Amateur and expert alike can quickly and accurately identify almost any wildflower using Lawrence Newcomb's system, which is based on natural structural features that are easily visible even to the untrained eye. Every time you see an unknown plant, ask yourself the same five questions (related to the type of plant and the structure of its petals and leaves), and you will be directed to the page on which the plant can be found. Beautiful illustrations make confirmation easy.

    Plant Craft features projects inspired by the natural world and made out of live plants, cut flowers, foraged branches, and more. You’ll learn how to create a colorful floral mural, an elegant table centerpiece, a serene underwater sculpture, a whimsical mobile, and more. The step-by-step instructions are clear, easy to follow, and fully illustrated with color photographs, and the projects vary in difficulty. Given the right care, they all have the potential to grace a home for a long time.

    Kitchen Garden Revival guides you through every aspect of kitchen gardening, from design to harvesting—with expert advice from author Nicole Johnsey Burke, founder of Rooted Garden, one of the leading US culinary landscape companies, and Gardenary, an online kitchen gardening education and resource company. Participating in the grow-your-own movement is important to both reduce your food miles and control what makes it onto your family’s table. If you’ve hesitated to take part because installing and caring for a traditional vegetable garden doesn’t seem to suit your life or your sense of style, Kitchen Garden Revival is here to show you there’s a better, more beautiful way to grow food. Instead of row after row of cabbage and pepper plants plunked into a patch of dirt in the middle of the yard, kitchen gardens are attractive, highly tailored food gardens consisting of easy-to-maintain raised planting beds laid out in an organized geometric pattern. Offering both four seasons of ornamental interest and plenty of fresh, homegrown fruits, vegetables, and herbs, kitchen gardens are the way to grow your own food in a fashionable, modern, and practical way. Kitchen gardens were once popular features of the European and early American landscape, but they fell out of favor when our agrarian roots were displaced by industrialization. With this accessible and inspirational guide, Nicole aims to return the kitchen garden to its rightful place just outside of every backdoor.Learn the art of kitchen gardening as you discover: What characteristics all kitchen gardens have in commonHow to design and install gorgeous kitchen garden beds using metal, wood, or stoneWhy raised beds mean reduced maintenanceWhat crops are best for your kitchen garden A planting, tending, and harvesting plan developed by a proSeason-by-season growing guides It's time to join the Kitchen Garden Revival and start growing your own delicious, organic food.

    Now they get their due in this delightfully illustrated, fact-filled book, courtesy of a professional beekeeper and nature writer who explores: • Why honey bees are disappearing-and what we can do about it • Who's who in the hive-the queen bee, the workers, and the drones • The role of bees in our food system • Swarming behavior-what it is, what it means, and how it's controlled • Bees by the numbers-number of bees per hive, number of wing beats per second, and other fascinating facts • Bees in folklore, literature, and pop culture • And much more

    Witch’s Garden describes over 50 of the world’s most powerful magical plants and their uses, mythical and proven. From the screaming Mandrake to calming St John’s Wort, the history of these esoteric species is often as dark and elusive as the art of herbalism itself. Including tales of remedies for everything from bad weather and broken hearts to protection from evil and the invocation of immortality, the book features exquisite botanical illustrations and fascinating specimens held within the archives of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, while archival images depicting occult practices evoke the bewitching nature of these mysterious species.

    Key features include:- use of compatible perennials;- non-invasive planting techniques;- emphasis on biodiversity;- specifically adaptable to local climate, landscape, and soil conditions;- highly productive output of edibles.Now, picture your backyard as one incredibly lush garden, filled with edible flowers, bursting with fruit and berries, and carpeted with scented herbs and tangy salad greens. The visual impact is of Monet's palette, a wash of color, texture, and hue. But this is no still life. The flowers nurture endangered pollinators. Bright-featured songbirds feed on abundant berries and gather twigs for their nests.The plants themselves are grouped in natural communities, where each species plays a role in building soil, deterring pests, storing nutrients, and luring beneficial insects. And finally, you—good ol' homo sapiens—are an integral part of the scene. Your garden tools are resting against a nearby tree, and have a slight patina of rust, because this garden requires so little maintenance. You recline into a hammock to admire your work. You have created a garden paradise.This is no dream, but rather an ecological garden, which takes the principles of permaculture and applies them on a home-scale. There is nothing technical, intrusive, secretive, or expensive about this form of gardening. All that is required is some botanical knowledge (which is in this book) and a mindset that defines a backyard paradise as something other than a carpet of grass fed by MiracleGro.

    Learning how flowers grow gives kids beautiful building blocks of science and inquiry.In the launch of a new nonfiction picture book series, Rachel Ignotofsky's distinctive art style and engaging, informative text clearly answers any questions a child (or adult) could have about flowers.

    In this fascinating account, the impassioned Henry Hobhouse explains the consequences of these plants with attention-grabbing historical moments. While most records of history focus on human influence, Hobhouse emphasizes how plants too are a central and influential factor in the historical process. Seeds of Change is a captivating and invaluable addition to our understanding of modern culture.

    Entries feature a description of the plant, its botanical name, its native range and its primary functions -- edible, medicinal, commercial or practical. Concise text is highlighted by elegant botanical drawings, paintings and photographs as well as insightful quotes.Many of the plants are well known, such as rice, tea, cotton, rubber, wheat, sugarcane, tobacco, wine grapes and corn. However, there are also many whose stories are less known. These history-changing plants include:Agave, used to make sisal, poison arrows, bullets, tequila and surgical threadPineapple, which influenced the construction of greenhouses and conservatoriesHemp, used for hangman's rope, sustainable plastics, the Declaration of Independence and Levi's jeansCoconut, used for coir fiber, soap, margarine, cream, sterile IV drips and coagulantsEucalyptus, used in mouthwash, diuretics, vitamins, honey, underwear and fire-resistant uniformsSweet pea, which Gregor Mendel used in his research on genetic heredityWhite mulberry, used to make silkEnglish oak, used for fire-resistant structures, dyes, leather tanning, charcoal, casks and shipsWhite willow, used in the manufacture of aspirin, cricket bats, hot-air balloon baskets and coffins This attractive reference provides an innovative perspective on both botanical and human history.

    With Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide, Gladstar offers a fresh introduction for a new generation of gardeners and natural health and self-sufficiency enthusiasts.Thirty-three of the most common and versatile healing plants are profiled in depth to get the budding herbalist off on the right foot. Readers will learn how to grow, harvest, prepare, and use each herb. Step-by-step instructions explain how to prepare herbal teas, salves, syrups, tinctures, oils, and liniments to stock the home medicine chest. Simple recipes explore each plant's healing qualities - aloe lotion for poison ivy, dandelion-burdock tincture for sluggish digestion, and lavender-lemon balm tea for stress relief. Gladstar shows how easy it is to make safe, all-natural, low-cost healing remedies for common ailments.

    Healthy soil is teeming with life — not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web — the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.

    An attractive and comprehensive guidebook, this work has been completely revised and updated by the author. The reader will find an easy-to-use text which details the natural history of the plants and animals found in the Galápagos Islands. Management and conservation of the Galápagos National Park is discussed, and visitor information and notes about the various tourist sites are given. An index and checklist of plants and animals with page references and a glossary of technical terms are provided. New photographs have been added.

    It's a great project for families and foodies alike, and all you need to start off is this book, a specialist mushroom growing kit, and a small space in which to grow them!In this book I aim to teach you the basics that you need to know to grow mushrooms at home. You'll take a step back in time and learn about the history of mushrooms as food, and why it has taken centuries for home mushroom growing to really catch on. I'll let you know exactly which are the best types of mushrooms for you to start with. If you aren't sure what tools you'll need, don't worry - this book has that covered too. And I'll explain how to make sure that your mushrooms grow quickly and pest free, and the best ways to harvest, preserve and store your crop.But where should you grow your mushrooms? That's a good question! Contained within the pages of this book are tips on how to set up a mushroom patch in your back yard, as well as how to grow them inside. Is it really better to grow them completely in the dark? You are about to find out!So, whether you like shiitakes, portobellos or oyster mushrooms, stop buying them in stores. I'll teach you how to grow your own and keep your entire family well supplied.In as little as a few weeks you can have the perfect fresh mushrooms grown and ready to eat. Yum!This easy to read, beginners book, summarizes the essential information I have learned over the years, and is written to help you decide if mycology is for you, and if so, which route to take.

    But to many, the idea of propagating plants seems like a feat that only the most experienced gardeners can master. The Plant Propagator's Bible strips away the mystique and makes multiplying plants easy even for the novice.Drawing on her many years as a horticulture teacher, Miranda Smith explains the natural process and conditions in which plants grow and reproduce, and shows gardeners how to use these systems to propagate any plant that grows in their garden or greenhouse—or even on their windowsill. The book features:• an A to Z directory of more than 1,000 individual plant species—with appropriate propagation techniques for aquatics, ornamental plants, houseplants, shrubs, trees, vegetables, and wildflowers• "What Can Go Wrong" advice for each type of plant, explaining potential problems and how to prevent or fix them• detailed, step-by-step illustrations and annotated photographsIncluding information on essential tools and equipment, this is an indispensable addition to every gardener's bookshelf.

    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.