In Wicked Plants, Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. It’s an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. You’ll learn which plants to avoid (like exploding shrubs), which plants make themselves exceedingly unwelcome (like the vine that ate the South), and which ones have been killing for centuries (like the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother). Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinating portrait of the evildoers that may be lurking in your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.

    Composting is not just about reducing food and yard waste; it’s also about improving the health of your soiland the productivity of your garden. Compost is full of nutrients and beneficial microbes that help plants thrive, but store-bought compost is expensive and often comes packaged in non-recyclable plastic bags. Instead of running to the store to purchase compost, learn how to make your own rich, earthy compost and watch your garden thrive.  Composting for a New Generation explains the complex science behind effective and efficient composting in layman’s terms and includes detailed information on tried-and-true composting methods right along with new, innovative techniques. From traditional bin composting (including step-by-step instructions for building your own bin) and vermicomposting, to keyhole gardens and trench composting, you’ll close the cover with all the knowledge needed to be an expert composter today. Plus, you’ll learn how to use all that “home cooked” compost successfully. Composting for a New Generation is the most complete book to date on organic composting.

    Honeybees Make Honey; Mason Bees Make Food.

    History, affinity with other ingredients, decorative uses, and succulent recipes are explained.

    Imagine how much more self-reliant our communities would be if thirty million acres of lawns were made productive again. Permaculture is a practical way to apply ecological design principles to food, housing, and energy systems, making growing fruits, vegetables, and livestock easier and more sustainable.The Permaculture Handbook is a step-by-step, beautifully illustrated guide to creating resilient and prosperous households and neighborhoods, complemented by extensive case studies of three successful farmsteads and market gardens. This comprehensive manual casts garden farming as both an economic opportunity and a strategy for living well with less money. It shows how, by mimicking the intelligence of nature and applying appropriate technologies such as solar and environmental design, permaculture can:Create an abundance of fresh, nourishing local produce Reduce dependence on expensive, polluting fossil fuels Drought-proof our cities and countryside Convert waste into wealthPermaculture is about working with the earth and with each other to repair the damage of industrial overreach and to enrich the living world that sustains us. The Permaculture Handbook is the definitive practical North American guide to this revolutionary practice, and is a must-read for anyone concerned about creating food security, resilience, and a legacy of abundance rather than depletion.Peter Bane is a permaculture teacher and site designer who has published and edited Permaculture Activist magazine for over twenty years. He helped create Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina, and is now pioneering suburban farming in Bloomington, Indiana.

    Stunning photographs showcase creative ideas for using tillandsias mounted on walls and suspended from the ceiling. You’ll learn how to use the plants in living hair accessories and jewelry and in unique containers, like dishware, leather bowls, and baskets. Six step-by-step projects include a wood mount, a wall hook, lasso-and-hook wiring, a ceramic-frame garden, and three unique terrariums.

     It's no secret that we've all become plant obsessed, but do we really understand how to look after them? I am not a Professor of Botany, but having run my florist and plant shop, Grace & Thorn, since 2011 I've learnt a few things along the way. HOW NOT TO KILL YOUR PLANTS is about taking the hocus-pocus out of plants and flowers and enabling you to understand a plant's needs in order to know where to place and how to style them, but most importantly how to keep them alive.I get asked every type of question you can imagine and I have written this book to answer them. Watering can down, it's time to go back to the roots.Keep it green.Nik x(AKA The Agony Plant)

    As culturally important foods and medicines, as well as instigators of religious practices, they have been intimately tied to the development and spread of human societies. And yet, despite their numerous influences on the history of the world, fungi are completely disregarded by the majority of people today.In 2006 Peter McCoy founded Radical Mycology, a grassroots organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the many ways to work with fungi for personal, societal, and ecological health. Nearly a decade later, McCoy has written Radical Mycology to share the wide array of skills and insights that have arisen from the organization’s international work to advance the science of appropriately applied mycology. Shattering commonly held beliefs on the value of the Fungal Queendom, Radical Mycology definitively explores the many reasons that fungi should no longer be ignored but instead honored and embraced for the many gifts they offer. The result is the most comprehensive book on mycology—the science of fungi—ever published.Interwoven with short essays on the lessons of the fungi, Radial Mycology begins with chapters that explore the uniqueness of fungal biology, the critical ecological roles of micro and macro fungi, how to accurately identify mushrooms and mycorrhizal fungi, the importance of lichens as medicines and indicators of environmental quality, and the profound influences that fungi have held on the evolution of all life and human cultures. With this foundation laid, the reader is then equipped to work with the fungi directly. Techniques for making potent fungal medicines, growing fermenting fungi for food, and cheaply cultivating mushrooms using recycled tools (and yet still achieving lab-quality results) are explored in-depth. Subsequent chapters grow far beyond the limits of other books on mushrooms. Detailed information on the principles and practices of natural mushroom farming—largely influenced by the design system of permaculture—is presented along with extensive information on cultivating mycorrhizal fungi and the science of mycoremediation, the application of fungi to mitigate pollution in the environment and in our homes. The book ends with deeper insights into the social effects that fungi present from the reflection of mycelial networks in the design of whole societies to a rigorous examination of the history of psychoactive fungi.Written for the beginner as well as the experienced mycologist, Radical Mycology is an invaluable reference book for anyone interested in Do-It-Yourself (or Do-It-Together) homesteading, community organizing, food security, natural medicine, grassroots bioremediation, and the evolution of human-fungal-ecological relations. More than a book on mushrooms, Radical Mycology is a call to ally with the fungi in all efforts to spawn a healthier world. Heavily referenced and vibrantly illustrated by the author, this unprecedented book will undoubtedly remain a classic for generations to come.

    Twenty Instructables illustrate just how simple it can be to make your own backyard chicken coop, or turn a wine barrel into a rainwater collector.Illustrated with dozens of full-color photographs per project accompanying easy-to-follow instructions, this Instructables collection utilizes the best that the online community has to offer, turning a far-reaching group of people into a mammoth database churning out ideas to make life better, easier, and in this case, greener, as this volume exemplifies.

    or water? What if you've never even planted a garden in your life... and your life depended on growing your own food?Don't panic! Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening has the answers. From hand tools that will till the ground better than a tractor to plans for growing all the calories you need in a crisis to easy-to-follow crop rotations that will beat the pests, this book is the cheapest insurance you can own against the crash we all know is coming sooner or later.You'll discover how to scrounge for seeds in unlikely places. How to till without a tiller. How to preserve your harvest. How to beat pests without poison. How to convert a lawn into a food factory. How to garden to survive in emergencies and crises.Expert gardener David The Good, author of the bestselling Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting, has written the gardening book that could one day save your life. Easy to follow and entertaining, Grow Or Die doesn't bog down in the technical details, but focuses on how you can turn your garden into a tool for survival. It's perfect for those interested in preparedness, low-tech gardening and living with a lighter, more ecologically sustaining footprint.

    You need this book. Give plants a chance.Help your plant live with survival tips and learn the simple ways not to kill your plants.With over 50 different types of popular houseplants, How Not to Kill Your Houseplant summarizes what type of care your plants do (or don't) need. Be on the lookout for warning signs of a sick plant, from brown spots to crispy leaves, and make sure you take the proper action to rescue your plant.Learn the basics of horticulture, from watering your plant to what kind of soil it should be placed in to how much light it needs every day to if a certain type of plant will thrive in your living space. Find out how to keep a cactus alive, where to hang air plants, and how to repot succulents.Full of helpful tips, pictures, and informational panels, How Not to Kill Your Houseplant will turn your home into a beautiful greenhouse of healthy, happy plants.

    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.

    Designer Susan Morrison offers savvy tips to match your landscape to your lifestyle, draws on years of experience to recommend smart plants with seasonal interest, and suggests hardscape materials to personalize your space. Inspiring photographs highlight a variety of inspiring small-space designs from around the country. With The Less Is More Garden, you’ll see how limited space can mean unlimited opportunities for gorgeous garden design.

    But if we’re being honest, when it comes to gardening, most of us have no idea where to begin. Additionally, in these economic times, who can afford to hire an expert to come in and do the job for us? That said, regular folks all across North America and Europe are returning to the soil, shovels in hand. With the help of this book, there is absolutely no need to fly blind into the world of green thumbs, perennials, and herbs.The name—Garden Guide: A No Nonsense, No PhD Guide to Great Gardens with Hand-Holding How To’s for Beginners and Straightforward Instruction for Advanced Gardeners—truly says it all. Indeed, this book is the hand-holding garden guide that will walk even the most timid novice right through the gardening process from beginning to end. In addition to straight forward, practical advice in everyday language, you will love the stories and anecdotes Olver shares from her fifteen years of backyard, organic gardening adventures. Easy and entertaining, you‘ll probably read this book in one sitting, but you’ll reference it for years to come. The beauty of Garden Guide is that Olver divides her advice into two sections: Beginning Gardeners and Advanced Gardeners. No matter what your skill level, there are simple explanations, tips, and tricks that will walk you through every aspect of the garden process. Garden Guide features details such as:•Everything you need to know about location, from sunlight to drainage to selecting just the right spot•How to understand soil types, how to amend and condition them•pH levels and soil testing broken down in simple terms•Step by Step guide for planning your PERFECT garden no matter where the location•Fertilizing made manageable with explanations for all those numbers and organic alternatives •Composting broken down so you can start immediately•Pests obliterated with loads of organic suggestions•The basics of garden maintenance from deadheading to dividing perennials•Loads of helpful website suggestions for purchasing plants online, getting ideas, locating county extension offices, perennial databases and so much more.•Gardening terms are defined in language you will both understand and rememberIf you have time to read only one book on gardening, this is the book to choose. Short enough not to feel like an encyclopedia and just long enough to wet your gardening appetite, Olver has woven basic garden science and practical ideas for everyday people into each page. With her warm, inviting, no-nonsense instruction, you will be amazed how simple and doable gardening really is. Not only will it thoroughly educate you in basic gardening, Garden Guide will send you well on your way toward beautiful perennials gardens and leave you inspired and hungry to begin planting in your own patch of earth.

    Jan Johnsen’s new book, Gardentopia: Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces, will delight all garden lovers with over 130 lushly illustrated landscape design and planting suggestions. Ms. Johnsen is an admired designer and popular speaker whose hands-on approach to “co-creating with nature” will have you saying, “I can do that!’This info-packed, sumptuous book offers individual tips for enhancing any size landscape using ‘real world’ solutions. The suggestions are grouped into five categories that include Garden Design and Artful Accents, Walls, Patios, and Steps and Plants and Planting, among others. Whether you are an experienced gardener or a landscaping novice, Gardentopia will inspire you with tips such as ‘Soften a Corner”, “Paint it Black”, and “Hide and Reveal”.