Best of
Plants

2003

Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses


Robin Wall Kimmerer - 2003
    Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses. Robin Wall Kimmerer's book is not an identification guide, nor is it a scientific treatise. Rather, it is a series of linked personal essays that will lead general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings, from salmon and hummingbirds to redwoods and rednecks. Kimmerer clearly and artfully explains the biology of mosses, while at the same time reflecting on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us.Drawing on her diverse experiences as a scientist, mother, teacher, and writer of Native American heritage, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as in the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world.Gathering Moss will appeal to a wide range of readers, from bryologists to those interested in natural history and the environment, Native Americans, and contemporary nature and science writing.

Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine


David Hoffmann - 2003
    It also includes information on toxicology and contraindications, the issues involved in determining dosage and formulation types for an individual, guides to the different measurement systems and conversion tables, and the pros and cons of both industrial and traditional techniques.With additional sections devoted to the principles of green medicine, the history of Western Herbalism, the variety of other medical modalities using medicinal plants, an extensive resource directory, and a discussion of treatments organized by body system, Medical Herbalism is the comprehensive textbook all students and practitioners of clinical herbalism need to develop their healing practices.

Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West


Michael Moore - 2003
    In this greatly expanded revised and enlarged edition, the book covers the entire range of medicinal herbs found in New Mexico, Arizona, west Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and California.

Discovering Wild Plants: Alaska, Western Canada, The Northwest


Janice Schofield Eaton - 2003
    Learn all about the interesting and delicious wild harvest of Alaska, western Canada, and the Northwest in this significant illustrated volume on 147 wild plants.

Tough Plants for Southern Gardens


Felder Rushing - 2003
    This is the book for gardeners who want plants they can plant and forget! Tough Plants for Southern Gardens is written for novice and accomplished gardeners alike, for all gardeners who value their leisure time. They also value the appearance of their home and appreciate the benefits of well-placed landscaping…however; they do not want to devote too much time to keeping it beautiful. Tough Plants for Southern Gardens includes 120 of the toughest plants for Southern gardens, including annuals, bulbs, perennials, shrubs and small trees, ornamental vines, and lawns. Each featured plant is noted for its ability to thrive with minimal care. Many of the selections can withstand drought, poor soils, and minimal (or no) pruning, while providing beauty and charm in the home landscape. Each selection provides specific information on the plant's use in the landscape, mature size, flowering characteristics (if applicable), varieties, soil preference, and propagation. Each chapter also contains informative essays covering topics such as: companion planting tips, pest avoidance, and handling invasive plants.

Planting the Natural Garden


Piet Oudolf - 2003
    Dutch garden designers offer plant descriptions, color photos, tips, and resources for natural-looking, l

1001 Garden Plants In Singapore


Boo Chih Min - 2003
    The first edition of the book found instant success among both seasoned and aspiring gardeners as a handy guide for plants found in Singapore. This second edition adds another 700 plants to the 1,200 listed in the first edition, and includes new features like the Chinese names of the plants.

Hidden Nature: The Startling Insights of Viktor Schauberger


Alick Bartholomew - 2003
    From his unusually detailed observations of the natural world, he pioneered a completely new understanding of how nature works. He also foresaw, and tried to warn against, the global waste and ecological destruction of our age. This book describes and explains Schauberger's insights in contemporary, accessible language. His remarkable discoveries -- which address issues such as sick water, ailing forests, climate change and, above all, renewable energy -- have dramatic implications for how we should work with nature and its resources.

Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants: The Most Authoritative Guide to the Best Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs for North American Gardens


Frances Tenenbaum - 2003
    For gardeners, no matter how new or how advanced, whether we cultivate for ourselves or for landscaping clients, plants are the sine qua non. They intrigue us and inspire us. And the more we learn about them, the more they add to our pleasure in gardening. For all of these reasons, every gardener needs a good plant encyclopedia. And, as the only plant encyclopedia written exclusively for North American gardeners, Taylor’s Encyclopedia of Garden Plants will be as useful twenty years from now as it is today. If a plant can’t be grown on this continent, you won’t find it here. Readers will use this book in a number of ways: as a resource for identifying plants, as a guide to purchasing the best species and cultivars for particular gardening locations and growing conditions, and as an important way to save the cost and disappointment of buying plants that won’t thrive or will overwhelm a garden. Choosing just the right tree or shrub can add the crowning touch to your landscape plan. Here you’ll find expert information about more than a thousand species of trees, shrubs, roses, bulbs, perennials, annuals, and ground covers. Illustrated with 1,200 color photos and hundreds of line drawings, the encyclopedia includes instructions on how to grow the plants and even on how to propagate many of them. An extensive glossary and a common name index make this book accessible to beginners as well as longtime gardeners. Like gardening itself, Taylor’s Encyclopedia of Garden Plants will bring its readers immediate pleasure as well as long-term rewards.

The Secrets of Wildflowers: A Delightful Feast of Little-Known Facts, Folklore, and History


Jack Sanders - 2003
    There are more than 10,000 varieties of wildflowers in North America, some rare, some so plentiful that they are designated as invasive weeds. Each has a unique story.There's Bouncing Bet, a perennial common along the roads and railroad tracks of America. Like many of our most abundant summer wildflowers, Bet was brought over to fill colonial gardens. It's a beautiful plant, but also a useful one. Open up the stalk and its sap makes a fine soap. Colonial beermakers used to put a dab in to help the head on a brew. Doctors used it to wash wounds. Generally considered a weed, it's everywhere.Or Coltsfoot, which pops up almost alone in winters, and was used in New England as a cure for coughs, the leaves boiled down in water. Asthmatics, Sanders tells us, used to smoke it for relief. For many years, apothecaries in France used Coltsfoot as its symbol, a surprising pedigree for a neglected "weed."More a companion than a field guide, THE SECRETS OF WILDFLOWERS is a must-have for anyone who enjoys a walk in a meadow or a gaze outside.

Primary Perception: Biocommunication with Plants, Living Foods, and Human Cells


Cleve Backster - 2003
    All life forms have the capability of responding to one another, from plants and bacteria to foods and animal cells. Most amazing is his work with human leukocytes. These discoveries have opened up a new paradigm in science, ecology and healing.

The Granite Kiss: Traditions and Techniques of Building New England Stone Walls


Kevin Gardner - 2003
    In this eminently readable primer on the fundamentals of placing stone, Kevin Gardner distills 25 years of experience in building and repairing New England-style dry stone walls into principles and practices that are adaptable to a wide variety of designs and circumstances. In addition to directions on building basic stone walls, he also demystifies steps, wells, ramps, walkways, and may other forms of dry masonry. Gardner also discusses the philosophy behind the repair and restoration of old walls, and gives the beginning wall builder ways to think about the place of the stone wall within the landscape. Along the way, Gardner considers the mythology of the stone wall and its place in the New England imagination. And he explores the history, philosophy, and aesthetics of working with stone in a book that will bring as much pleasure to armchair craftsmen as it will valuable instruction to the beginning wall builder. Selected as one of 2001's Best Gift Books by The Times of Trenton, New Jersey; one of the 50 best nonfiction books of 2001 by the Christian Science Monitor. 22 black white illustrations, glossary, bibliography, index.

Simply Science (Now I'm Reading!: Independent)


Nora Gaydos - 2003
    Topics include ten high interest science topics, from "space" to "bones, " and 40 colorful stickers.

How Flowers Grow


Emma Helbrough - 2003
    This exciting information book for young readers uses simple concepts, combined with easy-to-read text and vivid illustrations for a great reading experience.

Notes From South Mountain: A Guide To Concentrated Herb Granules


Andrew Ellis - 2003
    To that end, its purpose is to help students and practitioners see classical formulas not as archaic and static fossils of intellectual dogma but as living, changeable expressions of a natural philosophy. It is the author's hope that the deeper understanding of Chinese medicine gained from appreciation of the formulas' origins and evolution will help practitioners successfully treat the complex and varied patterns that present in their practices. The introduction includes both a section on how to prescribe and dose herb concentrates, and a section that describes the production of herb concentrates. The main formula section of the text presents functions, indications, and ingredients for almost 300 formulas (arranged alphabetically according to pinyin name), and includes textbook-style discussion and modification sections. Each formula discussion focuses on how the formula is used in the clinic, based on the evolution of its use from the time of its source text to the present. The discussion and modifications sections include both classical and modern uses, and seek to show the relationship between the two. Where relevant, the formula under discussion is compared with similar formulas, and guidelines for determining the correct formula for a given situation are provided. The material in the discussion and modifications sections is drawn from the author's experience, the experience of the practitioners with whom he has studied, the source texts (when available to the author), and commentaries by modern authors.

Abiotic Disorders of Landscape Plants: A Diagnostic Guide


Laurence R. Costello - 2003
    You'll learn how to diagnose injury symptoms from over 20 abiotic agents including water deficit, nutrient deficiencies, salinity, pH, sunburn, air pollution, herbicide and other chemical phytotoxicities, mechanical injuries, lightning, wind, and hail. You'll also learn how to develop a step-by-step diagnostic strategy. Illustrated with 319 color photographs and 38 tables, this book is a must-have for the library of every landscape professional.

Water Wise: Native Plants for Intermountain Landscapes


Wendy Mee - 2003
    The book is an invaluable guide for the professional landscaper, horticulturist, and others in the Intermountain nursery industry, as well as for the student, general reader, gardener, and homeowner.Water Wise is both convenient and comprehensive. The heart of the book presents hundreds of species, devoting a full page to each, with a description of appearance, habitat, landscape use, and other comments. Color photographs illustrate each plant described. A reader-friendly introduction provides important background on the ecology of the Intermountain West, along with full descriptions of native plant habitats and associations.An accessible resource of accurate native plant information for all readers, Water Wise will be indispensable to professional landscapers and amateurs alike.

Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey


Linda Beidleman - 2003
    For this extensively revised and redesigned edition of Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region, the identification keys have been improved and line drawings scattered throughout the text, ensuring that this popular book will continue to be the most comprehensive and authoritative identification guide to the region's native and introduced plants.o Easy-to-use keys describe more than two thousand species of wildflowers, trees, shrubs, weeds, and fernso Exceptionally clear illustrations include 457 color photographs and 227 line drawingso Plants are identified by both common and scientific names, making this guide an essential resource for amateur naturalists, students, and professionals

The Wild Flowers of Britain & Ireland


Marjorie Blamey - 2003
    Also featured is an illustrated survey of recently disappeared British and Irish plants, some of which may return.

Reading Comprehension, Grades 5 - 6


Instructional Fair - 2003
    Lively reading passages present high-interest subjects in a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Accompanying activities reinforce comprehension skills that are essential for fluency and for success on standardized tests. The book includes cross-curricular subject matter that will deepen student knowledge while strengthening their reading skills.

Complete Rose Encyclopedia


Nico Vermeulen - 2003
    Descriptions of numerous species and their varieties are illustrated with over 750 full color photographs that show the flowers in gorgeous bloom. All the essential information about color, growth habits, care and disease resistance is provided in this complete guide to the beauty and care of roses. It is a must for every gardener, expert or novice, who is interested in the "queen of flowers."

Trees Of Missouri


Donald R. Kurz - 2003
    

The Rose: An Illustrated History


Peter Harkness - 2003
    The Rose tells the fascinating story of this treasured flower accompanied by lively text and sumptuous full color illustrations. The book is divided into three sections: Roses of Nature, Roses of History and Roses by Design. Each section traces the links that tie the wild roses of nature to the earliest roses of civilization. It also explodes a few myths along the way and tells how the tireless efforts of horticulturists from many nations have brought into being the full-petalled beauties of today.The captivating archival illustrations are from the Royal Horticultural Society's collection, home to one of the world's finest archives of horticultural art. This spectacular collection of roses of every description is certain to capture the hearts of gardeners and art lovers alike.

The Devil's Picturebook: The Compleat Guide to Tarot Cards: Their Origins and Their Usage


Paul Huson - 2003
    The New Haven Register recognized it as: "The most comprehensive and illuminating work on these 'mirrors of the soul.' Unique among books on the Tarot."

The Field Guide to Weeds


Lawrence J. Crockett - 2003
    Based on the book Wildly Successful Plants, by Lawrence J. Crockett, and featuring both photos and Joanne Bradley’s original line drawings, it includes wonderful insights and fascinating anecdotes. As you learn more about their characteristics, you’ll begin to admire such varieties as Honeysuckle, Morning Glory, Black-Eyed Susan, and other beautiful, useful, and fast-growing wild flowers generally classified as weeds. Find out all you need to know about Japanese Barberry, Blackberry Bramble, Tall Field Buttercup, and more. Every entry includes the common name, habitat, range, season, and a wealth of other facts.