Best of
Plants
2015
Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings
Mary Siisip Geniusz - 2015
Geniusz gained much of the knowledge she writes about from her years as an oshkaabewis, a traditionally trained apprentice, and as friend to the late Keewaydinoquay, an Anishinaabe medicine woman from the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan and a scholar, teacher, and practitioner in the field of native ethnobotany. Keewaydinoquay published little in her lifetime, yet Geniusz has carried on her legacy by making this body of knowledge accessible to a broader audience.Geniusz teaches the ways she was taught—through stories. Sharing the traditional stories she learned at Keewaydinoquay’s side as well as stories from other American Indian traditions and her own experiences, Geniusz brings the plants to life with narratives that explain their uses, meaning, and history. Stories such as “Naanabozho and the Squeaky-Voice Plant” place the plants in cultural context and illustrate the belief in plants as cognizant beings. Covering a wide range of plants, from conifers to cattails to medicinal uses of yarrow, mullein, and dandelion, she explains how we can work with those beings to create food, simple medicines, and practical botanical tools.Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask makes this botanical information useful to native and nonnative healers and educators and places it in the context of the Anishinaabe culture that developed the knowledge and practice.
The Herbal Apothecary: 100 Medicinal Herbs and How to Use Them
J.J. Pursell - 2015
With the guidance of naturopath JJ Pursell, you will learn how to safely create your own remedies using plants you know and love. Incorporating traditional wisdom and scientific information, The Herbal Apothecary provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to plant-based medicine. It features profiles of the 100 of the most important medicinal plants that include information on medicinal uses, identification and cultivation, and recipes for common concerns. Additional information includes step-by-step instructions for making herbal teas, tinctures, compresses, salves, and more. This comprehensive guide includes treatments for men, women, and children that address a variety of concerns including muscle strain, the flu, the common cold, insomnia, anxiety, and much more.
Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes
Thomas Rainer - 2015
. . . an optimistic call to action.” —Chicago Tribune Over time, with industrialization and urban sprawl, we have driven nature out of our neighborhoods and cities. But we can invite it back by designing landscapes that look and function more like they do in the wild: robust, diverse, and visually harmonious. Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West is an inspiring call to action dedicated to the idea of a new nature—a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated—that can flourish in our cities and suburbs. This is both a post-wild manifesto and practical guide that describes how to incorporate and layer plants into plant communities to create an environment that is reflective of natural systems and thrives within our built world.
The New Southern Living Garden Book: The Ultimate Guide to Gardening
Southern Living Inc. - 2015
Completely redesigned and updated for the first time in 10 years, the new edition features over 1,700 beautiful color photographs and over 7,000 featured plants. Enhanced features include a monthly garden checklist, a Q&A section to tackle everyday problems, and garden design solutions, plus industry experts provide the hottest trends and tips combined with old-fashioned wisdom. From the new homeowner just starting out in gardening to the Master Class gardener, this book will be an essential resource.
Midwest Foraging: 115 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Burdock to Wild Peach
Lisa M. Rose - 2015
The plant profiles in Midwest Foraging include clear, color photographs, identification tips, guidance on how to ethically harvest, and suggestions for eating and preserving. A handy seasonal planner details which plants are available during every season. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of the Midwest
Kenn Kaufman - 2015
Serious birders, botanists, and entomologists all have their specialized guides, but this book is the guide to “everything else"—the one guide to take when you go out for a walk. Wow, that’s a cool-looking mushroom. Wonder what it is. Hey, look at that weird insect.Birds, mammals, trees, wildflowers, insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, spiders, mushrooms, ferns, grasses, even constellations overhead and rocks underfoot—it’s all here. With authoritative yet broad coverage, nontechnical language, and more than two thousand color photographs, this book is an essential reference for nature lovers living in or visiting Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do
Linda Chalker-Scott - 2015
In How Plants Work, horticulture expert Linda Chalker-Scott brings the stranger-than-fiction science of the plant world to vivid life. She uncovers the mysteries of how and why plants do the things they do, and arms you with fascinating knowledge that will change the way you garden.
Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana: (Books about Marijuana, Guide to Cannabis, Weed Bible)
Dan Michaels - 2015
Presented in an eye-popping package and filled with hyperdetailed photography of individual buds, this essential guide to marijuana is smart, practical, and exceedingly beautiful. The "Primer" section explores the culture of this complex flower and explains the botany that makes each strain unique. The "Buds" section describes the variations of lineage, flavor, and mental or physical high that define 170 exceptional strains. Poised to become the go-to marijuana guide for recreational and medicinal users alike, Green is easy to pick up and impossible to put down.
Idiot's Guides: Succulents
Cassidy Tuttle - 2015
They have captured the hearts of crafters, decorators, and plant lovers all over the world. Always popular as an outdoor plant in warm climates, succulents have found a new popularity as a try indoor plant that's easy to care for and fun to look at. Idiot's Guides: Succulents includes:+ Everything needed to select, pair, pot, and care for succulent plants. + Snapshots of 100 of the most popular varieties of succulent plants, including care, color, hardiness, pairing, and a full-color photo for each. + 16 beautiful craft projects with how-to steps and color photos, including picture frames, wreaths, terrariums, centerpieces, and bouquets. + Tips on successfully propagating new succulents from existing plants. + Extensive advice on choosing pots and unique planters, repotting succulents, and pairing varieties for maximum impact. + An index of succulents by color and height that gives readers another tool for selecting the succulents that will look.
Seeing Seeds: A Journey into the World of Seedheads, Pods, and Fruit
Teri Dunn Chace - 2015
In these stunning pages you’ll gain an understanding of how seeds are formed and dispersed, why they look the way they do, and how they fit into the environment. Seeing Seeds will take you to strange and wonderful places. When you return, it’s safe to say that you’ll never look at a seed the same way again.
The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns
Sue Olsen - 2015
Perfect for containers, borders, layered gardens, foliage accents, and shady areas, ferns come in a range of colors and varieties. The Plant Lover’s Guide to Ferns, by fern enthusiasts Richie Steffen and Sue Olsen, is packed with information on these reliable plants. The book includes profiles for 134 plants, with information on growth and propagation, advice on using ferns in garden design, and lists of where to buy the plants and where to view them in public gardens.
Hummelo: A Journey Through a Plantsman's Life
Piet Oudolf - 2015
Hummelo—near the village of the same name in Gelderland in the eastern Netherlands—is visited by thousands of gardeners seeking inspiration each year. It is Piet Oudolf’s home, his personal garden laboratory, a former nursery run by his wife Anja, and the place where he first tested new designs and created the new varieties of perennials that are now widely available. A follow-up to Oudolf’s successful Landscapes in Landscapes—Hummelo tells the story of how the garden has evolved over the past three decades since Oudolf, Anja, and their two young sons moved onto the property, with its loamy sand and derelict, wood stove-heated farmhouse, in 1982. Text by noted garden author and longtime personal friend Noel Kingsbury places Hummelo in context within gardening history, from The Netherlands’ counterculture and nascent green movement of the 1960s, to prairie restoration in the American Midwest, and shows how its development has mirrored that of Oudolf’s own outstanding career and unique naturalistic aesthetic. Oudolf has long been at the forefront of the Dutch Wave and New Perennial Style movements in garden design, which have ecological considerations at their base. His work stresses a deep knowledge of plants, eschewing short-lived annuals in favor of perennials that can be appreciated for both structure and blooms in every season. He is credited for leading the way to today’s focus on sustainability in garden design. The book will appeal to readers who favor beautiful, biodiverse, and ever-changing plantings: seed heads, grasses, sedges, and winter silhouettes. They will be drawn into its pages by lush photography, often demonstrating how Oudolf views his own work, and providing rare glimpses into his daily life. Short essays highlight important techniques, including scatter plants and matrix planting, and introduce other famed landscape designers—Karl Foerster, Henk Gerritsen, Rob Leopold, Ernst Pagels, and Mien Ruys—to create a full panorama of the movement Oudolf now leads.
Wild Drinks Cocktails: Handcrafted Squashes, Shrubs, Switchels, Tonics, and Infusions to Mix at Home
Emily Han - 2015
It's easy with Wild Drinks & Cocktails.Using ingredients you can find in your own backyard, farm, or local market, you can create artisan drinks that will leave you feeling refreshed and even revitalized. Learn useful fermentation techniques to make your own kefi,and homemade soda. Brew your own teas, mix your own squashes, shrubs, switchels, tonics, and infusions. You can even use the recipes to create powerful and healthful craft cocktails.Craft drink expert Emily Han creates unique flavors in the 100 drink recipes, each with powerful health benefits, along with a sentimental nod to drinks of another era. Wild Drinks & Cocktails teaches you the techniques you need to know to handcraft your own infused waters, syrups, vinegar drinks, spirits, wines, and sodas.Join the drink renaissance with Wild Drinks & Cocktails."Emily Han's carefully crafted book, Wild Drinks & Cocktails dispels the common wisdom of great drinks are only to be built by professionals. These simple cocktails are not short of brilliant- from locally-gathered ingredients constructed with our own, very capable hands, no pro's needed!" - Warren Bobrow, author of Apothecary Cocktails, Whiskey Cocktails, and Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails
Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production
Toyoki Kozai - 2015
The PF systems described in this book are based on a plant production system with artificial (electric) lights and include case studies providing lessons learned and best practices from both industrial and crop specific programs.With insights into the economics as well as the science of PF programs, this book is ideal for those in academic as well as industrial settings.
Field Guide to Manzanitas
Michael Edward Kauffmann - 2015
Ranging from the Sierra Nevada mountains to coastal bluffs along the Pacific, from temperate rainforests along the North Coast to arid mountain slopes in Southern California, a wealth of manzanita species and subspecies can be found in an astonishing array of environments. What is presented herein is an assimilation of images, descriptions, and range maps to better understand these plants through:• Color plates for identifying the world's manzanitas• Accurate and updated range maps• 28 manzanita hot-spots for finding them in the field• Spectacular photos from across North America• Simplified keys by region• Discussion covering endemism, ecology, and evolution of the genus
Walt Kelly's Fairy Tales
Walt Kelly - 2015
Comic fans of all ages will thrill to stories of witches, princesses, giants, dragons, fairy queens, elves, and goblins. Enjoy fairy tale classics like "The Emperor s New Clothes," "The Gingerbread Man," "The Wise Men of Gotham," "The Lost Prince," and "Cinderella" (published eight years before the Disney Classic) in this gorgeous collection. Introduction by Kelly-fan animator and beloved illustrator Dean Yeagle."
The Art of Gardening: Design Inspiration and Innovative Planting Techniques from Chanticleer
R. William Thomas - 2015
It is a place of pleasure and learning, relaxing yet filled with ideas to take home. And now those lessons are available for everyone in this stunning book! You’ll learn techniques specific to different conditions and plant palettes; how to use hardscape materials in a fresh way; and how to achieve the perfect union between plant and site. And Rob Cardillo’s exquisite photographs of exciting combinations will be sure to stimulate your own creativity. Whether you’re already under Chanticleer’s spell or have yet to visit, The Art of Gardening will enable you to bring the special magic that pervades this most artful of gardens into your own home landscape.
Medicinal Mushrooms - A Clinical Guide
Martin Powell - 2015
Written by a biochemist and herbalist with over 20 years' experience of working with medicinal mushrooms, this book provides an in-depth resource for healthcare practitioners. It covers 20 of the most widely used species and contains sections on their use for cancer and other health conditions, as well as discussion of the different formats of mushroom supplement available . "This really important book is a unique and excellent compilation." Dr SP Wasser - Editor, International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms "This beautifully illustrated book is an invaluable resource on medicinal mushrooms." Giovanni Maciocia - Author, Foundations of Chinese Medicine "Easily the most accessible primer on the pharmacology, applications and Chinese medical uses of the top mycological medicinals." Journal of Chinese Medicine
Mushrooms of the Rocky Mountain Region
Vera Stucky Evenson - 2015
This comprehensive guide features introductory chapters on the basics of mushroom structure, life cycles, and habitats. Profiles include color photographs, keys, and diagrams to aid in identification, and tips on how to recognize and avoid poisonous mushrooms.Covers Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as adjacent areas in Montana and IdahoHelpful keys for identificationClear, color-coded layoutAn essential reference for mushroom enthusiasts, hikers, and naturalists
A Cree Healer and His Medicine Bundle: Revelations of Indigenous Wisdom--Healing Plants, Practices, and Stories
David E. Young - 2015
Providing information on and photos of medicinal plants and where to harvest them, anthropologist David E. Young and botanist Robert D. Rogers chronicle the life, beliefs, and healing practices of Medicine Man Russell Willier in his native Alberta, Canada. Despite being criticized for sharing his knowledge, Willier later found support in other healers as they began to realize the danger that much of their traditional practices could die out with them. With Young and Rogers, Willier offers his practices here for future generations. At once a study and a guide, A Cree Healer and His Medicine Bundle touches on how indigenous healing practices can be used to complement mainstream medicine, improve the treatment of chronic diseases, and lower the cost of healthcare. The authors discuss how mining, agriculture, and forestry are threatening the continued existence of valuable wild medicinal plants and the role of alternative healers in a modern health care system. Sure to be of interest to ethnobotanists, medicine hunters, naturopaths, complementary and alternative health practitioners, ethnologists, anthropologists, and academics, this book will also find an audience with those interested in indigenous cultures and traditions.
About Trees
Katie Holten - 2015
It will be the first book in BDP's new series: Parapoetics - a Literature beyond the Human. Holten has created an alphabet from her tree drawings and made a new typeface called Trees. Registering a crisis of representation, About Trees considers our relationship with language, nature, information, drawing, ecology, memory, systems, and time in the Anthropocene.Texts by Jorge Luis Borges, Inger Christensen, William Corwin, Charles Darwin, Nicole Davi, Tacita Dean, Brian Enquist, Amy Franceschini, Charles Gaines, James Gleick, Fritz Haeg, Amy Harmon, Natalie Jeremijenko, Eduardo Kohn, Elizabeth Kolbert, Irene Kopelman, Ursual K. Le Guin, Ada Lovelace, Robert Macfarlane, E.J. McAdams, Arianna Occhipinti, Katie Paterson, Thomas Princen, Pedro Reyes, Robert Sullivan, Rachel Sussman, Nicola Twilley, Gaia Vince, Aengus Woods, and others.
Hyper Nature
Philippe Martin - 2015
To take one photograph, he will shoot a subject hundreds of times, stack the images into a composite, and then clean up the composite image pixel by pixel. The result is a "quasi-3D" photograph of nature with such sharpness and brilliance that surely it will leap from the page. What's more, Martin takes the photographs in his subjects' natural setting, including inhospitable jungles.Hyper Nature is a portfolio of Martin's stunning photographs of snails, orchids, dragonflies, snakes, frogs and many other creatures. The hyperrealism and large images bring the viewer into the heart of the scene, face to face with the subject, where he can discover the smallest detail. This is nature photography as never seen before. Martin also explains how he achieves his photographs, increasing readers' appreciation and leaving a legacy for new photographers.The most recent exhibition of Martin's photographs attracted one million visitors to the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.Hyper Nature is ideal for all photography and nature enthusiasts as well as photographers, naturalists, educators, museum specialists and scientists.
The Garden Forager: Edible Delights in your Own Back Yard
Adele Nozedar - 2015
But, what few realise is that you don’t necessarily have to go rootling in hedgerows or woodlands to find them.Many of our own gardens contain an abundance of edible and medicinal plants, grown mainly for their ornamental appearance. Most gardeners are completely unaware that what they have actually planted is a rather exotic kitchen garden.The Garden Forager explores over 40 of the most popular garden plants that have edible, medicinal or even cosmetic potential, accompanied by recipes, remedies, and interesting facts, and illustrated throughout in exquisite watercolours by Lizzie Harper.This beautifully illustrated book redefines how we look at our gardens and unleashes the unknown potential of everyday plants – making it a must-have for anyone interested in gardening, cooking, or foraging.
The Cannabis Manifesto: A New Paradigm for Wellness
Steve DeAngelo - 2015
Steve DeAngelo, the founder of Harborside Health Center, the world's largest medical-cannabis dispensary, presents a compelling case for cannabis as a wellness catalyst that must be legalized. His view that there is no such thing as recreational cannabis use challenges readers to rethink everything they thought they knew about marijuana. The Cannabis Manifesto answers essential questions about the plant, using extensive research to fuel a thoughtful discussion about cannabis science and law, as well as its biological, mental, and spiritual effects on human beings. With a cultural critic's eye peering through the lens of social justice, DeAngelo explains how cannabis prohibition has warped our most precious institutions—from the family, to the workplace, to the doctor’s office and the courtroom. In calling for a realistic national policy on a substance that has been used by half of all Americans, this essential primer will forever change the way the world thinks about cannabis, its benefits, and the laws governing its use.
Flower Addict
Saskia Havekes - 2015
Grandiflora, the highly acclaimed business she started 20 years ago, is known as much for its large-scale events with cascading flowers and extravagant arrangements as for its exquisite, intimate bouquets of petal-perfect blooms. Here, Saskia shares some of her favorite floral moments, captured in glorious detail by photographer Nick Watt.
Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: The Complete Homeowner's Guide
Paul Bonine - 2015
In order to grow a flourishing garden, every gardener must know the specifics of their region’s climate, soil, and geography. Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, by regional gardening experts Paul Bonine and Amy Campion, is comprehensive, enthusiastic, and accessible to gardeners of all levels. It features information on site and plant selection, soil preparation and maintenance, and basic design principles. Plant profiles highlight the region’s best perennials, shrubs, trees, and vines. Color photographs throughout show wonderful examples of Northwest garden style.
Maya Forest Garden: Eight Millennia of Sustainable Cultivation of the Tropical Woodlands
Anabel Ford - 2015
Using research on contemporary Maya farming techniques and important new archaeological research, Ford and Nigh refute this Malthusian explanation of events in ancient Central America and posit a radical alternative theory. The authorsshow that ancient Maya farmers developed ingenious, sustainable woodland techniques to cultivate numerous food plants (including the staple maize);examine both contemporary tropical farming techniques and the archaeological record (particularly regarding climate) to reach their conclusions;make the argument that these ancient techniques, still in use today, can support significant populations over long periods of time.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants
Bob B. Buchanan - 2015
Maintaining the scope and focus of the first edition, the second will provide a major update, include much new material and reorganise some chapters to further improve the presentation. This book is meticulously organised and richly illustrated, having over 1,000 full-colour illustrations and 500 photographs. It is divided into five parts covering: Compartments, Cell Reproduction, Energy Flow, Metabolic and Developmental Integration, and Plant Environment and Agriculture. Specific changes to this edition include: Completely revised with over half of the chapters having a major rewrite. Includes two new chapters on signal transduction and responses to pathogens. Restructuring of section on cell reproduction for improved presentation. Dedicated website to include all illustrative material. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants holds a unique place in the plant sciences literature as it provides the only comprehensive, authoritative, integrated single volume book in this essential field of study.
Florida Fruit Vegetable Gardening: Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles
Robert Bowden - 2015
Full-color images illustrate the more than 25 fruits and berries featured, and there are also more than 35 recommendations for the best vegetables to grow in this sometimes challenging climate. Helpful growing tips, icons, charts, and maps assist gardeners in planting the right edibles for their exact Florida location.This is the perfect book for longtime Florida gardeners as well as newcomers to the state with its enviable twelve-month growing season. This updated edition of the original Guide to Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening (Cool Springs Press, 2010) includes new specimens and cultivars as well as updated information on the outbreak of citrus greening disease that has ravaged orange groves throughout the state, with recommendations on safe practices gardeners should follow. Make your garden healthy and happy with tips from expert gardener and horticulturalist Robert Bowden.
The Adventures of Andy the Acorn
Karen Valiquette - 2015
He was ready for big adventures and anxious to find his purpose. His journey brings him into contact with many creatures who depend on trees for their shelter and well-being. Come along with Andy as he discovers his world and the special place he holds within that world.The Adventures of Andy the Acorn will delight both children and adults as, together, they discover the vital role that trees play in the world.
Prairie Plains States Getting Started Garden Guide: Grow the Best Flowers, Shrubs, Trees, Vines Groundcovers
Cathy Wilkinson-Barash - 2015
Novice gardeners, new homeowners, and those new to the area will find it invaluable, but more experienced gardeners and home landscapers will also fall in love with this book.Prairie & Plains States Getting Started Garden Guide features the region-specific plant palette unique to this area, including plants that can withstand cold winters and drying winds. Gardeners in this wide geographic space share many problems and concerns. Annuals, bulbs, groundcovers, lawns, ornamental grasses, perennials, roses, shrubs, trees, and vines are profiled, in detail, with four-color photos showing each plant's attributes. Basic gardening chapters cover the information beginning to intermediate gardeners need to know to garden with confidence.
The Tanoak Tree: An Environmental History of a Pacific Coast Hardwood
Frederica Bowcutt - 2015
People's radically different perceptions of it have ranged from treasured food plant to cash crop to trash tree. Having studied the patterns of tanoak use and abuse for nearly twenty years, botanist Frederica Bowcutt uncovers a complex history of cultural, sociopolitical, and economic factors affecting the tree's fate.Still valued by indigenous communities for its nutritious acorn nut, the tree has also been a source of raw resources for a variety of industries since white settlement of western North America. Despite ongoing protests, tanoaks are now commonly killed with herbicides in industrial forests in favor of more commercially valuable coast redwood and Douglas-fir. As one nontoxic alternative, many foresters and communities promote locally controlled, third-party certified sustainable hardwood production using tanoak, which doesn't depend on clearcutting and herbicide use.Today tanoaks are experiencing massive die-offs due to sudden oak death, an introduced disease. Bowcutt examines the complex set of factors that set the stage for the tree's current ecological crisis. The end of the book focuses on hopeful changes including reintroduction of low-intensity burning to reduce conifer competition for tanoaks, emerging disease resistance in some trees, and new partnerships among tanoak defenders, including botanists, foresters, Native Americans, and plant pathologists.Watch the book trailer: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzY7QxOiI8I