Key features include:- use of compatible perennials;- non-invasive planting techniques;- emphasis on biodiversity;- specifically adaptable to local climate, landscape, and soil conditions;- highly productive output of edibles.Now, picture your backyard as one incredibly lush garden, filled with edible flowers, bursting with fruit and berries, and carpeted with scented herbs and tangy salad greens. The visual impact is of Monet's palette, a wash of color, texture, and hue. But this is no still life. The flowers nurture endangered pollinators. Bright-featured songbirds feed on abundant berries and gather twigs for their nests.The plants themselves are grouped in natural communities, where each species plays a role in building soil, deterring pests, storing nutrients, and luring beneficial insects. And finally, you—good ol' homo sapiens—are an integral part of the scene. Your garden tools are resting against a nearby tree, and have a slight patina of rust, because this garden requires so little maintenance. You recline into a hammock to admire your work. You have created a garden paradise.This is no dream, but rather an ecological garden, which takes the principles of permaculture and applies them on a home-scale. There is nothing technical, intrusive, secretive, or expensive about this form of gardening. All that is required is some botanical knowledge (which is in this book) and a mindset that defines a backyard paradise as something other than a carpet of grass fed by MiracleGro.

    Perfect for gardeners, herbalists, and cooks alike, this is the most comprehensive illustrated encyclopedia of herbs.

    Filled with updated illustrations, photographs, and examples, this completely updated guide is designed to help readers understand and implement the appropriate pruning practices that are vital to developing sustainable structure in the first 25 years of a tree's life. Coverage includes a variety of information about the challenges associated with pruning such as disease prevention, root pruning, mature tree pruning, and restoration following storms. With its simple tables, lists, and strategies, this book is an appealing resource for horticulture, landscape and tree associations and industries and is a natural addition for botanic garden and arboreta bookstores.

    Written when the native plant movement was just getting started, it helped convert a generation of gardeners to the practical and aesthetic values of using drought-tolerant plants in southwestern landscapes.In this new edition, Jill Nokes has extensively rewritten every section to include the latest information on the production, cultivation, and landscape use of native plants. She has added over 75 new species and updated the propagation and care information for the original 350 species of trees, shrubs, and woody vines. In addition to the individual plant descriptions, she also devotes whole chapters to gathering and storing seeds, seed germination, planting, vegetative propagation, and transplanting. With this wealth of clearly presented, easy-to-reference information, How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest will remain the last word on this subject.

    

    Twenty years on, he has transformed the land adjoining the house into several exquisite gardens which embody his gardening ideals and organic principles. With the help of some of Britain's finest designers, including the Marchioness of Salisbury, Rosemary Verey, Miriam Rothschild and Sir Roy Strong, the Prince of Wales has created individual gardens which have now, with his own ideas, reached maturity. Here, he describes the thinking behind each garden, the mistakes and the triumphs, and his plans for the future.

    I'd miss any one of them too much if I asked someone else to do them for me. I may work by myself, but I'm not alone. I'm in the company of stone." Daniel Snow is a waller, an artisan who builds walls, terraces, caverns, and the occasional sphere or pool out of dry stone. It's an ancient skill--building with only what the earth provides. No mortar, no nails, nothing to hold his creations together except gravity, an invisible glue he can sense in the stones' "conversations" of squeaks and rumbles. A hollow sound means a void needs to be filled; a solid fit is secured with the sound of a bolt being thrown. Snow's evocative prose and Peter Mauss's richly textured photographs of Snow's work reveal the nuance and beauty of walling--and of one man's relationship with nature. The result is by turns poetic and practical.

    With advances in orchid propagation and breeding in the middle 20th century, however, these orchids became accessible and affordable to anyone with an eye for exceptional beauty. Few floriculture crops have swamped the marketplace as suddenly as phalaenopsis has in recent years, with millions of plants being produced for the mass market annually. Moth orchids have helped eliminate the misconception of orchids as temperamental conservatory plants only for the very rich. In the words of author Eric Christenson, we are witnessing "the makings of an orchid revolution."Against this backdrop of change and ferment, Christenson set out to write a definitive monograph of the genus Phalaenopsis, the first thorough treatment since Herman Sweet's revision in 1969. Focusing mainly on the forebears of today's omnipresent hybrids — the species — he always keeps an eye on the characteristics that species might bring to today's hybridization programs. With extensive keys and detailed reviews of the taxonomy of the genus, Christenson provides a thorough picture of the current scientific understanding of these remarkable plants.In addition to its scientific content, this book offers a wealth of practical information for the orchid hobbyist. A useful chapter on cultivation techniques is included, as is a chapter on hybrids in their many forms, shapes, and colors. More than 200 color photos and 60 drawings enliven the work and provide a fascinating visual overview.With the full sponsorship and support of the International Phalaenopsis Alliance, Christenson has written an extraordinary book reflecting years of botanical research and horticultural experience with the genus. No orchid specialist will want to be without it.

    Filled with practical advice and detailed information, this indispensable guide to prairie gardening shows readers how to choose space, plan a garden, select plants and flowers, and much more.

    Earlier editions of this book have been used by thousands of botany students and other interested individuals to identify hundreds of different species of plants, while learning how to use analytical plant keys and the basic botanical terminology necessary to understand and accurately identify plants in the field.Intended for use by teachers, students, scientists, amateur botanists, and outdoor enthusiasts, the Handbook of Northwestern Plants brings together in one comprehensive but convenient volume the information necessary to identify the amazing variety of plants found between the Cascade mountains and Pacific Coast in Washington and Oregon as far south as the Umpqua divide. The glossary of botanical terms, illustrations of different types of leaves and flowers, and hundreds of line drawings that highlight the identifying features of various plants will be especially valuable to students and beginners.To make this new edition as accurate and up-to-date as possible, author La Rea J. Dennis has updated the nomenclature to conform to the latest scientific literature, added species, and revised some plant descriptions and keys. To make the book easier to use, the genera and species have been arranged alphabetically within families, and the longer keys have been numbered. As in earlier editions, hundreds of excellent line drawings illustrate the key characteristics of various plants.

    Attracting Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Backyard reveals the secrets for creating irresistible gardens and a welcoming landscape, and will help lure these amazing creatures up close and personal for your enjoyment and wonder. Author Sally Roth knows the best plants, feeders, and water features that appeal to butterflies and hummingbirds, plus she offers an entertaining and insightful guide to butterfly and hummingbird behavior.

    They are, however, related to true geraniums, which we also call cranesbills or wild geraniums. Despite their very different attributes, geraniums and pelargoniums belong to the same botanical family, Geraniaceae, and are among the world's most popular garden plants.Garden expert John Feltwell discusses both members of this wide-ranging family, providing all the information gardeners need to choose, grow, propagate, and design with geraniums and pelargoniums.More than 250 full color photographs illustrate their beauty and charm, and the extensive A-Z plant directory describes 328 plants in detail. The book also contains:descriptions of foliage and flowers for all varieties, such as wood and dusky cranesbills, zonals, ivies, Highfields, Stellars, Butes, Regals and many more tips on how to choose the right place for the right plant instruction on growing and propagating how to deal with pests and diseases mail-order sources.

    Because planting the wrong tree in the wrong place can create serious problems, selecting the right tree is the most important choice a gardener can make. This definitive, handy reference for gardeners, homeowners, and horticultural professionals features* 200 genera and 350 species of shade trees, ornamentals, and conifers, both deciduous and evergreen* The best selections for spring bloom, fall color, showy fruit, ornamental bark, and disease resistance* Trees that will thrive in the hottest and coldest regions of North America* Full-color identification photos to take with you to the nursery* Illustrated instructions on proper pruning, planting, and growing techniques.