On the Cultivation of Gardens


Book Description

Cultural Writing. Gardening. Widely regarded as the first gardening book in European history, and currently the only translation available in English, this book was written in the ninth century by Walafrid Strabo, Abbot of the Carolingian monastery at Reichenau Island. It tells us what our medieval gardener is growing in his garden, explains the benefits and medicinal properties of the plants, and gives an idea of how they are to be looked after. James Mitchell introduces and translates this classic from the original Latin hexameters, and S.F. Bay Area gardening columnist Richard Schwarzenberger provides a foreword.




The Organic Grow Book - English Edition


Book Description

This practical handbook reveals new organic gardening techniques. It’s a compendium of secrets rediscovered and innovative tips. Beneficial micro-organisms, bokashi or biodynamic compost, permaculture, vortex, seeds and cuttings... The Organic Grow Book opens the doors to a full-scale (r)evolution where productivity goes hand in hand with quality. Summer and winter, in soil or bioponic, learn to grow healthier and tastier plants — fruit, vegetables, flowers — while enhancing your own well-being and the planet’s. With its broad array of unprecedented strategies and proven tips, this eco-responsible and highly humorous guide is a must for all mindful gardeners, whether beginners or experts. Photos, 3D diagrams, microscopies, step-by-step graphs... over 500 original illustrations. BioScope® Addresses and websites Trade shows and fairs Over 550 professional entries « An indoor & outdoor organic gardening reference. » Ushuaïa TV « A very precious book. » Le Monde « Explains everything about organic gardening. A heck of a book! » France Inter




Planting Paradise


Book Description

This beautifully illustrated book examines the changing role of the garden in Britain from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. Beginning in a world where gardens had long been associated with Paradise, the author charts the influence of the Renaissance belief in direct observation of nature on the development of gardens. He examines the rise of gardens as laboratories for scientific investigation and storehouses for an ever increasing range of novelty plants.While the botanic gardens of early modern Europe had largely been a means of supplying surgeons with medicine, by the seventeenth and eighteenth century the interest in gardens had spread to all levels of society. Gardens became a tapestry of many diverse botanical histories: some plants were native, some were introduced and others evolved in the garden. This book looks at the reasons behind the explosion of interest in plants and the way in which the basic pattern of plant diversity was mapped. It shows how the garden became a symbol of human interactions within the botanical world.A showcase for rarely-seen botanical illustrations from the Bodleian Libraries and herbaria, which are among the best in the world, this is a fascinating book for plant enthusiasts and gardeners as well as anyone interested in biodiversity and conservation.




Gardens


Book Description

Humans have long turned to gardens - both real and imaginary - for sanctuary from the frenzy and tumult that surrounds them. Those gardens may be as far away from everyday reality as Gilgamesh's garden of the gods or as near as our own backyard, but in their very conception and the marks they bear of human care and cultivation, gardens stand as restorative, nourishing, necessary havens. With Gardens, Robert Pogue Harrison graces readers with a thoughtful, wide-ranging examination of the many ways gardens evoke the human condition. Moving from the gardens of ancient philosophers to the gardens of homeless people in contemporary New York, he shows how, again and again, the garden has served as a check against the destruction and losses of history. The ancients, explains Harrison, viewed gardens as both a model and a location for the laborious self-cultivation and self-improvement that are essential to serenity and enlightenment, an association that has continued throughout the ages. The Bible and Qur'an; Plato's Academy and Epicurus's Garden School; Zen rock and Islamic carpet gardens; Boccaccio, Rihaku, Capek, Cao Xueqin, Italo Calvino, Ariosto, Michel Tournier, and Hannah Arendt - all come into play as this work explores the ways in which the concept and reality of the garden has informed human thinking about mortality, order, and power. Alive with the echoes and arguments of Western thought, Gardens is a fitting continuation of the intellectual journeys of Harrison's earlier classics, Forests and The Dominion of the Dead. Voltaire famously urged us to cultivate our gardens; with this compelling volume, Robert Pogue Harrison reminds us of the nature of that responsibility - and its enduring importance to humanity.




Real Gardens Grow Natives


Book Description

CLICK HERE to download sample native plants from Real Gardens Grow Natives For many people, the most tangible and beneficial impact they can have on the environment is right in their own yard. Aimed at beginning and veteran gardeners alike, Real Gardens Grow Natives is a stunningly photographed guide that helps readers plan, implement, and sustain a retreat at home that reflects the natural world. Gardening with native plants that naturally belong and thrive in the Pacific Northwest’s climate and soil not only nurtures biodiversity, but provides a quintessential Northwest character and beauty to yard and neighborhood! For gardeners and conservationists who lack the time to read through lengthy design books and plant lists or can’t afford a landscape designer, Real Gardens Grow Natives is accessible yet comprehensive and provides the inspiration and clear instruction needed to create and sustain beautiful, functional, and undemanding gardens. With expert knowledge from professional landscape designer Eileen M. Stark, Real Gardens Grow Natives includes: * Detailed profiles of 100 select native plants for the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascades, plus related species, helping make plant choice and placement. * Straightfoward methods to enhance or restore habitat and increase biodiversity * Landscape design guidance for various-sized yards, including sample plans * Ways to integrate natives, edibles, and nonnative ornamentals within your garden * Specific planting procedures and secrets to healthy soil * Techniques for propagating your own native plants * Advice for easy, maintenance using organic methods




Growing the Midwest Garden


Book Description

Plant selection and garden style are deeply influenced by where we are gardening. To successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener has to know the specifics of the region’s climate, soil, and geography. Growing the Midwest Garden, by Edward Lyon, the director of Wisconsin’s Allen Centennial Gardens, offers an enthusiastic and comprehensive approach to ornamental gardening in the heartland. This guide features in-depth chapters on climate, soil, pests, and maintenance, along with plant profiles of the best perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and bulbs.




French Market-gardening


Book Description




Growing Weed in the Garden


Book Description

The definitive and first-ever guide dedicated exclusively to growing weed in your home garden “Beautifully photographed and with clear, expert advice, this very good primer for growing grass makes it easy to harvest and process a fine crop at home. I need two copies—one for me and one for Snoop.” —Martha Stewart From the former garden editor of Sunset magazine, Johanna Silver, Growing Weed in the Garden brings cannabis out of the dark, into the sunlight. This groundbreaking, comprehensive guide to incorporating weed into your garden leads you from seed or plant selection to harvest. Filled with gorgeous photographs of beautiful gardens, as well as step-by-step photography that shows how to dry, cure, and store cannabis, make tinctures and oils, and roll the perfect joint, this book provides all the information you need to grow and enjoy cannabis. For both the stoned and sober, the new and seasoned gardener, Growing Weed in the Garden is the definitive guide to doing just that. “For those interested in cannabis, from the history of the plant to how to raise it in your backyard, this book provides the necessary information along with beautiful photos and welcome doses of humor.” —The American Gardener




Planting the Natural Garden


Book Description

“If the world of gardening has rock stars, Piet Oudolf qualifies as Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Prince rolled into one.” —Gardenista The original publication of Planting the Natural Garden ushered in a revolution in landscape design: the New Perennial Movement. Spearheaded by internationally renowned designer Piet Oudolf, and incisively articulated by the late plantsman and designer Henk Gerritsen, it transformed private and public spaces with its emotionally resonant, naturalistic use of hardy perennials and grasses. Now this classic has been expanded and updated to include scores of new plants and combinations. Packed with practical information and visual inspiration, Planting the Natural Garden zeroes in on the New Perennial Movement’s power to move us, making its distinctive plant palette available to all. For enthusiasts of these vibrant landscapes, it is an essential text; for gardeners who love the dreamy moods and colors that Oudolf and Gerritsen celebrate, it’s the key to a magic kingdom of garden beauty.




The Sustainable Vegetable Garden


Book Description

From the author of our best-selling and widely beloved HOW TO GROW MORE VEGETABLES comes this "quick and dirty" introduction to biointensive gardening that shows it is not only possible but easy to grow astonishing crops of healthful organic vegetables and fruits, while conserving resources and actually helping the soil. A revolutionary approach to feeding ourselves and nurturing the land, this book includes: - Step-by-step illustrations and instructions that make these techniques simple for even the novice gardener. - Everything you need to know about planning crops, composting, harvesting, and more. - Complete resources for seeds, tools, and other garden supplies.Feed a family of four on the bounty of your backyard, or just get more out of your garden with less effort with this wonderful resource.




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