Home & Garden

Water will bring a garden miraculously to life, drawing the eye more than any other feature. When still, its shimmering reflections create a peaceful mood, while moving water animates the garden scene and delights with its mesmerizing sounds. In this definitive guide, Alan shows you how to design and make a water feature to suit any size and style of garden, from a large wildlife pond, stream or rill to the tiniest pebble or wall fountain.* Easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step diagrams * A Z directory of Alan s recommended pond and waterside plants * Guide to choosing and caring for fish* Key tips on encouraging wildlife to your pond* Season-by-season guide to pond maintenance

One of the most exciting aspects of gardening is growing your own plants from scratch. In this definitive guide, Alan Titchmarsh shows how simple it is to propagate plants by following a few basic techniques. Learn how to produce a flourishing garden filled with ornamental and edible plants, at very little expense. * Demystified, down-to-earth approach to propagation * Easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step diagrams * A Z directory with recommended propagation techniques for each plant * Key tips on taking cuttings, sowing seed, layering and division * Guidance on promoting growth of young plants

This interesting book is packed full of Anni's favourite tasty edible perennials. With explanations of how to source and propagate different vegetables, which plants work well together and plants suited to different environments. It includes basic principles and getting started, growing in polycultures, site selection and more. "e;This is a valuable addition to the literature on growing perennial vegetables. The author's experiences of creating and maintaining polycultures are a great guide and inspiration to this challenging aspect of edible perennial gardening."e; Martin Crawford, director of the Agroforestry Research Trust and author of Creating a Forest Garden and How To Grow Perennial Vegetables. "e;I love Anni's book. She's taken traditionally 'big space' ideas and approaches and brought them alive on a domestic scale, where most gardeners operate. The bigger picture of redesigning our food system with perennials at its heart underlies, yet it never gets in the way of inspiring and enabling the reader with case studies, examples, advice and experience. A must-have for forward thinking gardeners."e; Mark Diacono, experimental gardener, journalist and author of A Year at Otter Farm.

Margery Fish was the voice of gardening in the 1960s and her advice and enthusiasm for horticulture has stood the test of time. In her imaginative adaption of the traditional cottage garden style that she saw disappearing around her, she brought together old-fashioned plants and contemporary plants in the same vein.Today's mixed borders are a direct descendant of the style Margery Fish created at East Lambrook Manor in Somerset, now once again open to the public. Cottage Garden Flowers covers plants that grow easily and naturally in our soil, including easy, adaptable pubs, perennials and shrubs, such as Astrantia, columbines, daffodils, daisies, Dianthus, foxgloves, hollyhocks, Japonica, old roses, Phlox, Primula, or Virburnum. No longer in danger of being forgotten, these traditional flowering plants have now res-established their place at the heart of garden design. Graham Rice, the widely published gardening author and the former London Evening Standard gardening correspondent, has reviewed the plant names in the original text, providing a plant name section at the back of the book. This allows readers to identify current plants from the old Latin names within the text.

A combination of botanical beauty and practical advice in The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids will inspire beginners and experienced growers to love and grow 60 beautiful orchids.

Roger Phillips, the godfather of foraging and bestselling author of Wild Food, returns with a look at how edible plants from all over the world have ended up in our back gardens

The story and history of the world's favourite flower through 40 of the most popular and interesting species and hybrids.

The key to success for every gardening venture is rich soil. Achieving that basic building block is easy with this accessible soil improvement guide, which offers a broad understanding of the science of soil's microbial life in an engaging, entertaining style.

An urgent and heartfelt call for a new approach to conservation - one that starts in every backyard - from the New York Times bestselling author of Bringing Nature Home.

Roses focuses on the classic, ageless and enduring flower that straddles garden-friendly modernity whilst also celebrating the style and grace of the old. Ranging from overblown, multi-petalled or deliciously simple and delicate, Roses rightly extols these beautiful blooms, and includes hands-on know-how and history of the world's favourite flower.

Terra Preta ist eine holzkohlehaltige schwarze Erde die bereits vor Jahrhunderten von Menschen im Amazonasgebiet angelegt wurde. Wie wir die Vorteile dieser hochfruchtbaren Erde nutzen können und warum es für unsere Gesundheit und unsere Umwelt förderlich ist, davon handelt diese Buch.

Facsimile of 1940 Edition. An Agricultural Testament is Sir Albert Howard's best-known publication and remains one of the seminal works in the history of organic farming movement. The work focuses on the nature and management of soil fertility, and notably explores composting. At a time when modern, chemical-based industrialized agriculture was just beginning to radically alter food production, it advocated natural processes rather than man-made inputs as the superior approach to farming. It was first published in England in 1940. Since this book first appeared in 1940, it has been regarded as one of the most important contributions to the solution of soil rehabilitation problems ever published. More importantly, it is regarded as the keystone of the organic movement.Louis Bromfield called it "the best book I know on soil and the processes which take part in it." Soil Science called it "the most interesting and suggestive book on soil fertility which has appeared since King's Farmers of Forty Centuries." And Mother Earth News recently called it "the most basic of all introductions to organic farming by the founder of the modern movement."The object of the book was to draw attention to the loss of soil fertility, brought about by the vast increase in crop and animal production, that has led to such disastrous consequences as a general unbalancing of farming practices, an increase in plant and animal diseases and the loss of soil by erosion. Howard contended that such losses can be repaired only by maintaining soil fertility by manufacturing humus from vegetable and animal wastes through the composting process. He stressed, too, a little-known nutritional factor, the mycorrhizal association, which is the living fungous bridge between humus in the soil and the sap of plants.

This is the story of two men from a remote Wiltshire village, father and son Joseph and Josiah Lane, stonemasons, whose lives stretched across the Georgian period, from 1717 to 1833. They became grotto builders, men of artistic genius, acknowledged experts in their speciality, but the sort of ordinary craftsmen whose achievements are not normally recorded in the official pages of history. They were responsible for many of the mysterious, decorative, thrilling grottoes which appeared during the 18th century in English gardens, built to enhance the romantic, poetic and artistic landscapes created by rich landowners. From Stourhead to Fonthill, Wycombe Abbey, Wimborne St Giles, Bowood, Bowden Park, Painshill and Oatlands Park, Claremont, Castle Hill, Ascot Place, Belcombe and Norbiton House, Joseph and Josiah constructed brick, timber and limestone caverns, tunnels, bath houses, gambling dens and cascades. Some were profusely decorated with shells, coral spars, slivers of crystal, amethysts, feldspar and calcite fragments, some appeared savage and rough hewn. Christina Richard has pieced together the story of the lives and work of Joseph and Josiah for the first time from a wide range of local and national sources, and has enhanced her account with imaginative descriptions of village and family life at the time for people of their station. The result is an affectionate and revealing portrait of these two extraordinary men, who contributed so much to the elegance of England's wonderful 18th century gardens.

This is the fourth instalment of the "Ditchfield's Little Wonder Book" series, "Stocking the Garden Pond". It deals chiefly with adding, fostering, and maintaining aquatic life in a garden pond, with helpful advice and diagrams throughout. This handy volume will be of utility to existing and prospective pond owners alike, and it would make for a great addition to collections of gardening literature. Contents include: "Introduction", "Plant Pockets", "Preparing the Compost", "True Aquatic Plants", "Surfacing Plants", "Marginal Bog Plants", "Floating Plants", "Indigenous Fish", "Cultivated Varieties", "Feeding Pond Fish", "Breeding Gold Fish", etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction.

This vintage book contains a comprehensive guide to growing apple trees, and includes information on soil, tree forms, rootstocks, pests, varieties, and much more. This detailed yet easy-to-digest guide is profusely illustrated, and contains all the information anyone looking to grow apple trees would need to know. Although old, the information conatined herein is timeless, making this both a handy resource and a great addition to collections of vintage literature. The chapters of this book include: 'Introduction to Fruit Growing', 'The Apple', 'Origin and History', 'Soil and Aspect', 'Form of Tree', 'Rootstocks for Apples', 'Pruning of Apples', 'Insect Pests of the Apple', 'Selection of Rootstocks', 'Functional Diseases', 'Varieties of Apple', 'Descriptive Notes on Varieties', etcetera. We are republishing this vintage book now in an affordable, modern edition - complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on growing fruit.

Gardens have provided the location, the subjects the pastime and the passion for our greatest artists, from Matisse and Monet to Dali and Da Vinci. This book looks at 20 gardens and more than 30 associated artists and examines the art, the garden-making, and the gardens they immortalised which you can visit today.

Sixteen full-color plates feature two dolls and a wonderful showcase of the young royals' stunning clothes and accessories by Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham, Givenchy, and other designers.

This hardworking advice from Karen Chapman will help homeowners keep deer away through smart garden design strategies and deer-resistant plant options.

A miniature guide to maintaining bonsai trees and achieving the rewarding, meditative immersion intended of the pastime. Set to meet the houseplant trend currently in evidence among younger people.

Written by the long-time manager of the renowned Alan Chadwick Garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz, this substantial, authoritative, and beautiful full-color guide covers everything you need to know about organically growing healthy, bountiful fruit trees.WINNER OF THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY BOOK AWARDFor more than forty years, Orin Martin has taught thousands of apprentices, students, and home gardeners the art and craft of growing fruit trees organically. In Fruit Trees for Every Garden, Orin shares--with hard-won wisdom and plenty of humor--his recommended fruit varieties and techniques for productive trees, including apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, nectarine, sweet cherry, orange, lemon, fig, and more.If you crave crisp apples, juicy peaches, or varieties of fruit that can never be found in the store, they are all within reach in your own backyard. Whether you have one tree or a hundred, Orin gives you all the tools you need, from tree selection and planting practices to seasonal feeding guidelines and in-depth pruning tutorials. Along the way, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the core principles of organic gardening and soil stewardship: compost, cultivation, cover crops, and increasing biodiversity for a healthier garden. This book is more than just a gardening manual; it's designed to help you understand the why behind the how, allowing you to apply these techniques to your own slice of paradise and make the best choices for your individual trees.Filled with informative illustrations, full-color photography, and evocative intaglio etchings by artist Stephanie Martin, Fruit Trees for Every Garden is a striking and practical guide that will enable you to enjoy the great pleasure and beauty of raising homegrown, organic fruit for years to come.

Pruning Simplified makes it easier than ever to learn how to prune, with illustrated step-by-step instructions to shaping more than 50 of the most popular trees and shrubs.

A holistic guide to healing common symptoms for optimum health and wellbeing.

Camille Soulayrol, co-editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Id¿, is an author, stylist, and visual designer.