book, Forest Gardening, and incorporating permaculture practice, Jacke and Toensmeier propose a garden where many species of edible perennial plants are grown together in a design that mimics forest structure and function. Edible Forest Gardens is an ambitious two-volume work whose influence should extend well beyond ecologists and permaculturists and, in the best of all outcomes, reach into the mainstream. Volume one lays out the "Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture," and it also includes a very useful analysis of existing forest gardens (one only 50 by 90 feet) and a tantalizing 30-page appendix of "top 100" species. As of this writing, volume two, which focuses on practical design and maintenance considerations, is just being released, but on the evidence of volume one, I have no doubt the set will be an indispensable reference for gardeners and farmers for decades. "When people have food gardens," the authors write, "they usually are tucked out of sight and out of view of the neighbors. They rely on external inputs of energy, nutrients, insect and disease controls, and water and are based primarily on annual plants. For some reason, growing food is considered unsightly, unseemly, possibly antisocial, and in some towns and cities, illegal! The tremendous infrastructure we have built in our cities and towns reflects a culture and horticulture of separation and isolation." The consequences of such attitudes about growing food have been disastrous, and each of us can contribute to the repair effort. Jacke and Toensmeier say that the principles of forest gardening can be applied even in a tiny urban yard or on a rooftop. Containers of edible perennials and annuals on a rooftop are not most farmers' idea of agriculture, but I grow nearly 20 percent of the authors' top 100 species and intend to look for ways to take this small start much further. And what about chocolate and oranges? Clearly there are foods that cannot be grown in a temperate forest. "We do not expect forest gardening to replace regular gardening or the foods we know and love," the authors admit. "Just how far we can take forest gardening in supplying food for ourselves is not yet determined." Finding the answer may be the most optimistic work gardeners and farmers can do."These will be the benchmark works in the field for many years. The level of scholarship and meticulous footnoting is unsurpassed by anything I've seen in permaculture literature."--Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's GardenTable of ContentsList of Tables and Figures Preface Introduction: An Invitation to Adventure What Is an Edible Forest Garden? Gardening LIKE the Forest vs. Gardening IN the Forest Where Can You Grow a Forest Garden? The Garden of Eden: It Sounds Great, But Is It Practical? An Invitation to Adventure 1: The Forest and the Trees The Primal Forest: A Remembrance Gardening the Forest Forest Remnants Feature Article 1: Natives and Exotics: Definitions and Questions Suburban Ecology Gardening in the Industrial Image Lessons Learned Box 1-1: Shifting the Burden to the Intervenor 2: Visions of Paradise Study of the Household: Ecology Defined Tales of Mimicry Advantages of Forest Mimicry The Limitations of Forest Mimics Spanning the Gamut: Images of Forest Gardens Goals of Forest Gardening Revision--the Garden of Eden? Box 2-1: The Principle of Functional Interconnection Case Study 1: Charlie's Garden Part Two: Ecology: Form and Function in the Forest Garden 3: The Five Elements of Forest Architecture Vegetation Layers Feature Article 2: With All These Layers, What Do I Grow in the Shade? Soil Horizons Density Patterning Diversity Summary Case Study 2: Robert's Garden 4: Social Structure: Niches, Relationships and Communities Species, Species Niches, and Species Relationships Multi-Species Interactions: Frameworks of Social Structure Feature Article 3: Natives and Exotics, Opportunists and Invasives Social Structure Design: Strategies and Anchors Chapter Summary 5: Making A Living In The Dark: Structures of the Underground Economy The Anatomy of Self-Renewing Fertility Feature Article 4: Parent Materials: The Soil's Nutritional Constitution Plant Roots: Engines of the Underground Economy The Soil Food Web Summary: Dabbling In The Underground Economy 6: Succession: Four Perspectives on Vegetation Dynamics Classical Linear Succession and Climax Progressive Succession to Shifting Mosaic Steady State Patch Dynamics: Out of Line and Out of Balance A "Unified Oldfield Theory": Successional Causes Feature Article 5: "Invasive" Plants and the Unified Oldfield Theory Succession Design: Using the Four Models Summary: The Simultaneity of the Four Models Case Study 3: E.F. Schumacher Forest Garden Conclusion: Elements, Dynamics, and Desired Conditions Appendices Appendix 1: Forest Gardening's "Top 100" Species Appendix 2: Plant Hardiness Zone Maps Appendix 3: Publications and Organizations Bibliography Glossary General Index

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Book SynopsisEdible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations: concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable "plant matrix" that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species. Taken together, the two volumes of Edible Forest Gardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening--one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment.Trade ReviewHortIdeas- We reviewed the first volume of this two-volume set in September 2005 HortIdeas--in fact, we were so impressed by it that we devoted that month's Book Reviews section entirely to it. Until Mycelium Running--another amazingly important and well-done book--appeared, we were considering doing the same this month for the second volume of Edible Forest Gardens, which is much thicker (by more than 270 pages!) than the first volume. The shorter length of this review certainly does not reflect the relative importance of the volumes--we recommend that anyone interested in experimenting with temperate-zone "gardening in the image of the forest" should study both. Although Volume 2 ostensibly emphasizes "practical" information building on the "theoretical" ideas in Volume 1, it is clear that both volumes are essentially theoretical. That's because (as we discussed in our review of Volume 1) nobody has yet convincingly shown the viability of forest gardening (relying heavily on perennial crops) in temperate areas as a sustainable alternative to conventional gardening (based mainly on annual crops). Jacke and Toensmeier are, admirably, attempting to disseminate ideas gathered from a variety of source that might enable such viability. Ultimately, at this stage development of temperate-zone forest gardening techniques, virtually all approaches are experimental and in need of validation. We simply do not currently know their limitations. Understanding that knowledge on "nest practices" for temperate-zone forest gardening needs to be established experimentally can be exciting for those willing and able to adopt the scientific attitude: no matter how they turn out, the results of an experiment, performed appropriately (meaning especially that adequate control treatments are provided), are never "bad." In other words, we think that would-be temperate-zone forest gardeners who are sincerely interested in helping to establish this novel form of agriculture should proceed by trying to test some of Jacke and Toensmeier's numerous design, site preparation, species choice and establishment, and management guidelines. We view Volume 2 of Edible Forest Gardens not as a recipe book for what works but rather as a compendium of possibilities for what could work--an invitation par excellence to experimentation instead of complacency. Right on! -- Greg WilliamsPlants and Gardens News--Patricia Jonas, Brooklyn Botanic Garden- But even if you grow enough organic food to feed yourself, are you doing what's best for the ecosystem? "Many drawbacks of modern agriculture persist in organic farming and gardening," Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier write in Edible Forest Gardens, because they do not "mimic the structure of natural systems, only selected functions." Even Quail Hill Farm members are still harvesting mostly annual crops grown in plowed fields. Jacke and Toensmeier offer a radical vision for stepping out of the conceptual continuum of conventional agriculture and organic farming. They point to the productivity of temperate forests--which is twice that of agricultural land in terms of net calories--and take that as their design model. Building on Robert Hart's classic book, Forest Gardening, and incorporating permaculture practice, Jacke and Toensmeier propose a garden where many species of edible perennial plants are grown together in a design that mimics forest structure and function. Edible Forest Gardens is an ambitious two-volume work whose influence should extend well beyond ecologists and permaculturists and, in the best of all outcomes, reach into the mainstream. Volume one lays out the "Ecological Vision and Theory for Temperate Climate Permaculture," and it also includes a very useful analysis of existing forest gardens (one only 50 by 90 feet) and a tantalizing 30-page appendix of "top 100" species. As of this writing, volume two, which focuses on practical design and maintenance considerations, is just being released, but on the evidence of volume one, I have no doubt the set will be an indispensable reference for gardeners and farmers for decades. "When people have food gardens," the authors write, "they usually are tucked out of sight and out of view of the neighbors. They rely on external inputs of energy, nutrients, insect and disease controls, and water and are based primarily on annual plants. For some reason, growing food is considered unsightly, unseemly, possibly antisocial, and in some towns and cities, illegal! The tremendous infrastructure we have built in our cities and towns reflects a culture and horticulture of separation and isolation." The consequences of such attitudes about growing food have been disastrous, and each of us can contribute to the repair effort. Jacke and Toensmeier say that the principles of forest gardening can be applied even in a tiny urban yard or on a rooftop. Containers of edible perennials and annuals on a rooftop are not most farmers' idea of agriculture, but I grow nearly 20 percent of the authors' top 100 species and intend to look for ways to take this small start much further. And what about chocolate and oranges? Clearly there are foods that cannot be grown in a temperate forest. "We do not expect forest gardening to replace regular gardening or the foods we know and love," the authors admit. "Just how far we can take forest gardening in supplying food for ourselves is not yet determined." Finding the answer may be the most optimistic work gardeners and farmers can do."A tree de force! A must-have set of books for anyone serious about polyculture, integrated organic garden and landscape design, permaculture in the temperate zones and, of course, food forests. The charts of condensed information alone are worth the price of admission. The best book on these topics in years Keep these books within arm's reach at all times!"--Robert Kourick, author of Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally

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Book Synopsis

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