The Nature of Oaks


Book Description

“A timely and much needed call to plant, protect, and delight in these diverse, life-giving giants.” —David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees With Bringing Nature Home, Doug Tallamy changed the conversation about gardening in America. His second book, the New York Times bestseller Nature’s Best Hope, urged homeowners to take conservation into their own hands. Now, he is turning his advocacy to one of the most important species of the plant kingdom—the mighty oak tree. Oaks sustain a complex and fascinating web of wildlife. The Nature of Oaks reveals what is going on in oak trees month by month, highlighting the seasonal cycles of life, death, and renewal. From woodpeckers who collect and store hundreds of acorns for sustenance to the beauty of jewel caterpillars, Tallamy illuminates and celebrates the wonders that occur right in our own backyards. He also shares practical advice about how to plant and care for an oak, along with information about the best oak species for your area. The Nature of Oaks will inspire you to treasure these trees and to act to nurture and protect them.




Oak and Ash and Thorn


Book Description

A Guardian Best Nature Book of the Year The magic and mystery of the woods are embedded in culture, from ancient folklore to modern literature. They offer us refuge: a place to play, a place to think. They are the generous providers of timber and energy. They let us dream of other ways of living. Yet we now face a future where taking a walk in the woods is consigned to the tales we tell our children. Immersing himself in the beauty of woodland Britain, Peter Fiennes explores our long relationship with the woods and the sad and violent story of how so many have been lost. Just as we need them, our woods need us too. But who, if anyone, is looking out for them?







A Way to Garden


Book Description

“A Way to Garden prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.” —The New York Times Book Review For Margaret Roach, gardening is more than a hobby, it’s a calling. Her unique approach, which she calls “horticultural how-to and woo-woo,” is a blend of vital information you need to memorize and intuitive steps you must simply feel and surrender to. In A Way to Garden, Roach imparts decades of garden wisdom on seasonal gardening, ornamental plants, vegetable gardening, design, gardening for wildlife, organic practices, and much more. She also challenges gardeners to think beyond their garden borders and to consider the ways gardening can enrich the world. Brimming with beautiful photographs of Roach’s own garden, A Way to Garden is practical, inspiring, and a must-have for every passionate gardener.




The Merlin of the Oak Wood


Book Description

The Merlin of St. Gilles' Well was named one of the 10 Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels the year by Booklist. Now Ann Chamberlin continues her acclaimed saga with another gripping mixture of brilliantly re-created history and ancient magic. A.D. 1425. France lies in bloody fragments, torn apart by decades of bitter warfare. Merlin's ancient prophecy foretells that a Maid will come, La Pucelle, who will unite the kingdom and heal the Land, but how much longer must the wounded country wait? In the farmlands of Lorraine, young Jehannette d'Arc wrestles with her place in the world. Her family wants her to be more like other girls, but she hears Voices urging her on to a greater destiny, as does the wise old hermit who knows, even before Jehanette herself, whom she truly is: The Maid of Orleans. The Merlin of the Oak Wood is an unforgettable novel that exposes the mythic roots running beneath one of history's most remarkable dramas. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.







Oak: The Frame of Civilization


Book Description

Explores the role that the oak tree has played throughout history and in shaping the modern world.




Secrets of the Oak Woodlands


Book Description

A Californian may vacation in Yosemite, Big Sur, or Death Valley, but many of us come home to an oak woodland. Yet, while common, oak woodlands are anything but ordinary. In a book rich in illustration and suffused with wonder, author Kate Marianchild combines extensive research and years of personal experience to explore some of the marvelous plants and animals that the oak woodlands nurture. Acorn woodpeckers unite in marriages of up to ten mates and raise their young cooperatively. Ground squirrels roll in rattlesnake skins to hide their scent from hungry snakes. Manzanita's rust-colored, paper-thin bark peels away in time for the summer solstice, exposing sinuous contours that are cool to the touch even on the hottest day. Conveying up-to-the-minute scientific findings with a storyteller's skill, Marianchild introduces us to a host of remarkable creatures in a world close by, a world that "rustles, hums, and sings with the sounds of wild things."




Woodland Conservation and Management


Book Description

New edition of book which is a course text in woodland conservation and management. The text has been updated throughout and has a major new chapter dealing with developments in conservation and management policies over the last ten years in a European context, including developments in vegetation classification systems and outcomes of management policies.