How Does Your Garden Grow?
Dig into these books for healthier and happier plants and pollinators. Learn how to identify the perfect plants for your garden and expert maintenance techniques for successful cultivation. No matter what conditions you face—shade, dry soil, heavy clay, excess moisture—there’s a way to create a garden that flutters and flourishes with life.
“A breakthrough book. No comprehensive horticultural library should be without it.” —American Gardener
When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains plants, and then become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of toxic substances. Teaming with Microbes offers an alternative to this vicious circle, and details how to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web. You’ll discover that healthy soil is teeming with life—not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.
This must-have guide is for everyone, from those devoted to organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy plants without resorting to chemicals.
Featured Titles
All questions about complex plant processes can be found in the Botany for Gardeners. First published in 1990 with more than 260,000 copies sold, it has become the go-to introduction to botany for students and gardeners. Now in its fourth edition, Botany for Gardeners has been expanded and updated. It features a revised interior, with new photos and illustrations.
Additional updates address scientific advances, changes in nomenclature and taxonomy, and more. As before, Botany for Gardeners shares accessible information about how plants are organized, how they have adapted to nearly all environments on earth, their essential functions, and how they reproduce.
“This should be the cornerstone of every gardener’s library.” —Jeff Gillman, Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
3500 photographs. Over 380 genera. More than 3700 species and cultivars.
Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is the most comprehensive visual reference to more than 3700 species and cultivars. From majestic evergreens to delicate vines and flowering shrubs, Dirr features thousands of plants and all the essential details for identification, planting, and care. Color photographs show each tree’s habit in winter, distinctive bark patterns, fall color, and more. Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is a critical addition to any garden library.
“Makes the science of plant processes accessible to home gardeners.” —The American Gardener
Why do container plants wilt even when they’ve been regularly watered? Why did the hydrangea that thrived last year never bloom this year? Plant physiology—the study of how living things function—can solve these and most other problems gardeners regularly encounter. In How Plants Work, horticulture expert Linda Chalker-Scott brings the stranger-than-fiction science of the plant world to vivid life. She uncovers the mysteries of how and why plants do the things they do, and arms you with fascinating knowledge that will change the way you garden.
Learn how to identify the most important temperate plant families
Based on the most up-to-date research, Temperate Garden Plant Families spans the spectrum from Acanthaceae (the acanthus family) to Zingiberaceae (the ginger family), and reflects the current scientific consensus about the family status of the most popular garden genera. Introductory information includes an overview of family classification, plant nomenclature, and plant morphology. The comprehensive A–Z of plants includes profiles that include information on the number of species and genera, plant form, flowers, fruit, and a short description. Each profile is illustrated with color photographs and botanical illustrations. Botanists, horticulturists, gardeners, and students will all welcome this authoritative yet accessible reference.
“A magnum opus of ground covers that deserves a place in every gardener’s library.” —Tony Avent, founder and owner Plant Delights Nursery
Ground covers are widely thought of as utilitarian—we turn to them when we have a problem that needs a solution. Yet these plants also offer a diverse range of beautiful and intriguing options with a variety of colors, textures, and forms. They can unify a landscape, knit together plantings and hardscape, and add extra layers of beauty, dynamism, and surprise. As a replacement for lawns, they can reduce our use of water, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, carbon-based fuels, and transform a yard into a diverse landscape of habitat and food for native insects, birds, and other wildlife.
In this meticulously researched reference, nurseryman Gary Lewis profiles more than 4000 ground covers that can perform these roles with aplomb. No matter what kinds of conditions you’re facing—shade, dry soil, heavy clay, excess moisture—there’s a ground cover that will thrive and beautify your garden. Comprehensive, practical, and copiously illustrated, this indispensable volume belongs on the shelf of every designer, landscape architect, and serious gardener.
This design-forward guide profiles the best ornamental grasses for use in landscapes and gardens—along with advice for successful cultivation.
Ornamental grasses have long been a mainstay of contemporary planting design, as integral components of commercial and residential landscapes and naturalistic plantings. In Grasses for Gardens and Landscapes, Neil Lucas profiles the best ornamental grasses available today and details how to design with them in different settings. This comprehensive guide is filled with expert maintenance techniques and lists of grasses suitable for a variety of situations. An A to Z of grasses includes details on growth and care, as well as the best cultivars currently available.
“Grow Now is an earth manual that applies to everyone, everywhere. Regenerating life begins with our hands, the soil, and our heart. Take this book and go outside, stay outside, and transform.” —Paul Hawken, author of Drawdown and Regeneration
Did you know you can have a garden that’s equal parts food source and wildlife haven? In Grow Now, Emily Murphy shares easy-to-follow principles for regenerative gardening that foster biodiversity and improve soil health. She also shows how every single yard mirrors and connects to the greater ecosystem around us.
No-dig growing, composting and mulching smartly, and planting a variety of edible perennials that attract bees and butterflies are all commonsense techniques everyone can use to grow positive change. You’ll also find detailed advice on increasing your nature quotient, choosing plants that cycle more carbon back into the soil, selecting a broader variety of vegetables and fruits to improve overall soil fertility, rethinking space devoted to lawns, and adding companion plants for pollinators to rewild any plot of land.
Exquisitely photographed and filled with helpful lists and sidebars, Grow Now is an actionable, hopeful, and joyful roadmap for growing our way to individual climate contributions. Gardening is climate activism!
The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden is a beginner-friendly handbook that helps homeowners create a beautiful garden that attracts birds, bees, butterflies, and more. Everyone wants a garden buzzing with life, and Stacy Tornio makes it easy by sharing details about which plants attract specific creatures.
Stacy Tornio makes it easy to attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your home garden by sharing details about which plants attract specific creatures. The simple organization makes it easy to find exactly what you want, with chapters on attracting birds, bringing in bees butterflies, and welcoming wildlife. If you are looking to build a garden from scratch, there are ten plans with specific plant choices. The plans include a hummingbird garden, a birdseed garden, and options that are low-maintenance and drought-resistant. You’ll also find expert advice on finding the right feeder, avoiding pesticides, and choosing native plants. The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden is a beautiful, photo-filled guide that will help you grow the earth-friendly garden of your dreams.
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