The New Canadian Garden


Book Description

An exciting vision of the blossoming new role gardening plays for this generation and the next. In The New Canadian Garden, Canada’s gardening guru, Mark Cullen, explores new trends that are redefining today’s gardening experiences. Many of us are utilizing small urban spaces — balconies, patios, and even rooftops — and growing our own fruits, vegetables, and herbs, both at home and through community gardens. Mark has lots of suggestions about which crops will work best for your particular space and how to attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your garden. And he combines the best practical information with an insightful approach to help improve your gardening skills. The New Canadian Garden is a must-have reference for anyone gardening in a Canadian climate.




The New Ontario Naturalized Garden


Book Description

Who decides which plants are weeds? Why do North Americans insist on trying to grow a perfect lawn? How can planting wildflowers contribute to a healthier global environment? Lorraine Johnson provides insightful and thought-provoking answers to these and other questions in "The New Ontario Naturalized Garden." Johnson celebrates the diversity of Ontario's native plants and teaches gardeners how to break free from the endless weeding, watering, and fertilizing problems of fussy exotic flora. Readers will discover the benefits of native plant gardening, such as attracting wildlife and recreating various habitats, from prairie pockets to lush urban woodlands.




A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee


Book Description

Support biodiversity with this practical guide to creating habitat gardens for native pollinators in Southern Ontario. Saving the bees is an environmental cause that resonates deeply with Canadians. While much of the popular focus is on honeybees, an introduced species, many people are largely unaware of the importance of native bees. These pollinators are of crucial importance and are threatened by climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, and disease and competition from non-native species and modern intensive agriculture. A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee provides all the information needed for gardeners to take action to support and protect pollinators—by creating habitat in yards and communal spaces, and on balconies and rooftops. There are approximately 400 species of native bees in Ontario, including bumblebees, sweat bees, mining bees, cuckoo bees, leafcutter bees and cellophane bees. This book introduces and deepens the concept of pollinator gardening—creating gardens that help bees thrive—by exploring specialist relationships. For example, the native-to-Ontario sweat bee Lasioglossum oenotherae specializes in pollen from the native evening primrose plant. With plant recommendations specific to Southern Ontario, as well as useful garden designs and numerous tips for success, this compact, full-colour guide will enable gardeners to discover the crucial connections between native plants and native pollinators—and learn how to cultivate their own patch of pollinator paradise.




A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators


Book Description

Few sights are as charming as a hummingbird hovering over cardinal flowers in your backyard or a butterfly lighting on the black-eyed Susans potted on your balcony. Yet pollinators do more than beguile us: they are key to a healthy environment. With many pollinators threatened and their habitats disappearing, gardeners can make a real difference by planting native species that support these amazing creatures. The trick is knowing what species to plant and how to help them thrive. If you’re a gardener (or aspiring gardener) in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, or Great Lakes region, this beautiful 4-color guide will become your go-to reference to the most beneficial plants in your area. It includes profiles of more than 300 native plants, featuring lovely illustrations and photos, information on blooming periods, exposure, soil moisture, and good plant companions, as well as how each species supports specific pollinators. You’ll learn more about common plants you thought you knew and be introduced to species you may have never encountered before. Blooming flowers, native grasses, trees, shrubs, vines, and plants for rain and pond gardens are all included. White Baneberry, Woodland Strawberry, Boneset, Virginia Mountain Mint, Smooth Aster, and many others may find their way from these pages to your soil. While understanding specific plants is key, so too are growing strategies. Here you’ll learn how to prepare your site and find sample garden designs, whether your growing space is an apartment balcony, a residential yard, or a community garden. Throughout, you’ll discover the power of plants to not only enrich your personal environment but to support the pollinators necessary for a thriving planet.




Native Plants for New England Gardens


Book Description

Native plants are drought tolerant, disease resistant, wildlife friendly, and environmentally sound. Experts increasingly encourage gardeners to use natives exclusively. This handy and practical guide focuses on 100 great native flowers, ground covers, shrubs, ferns, and grasses that will thrive in New England gardens. The presentation is aimed at gardeners, who want concise, practical information. It will also include material on the importance and desirability of using native plants. The heart of this book is 100 two-page spreads, one for each species. The spreads will include facts about the plant of use to a gardener (not a botanist)—where it grows best, when it blooms, the soil conditions in which it thrives, its appeal to wildlife, sunlight requirements, how high it grows, how to propagate it, and how to avoid any problems particular to the species. Each spread will also feature two color photos.




Earth to Tables Legacies


Book Description

Climate crises, a global pandemic, farmer protests, diet-related diseases—all of these are telling us that the industrial food system threatens our health and the health of the planet and deepens systemic inequities, racism, and poverty. Using food as an entry to key issues—such as Indigenous-settler relations and anti-racism in the food movement— Earth to Tables Legacies: Multimedia Food Conversations across Generations and Cultures tells the stories of food activists from the Americas—young and old, rural and urban, Indigenous and settler—who share a vision for food justice and food sovereignty, from earth to tables. This visually stunning, full-color multimedia book generates rich conversations about food sovereignty through eleven photo essays and links to ten videos. Commentaries on each essay broaden the conversations with the experiences and perspectives of eighteen scholars and activists—both Indigenous and settler—from Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Facilitator’s guides offer creative ways to engage students and activists in critical discussions about these issues with links to other resources—text-based and visual, print and online. Visit the Earth to Tables website here.




The Ontario Naturalized Garden


Book Description




100 Easy-To-Grow Native Plants for Canadian Gardens


Book Description

The key to a carefree garden is to know which plants will thrive under local conditions and which ones are better left at the nursery. With watering restrictions becoming increasingly common, and rising concerns about exotic invasive species, gardeners have to be savvy about plant selection, making native plants both a practical and ecological choice. Lorraine Johnson's 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants for Canadian Gardens is the ultimate source for achieving a lush and stunning garden with ease. Whatever the conditions—sunny, shady or in-between—and whatever your style—formal, informal or a mix—there are native plants to help you achieve your gardening goals. Either add to your garden or start fresh with the help of this reader-friendly guide. With Lorraine Johnson's light humour and down-to-earth perspective, as well as lavish photos by Andrew Leyerle, this is a must-have gardening resource for everything Canadian gardeners need to know about native plants. Horticultural information includes height, blooming period, light requirements and moisture needs, as well as a comprehensive reference chart that provides a list of the most appropriate plants for various conditions at a glance. This perennial favourite of Canadian gardeners is now back in print with a revised introduction, updated botanical names, new information on how to support native pollinators as well as an updated section on native plant societies.




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 Humane Gardener


Book Description

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.