Whether it’s a statement-making fiddle-leaf fig or a tiny tabletop succulent, a houseplant instantly elevates the look of your home. But where to begin? In Decorating with Plants, Baylor Chapman walks readers through everything they need to know to bring houseplants into their home. First, there’s Plant Care 101: from how to assess light conditions to tricks for keeping your plants alive while on vacation, Chapman gives readers the simple, foundational info they need to ensure their plants will thrive. Then she introduces us to 28 of her favorites—specimens that are tough as nails but oh-so-stylish, from the eye-catching Rubber Tree to the delicate Cape Primrose. Finally, she guides readers through the home room by room: Place an aromatic plant like jasmine or gardenia to your entry to establish your home’s “signature scent.” Add a proper sense of scale to your living room with a ceiling-grazing palm. Create a living centerpiece of jewel-toned succulents for a dining table arrangement that will last long after your dinner party. From air purification to pest control, there’s no limit to what houseplants can do for your home—and Decorating with Plants is here to show you how to add them to spaces big and small with style.

    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.

    A guide to 32 of the best and most common edible wild plants in North America, with detailed information on how to identify them, where they are found, how and when they are harvested, which parts are used, how they are prepared, as well as their culinary use, ecology, conservation, and cultural history.

    Susie Middleton shares her love of healthful, delicious veggies with a guide to shopping for and cooking delectable meatless meals, including such delights as Spinach with Shallots and Parmigiano and Roasted Eggplant, Bell Pepper, and Fresh Basil Salad. More than 100 recipes for appetizers, snacks, entrees, and side dishes, many of them vegan, make Fast, Fresh & Green an excellent resource for vegetarians and omnivores.

    Author Ocean Robbins reveals the secrets the industrialized food industry doesn't want you to know, how specific ingredients and methods could be making you sick-and what to do about it. And he shows you how-in just 31 days-you can use the amazing power of delicious food to heal your gut, lose excess weight, and lower your risk for disease, all while contributing to a healthier planet.Ocean's plan includes 31 simple and affordable step-by-step actions that give you a road map to healthy, ethical, and sustainable food. He breaks it down into four parts: Detoxify: Get rid of the unhealthy foods and environmental factors making you sick.Nourish: Fuel your body with the healthy micronutrients you need to thrive.Gather: Build your community and surround yourself with supportive, positive people.Transform: YOU can be part of the solution. It's a lot easier to change the world than you imagine!You'll discover amazing secrets, such as how to stop food cravings, why nuts are one of the best snack foods, time-saving habits, and how to catch dangerous ingredients hiding in food labels. In his nonjudgmental and down-to-earth way, Ocean Robbins meets you wherever you are on your personal journey with food. Then, he provides you with tools that make it easy to eat less sugar, processed foods, and unhealthy animal products-and to happily enjoy whole plant foods, and more fair trade, local, organic, and otherwise consciously sourced fare. Ocean helps you make small improvements that lead to big results. If you want to feel better, enjoy your food more, and help sustain the planet, start reading this book today. In just 31 days you can change your health for the better. And your body will thank you for the rest of your life.

    Despite being overlooked, in many ways, moss is perfect: it provides year-round color, excels in difficult climates, prevents soil erosion, and resists pests and disease. In The Magical World of Moss Gardening, bryophyte expert Annie Martin reveals how moss can be used in stunning, eco-friendly spaces. The beautifully illustrated guide includes basics on designing and planting a moss garden, as an inspiring tour of the most magical public and private moss gardens throughout the country.

      Alternating between site visits and brief historical narratives, this guide tells the story of Washington, DC, from its origins to current times. From George Washington’s Mount Vernon to the Kennedy Center, trek through each era of the federal district, on a tour of America’s most beloved sites. Go inside the White House, the only executive home in the world regularly open to the public. Travel to President Lincoln’s Cottage and see where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. And visit lesser-known sites, such as the grave of Pierre L’Enfant, the city’s Botanical Gardens, the Old Post Office, and a host of historical homes throughout the capital. This is the only guide you’ll need to curate an unforgettable expedition to our shining city on a hill.

    There’s nothing more local than an egg freshly laid right in your own yard. But what should you expect when you’re adopting a couple of day-old chicks? In Chick Days, Jenna Woginrich, award-winning author of Made from Scratch, the homesteading memoir for the twenty-something generation, offers a highly entertaining and informative photographic guide for today’s fledgling chick parent. Fun for the complete newbie and for families with young children, Chick Days chronicles the journey of three chickens from newly hatched fluffy butterballs to grown hens laying eggs. Day by day and week by week, readers watch the three starring chickens grow and change, learning about chicken behavior, feeding requirements, housing, hygiene, and health-care essentials, and fun facts on all things poultry. As Jenna herself says, “Chickens are more than 12-piece buckets, country diner kitsch, and egg whites. They’re your backyard ambassadors to healthier eating and basic husbandry. Keeping chickens is a crash course in local eating. When you start collecting eggs you’ll be eating so local you’ll know the amount of cracked corn in the feeder at ground zero of your breakfast . . . ” Jenna’s witty commentary is accompanied by the photography of Mars Vilaubi, who raised the three chickens himself, along with his wife and son. Their accompanying “chick diary” notes particular things this family learned and did along the way to make chicken raising fun. Presenting just the essential information in a highly visual and inviting format, Chick Days makes every stage of chicken life fun, entertaining, and, most of all, doable. It’s sure to give any chicken lover or wannabe owner the confidence and enthusiasm to join the flock!

     You’ll learn about the most effective natural fertilizers, drought-resistant cultivation methods, pest-repellent companion plantings, trends in heirloom herb and vegetable varieties, and raised-bed techniques for achieving maximum productivity in a limited space. You can even add a cutting garden so you’ll always have fresh flowers on a kitchen table that’s groaning under the weight of incomparably fresh vegetables seasoned with a variety of home-grown herbs.  Whether you’re filling a 10’ x 10’ sandbox or digging up your 3,000-square-foot tennis court, any yard has the potential to produce a multi-crop bonanza. And anyone with a little soil and a lot of heart can do it!

    Author John Seymour, the father of the back-to-basics movement, shares his singular vision to transform lives and create communities. More relevant than ever in our hi-tech world, The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the ultimate practical guide for realists and dreamers alike.

    

    The Humanure Handbook, third edition, will amuse you, educate you, and possibly offend you, but it will certainly pertain to you--unless, of course, your bowels never move. This new edition of The Humanure Handbook is:The Tenth Anniversary EditionRichly illustrated with eye-candy artworkPerfect for reading while sitting on the "throne"Revised, improved, and updated256 pages of crap

    Take it from Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk: Making this dream a reality is not for the faint of heart, but it's well within reach—and there's no greater satisfaction under the sun!

    Epicurious is, undisputedly, the most respected website for people who like to cook. In their first-ever cookbook, the Epicurious editors have culled their extraordinary database of 180,000 recipes and selected their most popular recipes.Organized seasonally and by meal type, The Epicurious Cookbook offers everything from 30-minute weeknight dinners to weekend warrior show-stoppers. Also included are comfort food favorites, small dishes perfect for parties and plenty of repertoire-building mains and sides, plus breakfasts, breads, and desserts. All new stunning four-color photography shows Epicurious at its most irresistible. Throughout are Epicurious member suggestions for tweaking recipes, ideas for menu planning, smart substitutions, and homespun recipes from dozens of Epicurious members newly tested for this cookbook. Recipes include:Easy comfort foods Chicken and Fall Vegetable Pot Pie, Beef Short Ribs Tagine, Spicy Mac and Cheese with Pancetta, Deviled Fried Chicken, Chili con Carne with Chili Cheddar ShortcakesFast Weeknight Dinners Quick Paella, Wild Rice with Pecans, Raisin, and Orange Essence, Brussels Sprouts Hash with Caramelized Shallots, Rosemary Lamb Chops with Swiss Chard and Balsamic Syrup, Pan-Fried Spicy Orange TilapiaPlease-Everyone Vegetarian and Vegan Dishes Chilled Soba with Tofu and Sugar Snap Peas, Spiced Lentil Tacos with Chipotle Sour Cream, Roasted Eggplant SaladSpecial occasion show-stoppers Tom Colicchio's Herb-Butter Turkey, Beef Brisket with Merlot and Prunes, Wine-Braised Duck LegsAmerican Classics Updated--Burgers, Pizzas, Salads, Pastas, and Grilled Cheese Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburger with Texas Barbeque Sauce; Hearty Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza; Lobster Pasta in a Roasted Corn Sweet Bacon Cream; Grilled Cheese with Onion Jam, Taleggio, and EscaroleBreakfast and Brunch Stars Extreme Granola with Dried Fruit, Kitchen Sink Frittata, Cr�me Brulee French Toast, and Ultimate Sticky BunsDecadent Desserts Double Layer Chocolate Cake, Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce, Frozen Lemon Ginger Snap Pie, Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted PeanutsDestined to be that classic you'll turn to daily, The Epicurious Cookbook enhances the very best online content in a gorgeous cookbook.

    But aren't they hard to grow at home? No! says orchid grower extraordinaire Steve Frowine. In this handy guide, he shows you step by step how to select the right orchids, keep them healthy, encourage blooms, and even propagate your own plants. Discover how to: * Select orchids that will thrive in your home * Water, fertilize, repot, and propagate orchids * Decipher complicated orchid names * Get familiar with favorite orchid varieties * Create spectacular orchid displays