Annie Spiegelman's down-to-earth wit and wisdom create the perfect primer for anyone with a passion for home-grown veggies or fresh-cut flowers, no matter what their skill level, location, or resources. Includes advice on: -Learning to worship the worm and build a compost pile -Landscape designs-start small in order to create a basic plan for a plot -The secret to healthy soil (the only way to have a healthy garden) -Irrigation systems and strategies to conserve water -Proper pruning-from roses to trees -How to combine vegetables to make them thrive -How to let your garden go native and become drought tolerant -Edible landscaping and gardening in small spaces "Talking Dirt" is a one-stop handbook that features resources for shopping, learning, and promoting environmentally sound garden practices within local communities.

    After all, who doesn't yearn for a landscape that is as well designed as the interior of their home? In "Outside the Not So Big House," Julie and Sarah teach you everything you need to know about the design concepts essential to extending your home beyond its four walls.Lushly photographed and illustrated with vivid drawings, "Outside the Not So Big House" explores how to build pathways and journeys in your gardens; how to make the most of your site; how to use details to bring it all together. Twenty homes from across the country aptly illustrate these easy-to-grasp design ideas. Fans of Sarah's previous Not So Big books will be pleased to discover not only Julie's clear, concise prose but also a new vision for creating home.

    Areas updated include the seed houses, compost & gardening resources, and reference book lists, with websites added as appropriate. A section on educational websites for NW gardening was also included. The Guide still includes the detailed monthly gardening calendar, as well as: *Maritime Northwest Climate Zone Map *How to extend the growing season *Completely revised and updated vegetable, herb, and flower variety recommendations *Month-by-month gardening recommendations *Beneficial insect identification *How to beat common plant diseases organically *Getting organic outside the garden *Ideas for gardening with children The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide continues to be the "must have" resource for novice and expert Northwest gardeners alike.

    It was initiated by architect and artist Fritz Haeg on Independence Day, 2005, with the planting of the first regional prototype garden in the geographic center of the United States, Salina, Kansas. Since then three more prototype gardens have been created, in Lakewood, California; Maplewood, New Jersey and London, England. Edible Estates regional prototype gardens will ultimately be established in nine cities across the United States.Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn documents the first four gardens with personal accounts written by the owners, garden plans and photographs illustrating the creation of the gardens--from ripping up the grass to harvesting a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Essays by Haeg, landscape architect Diana Balmori, garden and food writer Rosalind Creasy, author Michael Pollan and artist and writer Lesley Stern set the Edible Estates project in the context of larger issues concerning the environment, global food production and the imperative to generate a sense of community in our urban and suburban neighborhoods. This smart, affordable and well-designed book also includes reports and photographs from the owners of other edible front yards around the country, as well as helpful resources to guide you in making your own Edible Estate.

    Best remembered for his landscape architecture, from New York's Central Park to Boston's Emerald Necklace to Stanford University's campus, Olmsted was also an influential journalist, early voice for the environment, and abolitionist credited with helping dissuade England from joining the South in the Civil War. This momentous career was shadowed by a tragic personal life, also fully portrayed here.Most of all, he was a social reformer. He didn't simply create places that were beautiful in the abstract. An awesome and timeless intent stands behind Olmsted's designs, allowing his work to survive to the present day. With our urgent need to revitalize cities and a widespread yearning for green space, his work is more relevant now than it was during his lifetime. Justin Martin restores Olmsted to his rightful place in the pantheon of great Americans.

    A field guide to trees around the world, each depicted by a full-color photograph with a caption that describes key features and points of differentiation

    Suitable for students who have little prior scientific knowledge, this book presents basic botanical principles and includes sufficient information for some shorter introductory botany courses open to both majors and nonmajors.

    This is a warm, witty memoir of one man's unlikely quest to create out of a mountainous Welsh landscape a garden fit for inclusion in the prestigious Yellow Book - the 'Gardens of England and Wales Open for Charity' guide - in just one year.

    Ross Chapin begins the book by outlining the shifts in the scale of community and the American Dream over several generations, leading to super-sized houses in a sea of development, then describes a solution to help restore healthy, livable communities. The first section of the book looks at historic precedents of pocket neighborhoods, from 15th century hofje almshouses in the Netherlands, to a 19th century Methodists Camp Community on Martha’s Vineyard, to early 20th century Garden City models and Southern California Cottage Courtyards. The second section covers a wide range of contemporary pocket neighborhoods, including New Urban communities, affordable housing, houseboat communities, eco-neighborhoods, and Ross Chapin Architects’ own pocket neighborhood examples. The third section focuses on ‘cohousing’ communities, from Danish origins in the 1960s, to examples across America, Australia and New Zealand, including a chapter on senior cohousing. The fourth section looks at retrofitting pocket neighborhoods within existing communities. Throughout the book are series of “Design Keys” that highlight the essential principles of pocket neighborhood planning and design, and short stories about “Pocket Neighborhood Pioneers” who blazed new trails. The book is filled with rich photographs, drawings, illustrations and site plans, and a Resources section at the end provides leads for the reader to explore the topic in further detail.

    Explores scientific and mystical developments that renew and enhance the soil, among them rock dust fertilizer, biodynamic agriculture, and other highly unusual fertilizers.

    Written for gardeners who are passionate about plants of all kinds, it reflects decades of professional experience and artistic innovation. Tracy DiSabato-Aust provides not only inspiration but also scrupulously organized information on design and connoisseur plants. A gallery of detailed design plans is included, as is an encyclopedia of plant combinations with notes on design considerations and tips on how to keep the combinations looking their best. The result is a nearly foolproof guide to every aspect of designing superior gardens with superior plants. With more than 250 color photos and illustrations, this paperback edition of a design classic is as much a feast for the eyes as it will be a trusted reference for the library shelf.

    For decades people have unquestioningly accepted the idea that our goal is to preserve nature in its pristine, pre-human state. But many scientists have come to see this as an outdated dream that thwarts bold new plans to save the environment and prevents us from having a fuller relationship with nature. Humans have changed the landscapes they inhabit since prehistory, and climate change means even the remotest places now bear the fingerprints of humanity. Emma Marris argues convincingly that it is time to look forward and create the "rambunctious garden," a hybrid of wild nature and human management.In this optimistic book, readers meet leading scientists and environmentalists and visit imaginary Edens, designer ecosystems, and Pleistocene parks. Marris describes innovative conservation approaches, including rewilding, assisted migration, and the embrace of so-called novel ecosystems.Rambunctious Garden is short on gloom and long on interesting theories and fascinating narratives, all of which bring home the idea that we must give up our romantic notions of pristine wilderness and replace them with the concept of a global, half-wild rambunctious garden planet, tended by us.

    Stressing the utility of raised beds and wide rows, gardening expert Dick Raymond shares his time-tested techniques for preparing the soil, starting plants, and controlling weeds. With helpful photographs, clear charts, and profiles of reliable garden vegetables, Joy of Gardening will inspire you to grow your best crop ever.

    Through the combined use of the ideal growing compost for best nutrition, and Companion Planting methods for nutrition and pest/disease control; SFG is the gardening method of choice for millions of 'switched on' gardeners today.Along with Raised Bed and Container planting methods, SFG is another way that individuals can take back control of their food needs from the big corporations - and benefit from fresh organically produced vegetables - by growing their own easily and with minimum fuss!What You Will Find In This Book:1. An introduction to SFG - What it is all about.Growing vegetables in a square foot garden is all the rage just now - but what exactly is it all about? Here you will find out about the background to SFG and why it is so effective for growing fruit and vegetables of many kinds.2. How to construct your own Square Foot GardenSimple instructions for constructing a simple SFG frame - it does not get much easier than this!3. How to make your own 'special mix' of compost for infilling.;The 'secret sauce' behind the success of this intensive gardening technique, lays in the growing compound. Find out how to make top-notch organic compost to improve your soil and subsequent crop-yield.5. Guidelines for planting out your SFG.Simple and clear diagrams and pictures to get you started on your own SFG.6. Introducing Companion Planting - Good and Bad companions for your veggies.Companion Planting plays a crucial role in the success of a square foot or raised bed garden. Some great tips here to get your vegetables growing strong and proud.7. Beneficial herbs and Organic pest control.Herb gardening is extremely important in the control of destructive pests. Find out which herbs are more beneficial for your plants.8. Instructions on plant support and growing methods.Some instruction on how to go about supporting your plants so that you may get the best out of them and minimalize damage due to heavy crops.9. A list of popular vegetables and herbs to grow in your SFG, including planting, plant care and harvesting/storing your vegetables.A comprehensive list of good vegetables and herbs that will complement each other throughout the growing process, as well as how to harvest and store your crops for later use.

    Our beginners guide contains all the essential information you need in order to succeed. It covers the basic techniques, well illustrated with over a hundred images, and explains everything you need to know in an understandable way. Bonsai Empire is the world's most visited Bonsai website and has provided beginners with quality information for over a decade. We have developed this guide to help you get a taste of this fascinating and living art, and hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do! This book includes: - Over 100 stunning images - Over 80 pages - Explanations of the basic techniques - Care guides on the 10 most popular tree species - Background on the history, definition and styles Walter Pall: "Now here is the ultimate book to lead beginners. I am happy to have been able to contribute to this" Mauro Stemberger "Very clear" and "With great quality drawings and pics"