It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order. Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms. The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking only one yield of them; and of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions.

    The new edition has gone 100% organic, which in Barbara Damrosch's hands also means completely accessible. It reflects the latest research on plants, soils, tools, and techniques. There is updated and expanded information on planning a garden, recommended plants, and best tools. Ecological issues are addressed much more extensively, covering lawn alternatives, the benefits of native species, wildlife-friendly gardens, and how to avoid harmful invasive species. More attention is paid to plants appropriate to the South, Southwest, and West Coast, while cold-climate gardeners are given detailed advice on how to extend the growing season. Simply put, the book is a richer and fuller compendium than ever before, with more text, more illustrations and garden plans, expanded plant lists, and gardener's resources. But Barbara Damrosch's core of practical, creative ideas and friendly style remain—she is still an "old-fashioned dirt gardener" at heart.

    Revealing the enormous potential of herbs, this sourcebook includes information on planting, growing, and harvesting herbs, as well as the main uses of herbs. It also offers an exhaustive identification guide, recipes, ideas for gifts, and much more.

    This book also includes 21 landscaping design plans that are sure to inspire even the most traditional homeowner to go native.

    Robert Hart's book beautifully describes his decades of experience gardening in the Shropshire countryside. The principles of backyard permaculture he has developed can be applied successfully in every temperate zone of North America, helping to transform even a small cottage garden into a diverse and hospitable habitat for songbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Blending history, philosophy, anthropology, and seasoned gardening wisdom in a lucid sequence of essays, Forest Gardening examines the pleasure of hands off as well as hands-on gardening. This book offers fresh ways of understanding the relationships between people and growing plants. For gardeners who aspire to create ecological as well as beautiful gardens, Forest Gardening will be an inspiration and a pleasure.

    The great plantswoman Rosemary Verey shows how to use space, the patterns created by paths and walls, the shapes of shrubs, the shadows of evergreens and the silhouettes of trunks and twisted branches to make elegant pictures for the months when the garden is stripped of summer foliage and billowing flowers. She also introduces us to a world of brilliant winter colours - the delicate pinks and greens of hellebores, the rich crimson of holly and cotoneaster berries and the bright yellow of aconites and crocus.

    It is filled with useful information and with the glorious beauty of Maryrose Wampler's paintings." -- Herman B Wells"It's one beautiful book." -- David Mannweiler, Indianapolis News..". a beautiful book... " -- South Bend Tribune"If you like flowers, you'll like this one." -- Hammond Times"Wildflowers of Indiana is a visual delight." -- Arts Indiana..". a beautiful celebration of the wildflower heritage of the state. It is a book that will delight all nature and garden lovers... " -- Indiana Audubon Quarterly..". a beautiful volume that should increase awareness and appreciation of nature." -- Annie Paulson Gillespie, Wildflower..". the beauty of this book transcends regional lines... compelling, incredibly appealing watercolors." -- American HorticulturistMaryrose Wampler is the premier wildflower artist in Indiana, if not the Midwest. This lavish and oversize volume contains 80 full-color views of over 300 species of wildflowers that vary from woodland to roadside to field, and from season to season. Wildflowers of Indiana is at once a celebration of nature through the eyes of a gifted artist and a collector's item for lovers of nature and fine books everywhere.

    Rocky Mountain huckleberry ecology, lore, and 37 recipes -- from cakes to champagne.

    Includes a list of U.S. suppliers. (Besides being practical, it's just a pretty book to look at!)

    Over 400 full-color photographs.

    Our books are shrink-wrapped, and carefully packaged to assure your book will arrive in good condition. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

    Habitat Garen Planting Guide Using Native Plants

    

    Tour.

    Think of the author as a sort of jujitsu gardener; in her hands the very strengths of weeds are turned to her advantage."—New York Times Book Review"In this manual cum philosophical treatise, Stein discloses an amazing amount of information, from anatomy to propagation, about more than 100 species of North American weeds."—Washington Post Book WorldFrom the author of the native gardening classic Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyard comes My Weeds, a foray into the secret and fascinating lives of the world’s most hated plants. By asking of the common weed, "What kind of plant is this? How does it behave? What is it up to in my garden? Can I thwart its plans?" Stein shows how a thorough understanding of the enemy is the gardener’s best defense. Incredibly adaptive, weeds are also good teachers, and Stein shows us what they tell us about our gardens and the lives of all plants. She entertains with tales of famous—and notorious—weeds of the world, compares weeding tools and methods, and discusses the uses of weeds. Along the way, Stein also explains the intricate workings of photosynthesis, plant anatomy and reproduction, evolution, and the laws of succession by which nature tries to reclaim the land a gardener has disturbed. First published in 1988, My Weeds was among the first generation of books to advocate the use of native plants, and Stein’s discussions of backyard ecology, pesticides, and the threat of exotic species were as groundbreaking then as they are relevant today.  A biography of the plant world’s most maligned members and a fascinating primer of the most useful aspects of plant biology and ecology, My Weeds is essential reading even for the gardener who never leaves the armchair!Sara Stein is the author of Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards and Planting Noah’s Garden: Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology.

    Arranged according to the months of the gardening year, the Notebook gently draws the reader into the rhythms of Mrs. Chatto's life. It describes the routines and chores that go with running a nursery; the tending of the display beds; and the pleasures and crises of a busy family. Through it all she shares with the reader the joy she finds in her gardens and her unquenchable curiosity about plants and planting. This is the Chatto philosophy in a nutshell, and her wisdom and advice are applicable to gardens in any part of the world, not just her dry and windy corner of Essex. Thomas Fischer, in a delightful new introduction to this edition, describes Chatto's remarkable career and explains why her design philosophy as well as the practical advice she offers is so appealing to American gardeners.

    Fiala devoted 10 years to this book, a unique treatise that is both a scholarly monograph and a personal tribute to the beauty of lilacs. Since going out of print, it has become almost impossible to obtain at a reasonable price. Sometime in the future a revision and expansion of his work will appear, but in the meantime we have released this facsimile paperback reprint in response to extraordinary demand. It includes the 398 color photographs from the first edition and makes Fr. Fiala's work again accessible.

    Now in this completely updated second edition, we learn of discoveries made in the last decade as the family has grown from about 2500 species to nearer 3200. The latest taxonomic and nomenclatural revisions are noted in the checklist of genera, and all the original drawings are included plus twice as many color photos. A new guide to the cultivation of ornamental aroids completes this well-rounded introduction to a remarkable family.

    

    

    Uses the experiences of a group of children, aged three to thirteen, working through an entire season in their own garden, as a background for general information on buying plants and seeds, using tools, planting and watering, and picking the harvest.

    

    

    This supplement includes additional teaching ideas, background information and bibliographies of additional resources.

    This book is designed to help the interested amateur become better acquainted with the more common prairie plants; it describes mainly the wildflowers that are found on the remnant prairies of the Upper Midwest.

    Secluded, scented and softly planted, the romantic garden provides an increasingly welcome contrast to the world outside. Here, Graham Rose shows in detail how to create this sort of romantic retreat. There are special sections on fences and hedges to create an atmosphere of seclusion, water landscaping for refreshment and soothing sound effects, and the use of scent and colour. Illustrated with artwork and photographs, the volume also contains a comprehensive catalogue of the most romantic plants -from fragrant old-fashioned roses to tiny carpeters - with cultivation details. This handbook seeks to evoke a return to the traditional qualities of the best gardens of the past, and to provide the inspiration for making such gardens now and in the future.

    An essential companion volume to Beales's landmark work, Classic Roses, this is the definitive guide to the planting, cultivation, history and definition of twentieth-century roses.