Gardening

A gorgeous large format, fully colour illustrated book in the style of "The Defined Garden". This is a book, above all, for urban dwellers who want maximum pleasure from their garden but have limited space. Bangay offers quite specific advice on designing, planting, ornamenting and caring for small gardens.

Flowers are one of the most popular and well-received gifts, given to express love and affection. But did you know the type of flowers you give can speak volumes? The Secret Language of Flowers is a fascinating insight into the Victorian tradition of using flowers to convey secret messages, in a society where feelings often had to be suppressed. In this beautifully illustrated book - the perfect gift itself - Samantha Gray reveals how flowers came by their meanings in folklore and how flowers became the language of courtship, love,... read more

Summer drought and poor soil confronts gardeners with difficult garden conditions that impose stress on plants and gardener alike. However, it needn't be so. In practical and inspirational terms, Gardening the Mediterranean Way shows the reader how to create a healthy, lush garden that conserves water, prevents soil erosion and uses environmentally friendly, chemical-free methods. Heidi Gildemeister marshals her considerable experience, design flair and imagination to explain how best to exploit the variety of topographical feature... read more

Beautifully illustrated and highly accessible, this essential guide to cacti and other succulents is both a practical manual and a source of reference and inspiration for all enthusiasts. More than 250 different species or genera, and their natural habitats are described. Topics covered include: the unique nature of succulents; the natural environment; history, classification and nomenclature; watering, feeding, general care and propagation; pests and diseases; and profiles of cacti and other succulents.

Piet Oudolf's gardens excite the senses and stir the emotions. Representing a giant step forward from the conventional colour-themed border, this new approach to gardening gives just as much emphasis to form, texture, light and movement as it does to colour. Individual plants are used as harmonious elements in luxuriant and atmospheric plantings. Written in collaboration with Noel Kingsbury, "Designing with Plants" is an informative and visually breathtaking study of Piet Oudolf's planting theory and practice, and it provides all t... read more

Salvia is derived from the Latin word salvare, 'to heal', and for centuries salvias have been valued for their medicinal and culinary qualities. Salvias, commonly known as sages, grow throughout temperate and subtropical parts of the world, from sea level to altitudes of more than 11,000 feet (3400 meters). They occur in many forms: perennial, biennial, annual herbs, and evergreen or deciduous shrubs. These amazingly varied plants are also noteworthy for their remarkable resistance to pests and diseases, their drought tolerance-and... read more

Guided by a rediscovered spirit of self-sufficiency, a renewed sense of thrift, and a deepened commitment to the natural environment, legions of people are finding satisfaction in vegetable gardening. As gardeners spend more time in their gardens, they look for ways to make their gardens more productive, their garden chores easier, and their outdoor spaces more enjoyable. Now, with just a little time and a handful of tools, gardeners can create handsome, handcrafted items for their gardens at a fraction of the cost of buying retail... read more

Matthew Biggs has been a professional gardener for over 20 years. In this comprehensive book, Matthew Biggs shares his extensive knowledge on a wide variety of vegetables and inspires the gardener to take on the fulfilling activity of vegetable growing. His advice is practical as well as encouraging and is applicable to the backyard, garden, glasshouse and kitchen. With an A-Z of vegetables and sections on the history of vegetable growing, harvesting and storing and over 200 recipes for vegetables in the kitchen, this is the practi... read more

Native to every continent except Antarctica, palms are most closely identified with tropical regions and one species in particular, Cocos nucifera, the coconut palm, is the universally recognized symbol of all things tropical. Yet, many palms can withstand freezing and thus can be grown in mild temperate climates where the average low temperature does not drop below 5-F ( 15-C). In addition, palms thrive in a wide range of habitats from swamps to deserts, rain forests to plains and grasslands. Some prefer full sun, others deep shad... read more

More than any other people in the world, Kiwis live their lives in the backyard. Whether it's a quarter acre or a tiny patch of lawn, owhether you aspire to a burgeoning veggie garden and a few chooks or to relaxing by a palm-edged pool, a good spot for your barbecue is always a must. The Kiwi Backyard Handbook is an essential if you're planning a garden makeover. It contains more than 15 easy but impressive projects with step-by-step photographs to stir up your creativity, along with a wealth of good advice to get you start... read more

The Contemporary Garden is an illustrated survey of 100 iconic and innovative gardens in the world, spanning from the early 1920s to the present day. Accessible and easy-to-use like Phaidon's popular The Garden Book, this informative source book includes an unrivalled range of gardens by designers, makers, architects and land artists - from Garrett Eckbo's Alcoa Forecast Garden (1925) and Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye (1929) to Ian Hamilton Finlay's Little Sparta (1966) and horticultural installation artist Tony Heywood's Split (2003... read more

Tells how to raise, harvest, and store seeds for vegetables and ornamental plants and offers advice for planning and cultivating a garden.

'The tallest and most stately trees I ever saw in any nobleman's ground in England cannot excel in beauty those which nature presented to our view.' First fleet surgeon Arthur Bowes Eucalypts are a familiar part of our landscape and an integral part of the Australian identity. We have farmed them and used them to build houses, furniture, roads and bridges since the beginning of white settlement. We have been inspired by them, painted them, made films about them, written books about them and of course Aboriginal Australians have lon... read more

Plants are so ubiquitous, such a common feature of the world around us, that we rarely stop to consider the profound impact they have on our everyday lives. We give flowers on special occasions, spend many dedicated hours nurturing gardens, use them for dyes and construction, and turn them into cosmetics and medicines. We are also entirely dependent on them for sustenance - even when we eat meat, the animals that provide it have been raised on plants. Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History is a beautifully presented guide ... read more

The gardens of Italy rank amongst the great treasures of the world. They have influenced and inspired almost every landscape designer and architect since the Renaissance yet they are not isolated historical artifacts. A garden is always a living, evolving entity that tells a thousand stories about the people that made it as well as the plants that occupy it. Above all, great gardens become a celebration of man's creative need to work with nature.
This book is a personal exploration of Italy's legendary gardens. Over thirty ar... read more

For about 300 million years trees have played a central role in providing the conditions in which life on Earth has flourished - and for millennia these treasured plants have enthralled, nourished and inspired humankind, with whom they have coexisted in an intimate relationship that has been highly practical (fuel, food, healing preparations and building material) as well as culturally and spiritually rich. This book is divided into five parts: Green Jewels, Thousands of Species, A Fragile Benefactor, Of Trees and Humans, and A So... read more

Gertrude Jekyll was one of the most important garden designers of the twentieth century. A prolific writer and a hugely influential plantswoman, her circle of friends included some of the most distinguished architects, horticulturists, artists, and writers of the time. This new volume in the Country Life Archives series celebrates Jekyll's gardens and her legendary theories on color, planting, and design with a selection of her most famous collaborations with Sir Edwin Lutyens and other important architects. The text is illustrated... read more

"Sufficient" is a book to inspire, educate and encourage a process of change towards a simple, gentle and sustainable way of living. Many of us want to make a shift in our lives by slowing down and consuming less, embracing artisan foods and championing human-scale organic growing methods as safe, compassionate and pleasurable. This book is a guide to starting that process, however and wherever you currently live in the world. "Sufficient" is a passionate approach to understanding why changes need to be made and how they can be ach... read more

There are over 1000 entries of remarkable information about flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees, herbs, insects, birds, water, soil, tools, composts, climate, recipes, gardens and gardeners, myths, superstitions, biodynamics. This is a short collection as profuse and variegated as gardening itself. Woven into this wealth of knowledge are famous quotations, anecdotes, traditional says, lines of verse, and words of rural wisdom. The spirit and focus of the Almanac is British but the wider picture is international as so much of our gar... read more

The earth's longest living organisms, trees exemplify nature's great strength as well as its majestic beauty. Serving as virtual lungs for our planet, trees provide us with food, medicine, and our most versatile building material. To plant a tree is to plant hope, and as an act of commemoration, it literally gives life to that remembered. While it is in-deed a practical book that explains exactly how to plant and care for a tree, How to Plant a Tree is so much more. Drawing on the ancient rituals and folklore that surround particul... read more