The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals—and Other Forgotten Skills


Tristan Gooley - 2014
    The roots of a tree indicate the sun’s direction; the Big Dipper tells the time; a passing butterfly hints at the weather; a sand dune reveals prevailing wind; the scent of cinnamon suggests altitude; a budding flower points south. To help you understand nature as he does, Gooley shares more than 850 tips for forecasting, tracking, and more, gathered from decades spent walking the landscape around his home and around the world. Whether you’re walking in the country or city, along a coastline, or by night, this is the ultimate resource on what the land, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and clouds can reveal—if you only know how to look!

Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life


Jenna Woginrich - 2008
    Learn a few basic country skills, she reasoned, and she would be able to produce at least some of the food and resources she used every day.Goodbye, fast food and Wonder Bread; hello, homesteading. With enthusiasm and joy for the tasks at hand, Woginrich embarked on a journey that has been sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking and always soul satisfying.From the fulfilling work of planting a garden and installing honeybees, to the bliss of gathering fresh eggs for an omelet or playing an old-time ballad on the fiddle, Made from Scratch shares the honest satisfaction of doing for oneself, and brings the reader to a deep appreciation for the value of simple skills performed well.

How to Raise a Plant and Make it Love You Back


Morgan Doane - 2018
    This attractive little book is ideal for the novice 'plant parent', providing tips on how to choose plants, where to keep them in your home, and above all else how to care for them and keep them thriving. Indoor plant experts from the leading account @houseplantclub, Erin Harding and Morgan Doane, bring the trendy and timeless subject to life alongside their beautiful photographs of happy plants in the home.Ways to Make Your New Plant Love You: • Discover the best houseplants to green up your space • Learn how to maintain your collection by propagating and repotting • Finding the right tools and materials, and how to tackle pest control • Building terrariums and other DIY projects for happy plants • Interior stylings suggestions from boho to modern to classic, there design inspiration for everyone!

Simply Sustainable: Moving Toward Plastic-Free, Low-Waste Living


Lily Cameron - 2021
    In Simply Sustainable, perfection is not required. Whether you are looking for easy changes to get you started, or more advanced, high-impact tips for your low-waste home, these simple, effective steps will forever change your relationship to disposable plastic products.Lily Cameron shows readers how to gradually transition away from plastic and curate a minimal, beautiful home in the process. Her approach teaches you how to "make plastic-free living work for you, savor your progress and celebrate that with each small change, you are making a positive impact on the environment, your health and your family's well being."Simply Sustainable proves that zero-waste living can be easy and deeply satisfying, whether shopping at the farmers market, throwing a dinner party, or packing for a getaway weekend. With practical, manageable strategies organized by room, and inspiring photographs of plastic-free homes, you can begin your journey toward intentional, low-waste living.

Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff


Myquillyn Smith - 2018
    Myquillyn Smith's first book, The Nesting Place, teaches us that our homes don't have to be perfect to be beautiful. But how can we apply that lesson to our actual, day-to-day design decisions?Cozy Minimalist Home is the answer to that question. Writing for the hands-on woman who'd rather move her own furniture than hire a designer, Smith helps you think through every room in your house, one purposeful design decision at a time. With people, priorities, and purpose in mind, you can create a warm, inviting, and timeless home that transcends the latest trends and centers around your personal style.You'll have the tools to create a home you're proud of in a way that honors your unique priorities, budget, and taste. And best of all, you can completely transform your home starting with furniture and décor that you already have!In Cozy Minimalist Home, Smith helps you:Recognize your role as the curator of your home who makes smart, style-impacting design choicesKnow what to focus on and what not to worry aboutDiscover the real secret to finding your unique styleFind a sofa you won't hate tomorrowDeconstruct each room and re-create it step by stepCreate a pretty home with more style and less stuffMake your home look the way you've always hoped so you can use it the way you've always dreamed Fall in love with the space you've createdDiscover how creating a cozy minimalist home goes beyond pretty and sets the stage for the true connection, relationship, and rest that you deserve.

The House Plant Expert


D.G. Hessayon - 1981
    Over a million copies have been sold in the U.S., and nearly 14 million worldwide. According to one reviewer - "after the Bible, the best-selling reference book of all time."In a basketful of countries it has taught people to choose and care for their indoor plants. Its style of dealing with each plant with drawings, photographs and no-nonsense text has become a legend in the publishing world. If you have house plants (and who doesn't?) you need this book.

The Gardener's Guide to Succulents: A Handbook of Over 125 Exquisite Varieties of Succulents and Cacti


Misa Matsuyama - 2020
    This book provides a beautiful overview of the diversity that succulents have to offer, presenting a wide variety of popular plants to help you create striking, aesthetically pleasing compositions.This succulent guide includes information about: What each variety needs and where it thrivesPlant characteristics, with ratings on ease of growth and maintenance requirementsIdeas for group plantings and illustrated tips on indoor plantingStriking identification photos, rich in color and contrastThis succulent encyclopedia is a useful resource for everyone--from cacti beginners looking to decorate their living space to serious gardeners hoping to expand their succulent plantings.

Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff


Dana K. White - 2018
    Yet a home with too much stuff is a home that is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin? Add in paralyzing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress.In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, decluttering expert and author Dana White identifies the mind-sets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. Then, in her signature humorous approach, she provides workable solutions to break through these struggles and get clutter out--for good!But more than simply offering strategies, Dana dives deep into how to implement them, no matter the reader's clutter level or emotional resistance to decluttering. She helps identify procrasticlutter--the stuff that will get done eventually so it doesn't seem urgent--as well as how to make progress when there's no time to declutter.Sections of the book includeWhy You Need This Book (You Know Why)Your Unique HomeDecluttering in the Midst of Real LifeChange Your Mind, Change Your HomeBreaking Through Your Decluttering DelusionsWorking It Out Room by RoomHelping Others DeclutterReal Life Goes On (and On)As long as we're living and breathing, new clutter will appear. The good news is that decluttering can get easier, become more natural, and require significantly fewer hours, less emotional bandwidth, and little to no sweat to keep going.

Martha Stewart's Very Good Things: Clever Tips Genius Ideas for an Easier, More Enjoyable Life


Martha Stewart - 2021
    These practical tricks cover all areas of Martha’s domestic expertise, including decorating, organizing, homekeeping, cooking, entertaining, and celebrating. From clever ways to solve common problems (use file folder dividers to organize cutting boards and sheet pans in your cabinets) to time-saving tricks (keep a pail stocked with cleaning supplies for easy access and portability to stress reducers (color-code kids’ bathroom gear to make mornings less hectic), every one of these ideas will make you wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Also included are ways to use what you have (a Parmesan cheese rind will add great flavor to soup), streamline your stuff (use certain kitchen tools for many different purposes), or just make life a little more luxurious (add elegance to your table with DIY place cards). Whether functional, delightful, or a little bit of both, these are the details that enliven and inspire every day—that’s a good thing!

Ground Rules: 100 Easy Lessons for Growing a More Glorious Garden


Kate Frey - 2018
    Frey distills the vital lessons gardening into 100 simple rules that, if followed, will yield a gorgeous, healthy, and thriving home garden. New home gardeners will discover tips on garden design, care and maintenance, healthy soil, and the best ways to water. They’ll learn how to create a garden that encourages birds and butterflies, how to how to choose healthy plants at the garden center, how and when to re-pot a container, and much more. With bite-size chunks of expert information and nearly 100 inspiring photographs, Ground Rules packs a lot of value into its playful package and will be a go-to resource for gardeners everywhere.

Veg in One Bed: How to Grow an Abundance of Food in One Raised Bed, Month by Month


Huw Richards - 2019
    There is nothing more fulfilling than growing your own home produce. You don't have to be a seasoned gardener to produce a healthy, flourishing garden - all you need is a few seeds, water, sunlight, good advice and patience!In just one raised bed, author Huw Richards, shows you exactly how to grow vegetables organically, abundantly and inexpensively so you have something to harvest every month of the year. Here's what you'll find inside:- A month-by-month guide showing you what to do and how to do it, including what pests to look out for, and what can be harvested- Covers the first year in detail, with the final chapter on 'Next Steps' providing suggestions of what to do in years two and three- Illustrations show you what the bed should look like from month to month- Includes instructions on assessing your site and building a 1.2m x 3m raised bed- Alternative vegetables are recommended, allowing readers to tailor their bed to their tasteMonth by month, discover what you need to do and how to do it. Try becoming more self-sufficient in your allotment, a small garden, or even on a roof terrace. Veg In One Bed shows you that you can have a small thriving garden and still be able to maintain it, yielding fresh vegetables all year round. Learn what to do each month on your windowsill, where you'll raise seedlings, and in your raised bed, where your plants will grow to maturity. Everything is explained in clear, illustrated steps: building your bed, growing from seed, planting, feeding, and harvesting.This gardening book not only guides you through the whole process of building your raised bed through to harvesting your vegetables but also provides sustainable gardening practices, which will resonate with all gardeners committed to protecting our planet. This makes for the perfect book for new gardeners who want to grow their own produce, as well as the new generation of gardeners who are seeking a gardening guru of their own age.Veg in One Bed goes beyond the inspiring demonstrations on his YouTube channel " Huw Richards - Grow Food Organically ". In this book he organises all his ideas and suggestions into a blueprint for growing your own vegetables month by month. Little growing experience? Only a small space? No matter - with Veg in One Bed, you can still eat food you have grown all through the year.

Clean Mama's Guide to a Peaceful Home: Effortless Systems and Joyful Rituals for a Calm, Cozy Home


Becky Rapinchuk - 2020
    But too often the mess and disorder only add stress.For years, Becky Rapinchuk has taught people how to simplify and improve cleaning routines, and now she reveals a game-changing method to help us find joy and make our chores effortless. By pairing up systems—how we get things done so that they become automatic—with rituals—tasks that bring calm and happiness—we can feel more at peace in our homes.Walking readers through each room of the house, Rapinchuk shows how to put new systems and rituals in place that will make the whole home operate more efficiently. Featuring decision trees, checklists, and space to reflect and record progress, Clean Mama’s Guide to a Peaceful Home makes homekeeping a breeze, allowing us to slow down and focus on the things that really matter.

No-Waste Kitchen Gardening: Regrow Your Leftover Greens, Stalks, Seeds, and More


Katie Elzer-Peters - 2018
     Stop tossing your carrot stumps, loose cilantro sprigs, lettuce and cabbage stalks, and apple cores in the trash! The expert advice in No-Waste Kitchen Gardening, gives you all the instruction and tricks you'll need to grow and re-propagate produce from food waste. You'll be astonished at how much food waste you can re-grow. You'll also find some helpful general information about growing indoors and maintaining your re-grown plants. Two-part photo instructions show first what the root, chunk seed, or leaf should look like when you re-plant it, and second, when to harvest or re-plant it in soil to continue growing.  Edibles big and small, quick to grow and those that take a big longer, are included, so you can pick and choose which projects to take on. A few of the many plants profiled include:Green onionsTomatoesMelonsAvocadoesPotatoesCarrotsCut back on your food waste, cultivate your own food easily, and maybe even share gardening with a new generation, all with the advice from No-Waste Kitchen Gardening.

Botany for Gardeners


Brian Capon - 1990
    Two dozen new photos and illustrations make this new edition even richer with information. Its convenient paperback format makes it easy to carry and access, whether you are in or out of the garden. An essential overview of the science behind plants for beginning and advanced gardeners alike.

Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are


Danny Gregory - 2015
    For aspiring artists who want to draw and paint but just can't seem to find time in the day, Gregory offers 5– to 10–minute exercises for every skill level that fit into any schedule—whether on a plane, in a meeting, or at the breakfast table—along with practical instruction on techniques and materials, plus strategies for making work that's exciting, unintimidating, and fulfilling. Filled with Gregory's encouraging words and motivating illustrations, Art Before Breakfast teaches readers how to develop a creative habit and lead a richer life through making art.