“This beautiful book is useful for all of us, novice and experienced orchid lovers alike.” —Martha Stewart, author, entrepreneur, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Add the vibrant colors and exotic blooms of orchids to your houseplant haven! It’s easier than you think with the help of Orchid Modern. Marc Hachadourian, the curator of the orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden, shares his secrets to successfully growing these sometimes finicky houseplants. Besides the basics, you’ll learn his top 120 orchid picks for green and not-so-green thumbs. Ten inspirational, step-by-step projects, including terrariums, a wreath, and a kokedama, provide the confidence to make orchids a thriving, vivid part of your home’s signature style.
'Vivid and entertaining ... this is history as it plays upon the emotions. Empires crumble, hearts are broken' THE TIMES From the bestselling author of Red Azalea comes the much-anticipated sequel to Empress Orchid At the end of the nineteenth century China is rocked by foreign attacks and local rebellions. The only constant is the power wielded by one woman, Tzu Hsi, also known as Empress Orchid, who must face the perilous condition of her empire and devastating personal losses. In this sequel to the bestselling Empress Orchid, Anchee Min brings to life one of the most important figures in Chinese history, a very human leader who sacrifices all she has to protect both those she loves and her doomed empire.
An extensive, easy-to-read guide to growing healthy orchids again and again, perfect for beginners, as well as experts looking for new tricks. Orchids are more popular than ever but can be intimidating in their exotic beauty. In this start-to-finish guide, acclaimed orchid expert Bruce Rogers demystifies the growing process so you can watch your plants thrive and bloom year after year. The Orchid Whisperer outlines: · How to buy orchids: What to look for, how to get the most for your money, and what questions to ask for · Essentials for orchid care: Watering, fertilizing, repotting, and common myths · Popular easy-to-grow orchid types and what to know about them · Creative decorating ideas: Choosing containers, displaying orchids, and how to create centerpieces and garlands · And much more Packed with expert advice and helpful tips and featuring more than one hundred beautiful color photographs of breathtaking plants, The Orchid Whisperer is a must-have for orchid lovers of every stripe. Praise for The Orchid Whisperer “In layman’s language, Rogers shares his recommendations for plant selection, repotting, watering, and fertilizing most of the tropicals you will find at local markets. Sections such as “Orchid True and False” and “Location, Location, Location” share practical advice with a splash of humor.” —Marin Independent Journal “An eminently intelligent and attractive book for beginning orchid growers. Rogers’ language is engaging and humorous, and strikes the right balance between being easy to read and needing a science degree to understand. . . . The Orchid Whisperer is one to put on the holiday list for novice orchidists.” —Orchids
Have trouble keeping house plants alive? Struggling to find your green fingers? Fear not! You can still have a beautiful plant-filled home with this stunning guide to indoor plants. Whether you are looking to cultivate an entire indoor garden, or simply wish to know more about your single cactus, you can be sure to find the right information for you amongst the seventy-five plants in this stylish guide. And the best bit? All the plants are easy to maintain so even the most timid of gardeners can enjoy turning their hand to this green-fingered pastime. Learn how to care for succulents, cacti, flowering and foliage plants even with a full-time job, with this unique gardening guide that is made to fit alongside our modern-day schedules. With endless inspiration to brighten up your home,desk or office, this beautiful book of plants from across the world is a must for lovers of art and design, as well as plants.
'TRULY INSPIRING' Mail on Sunday Now familiar to millions of Gardeners' World fans as Longmeadow (the home of Nigel & Nellie), this is the story of Monty & Sarah Don's early days there. The Jewel Garden is the story of the garden that bloomed from the muddy fields around the Dons' Tudor farmhouse, a perfect metaphor for the Monty and Sarah's own rise from the ashes of a spectacular commercial failure in the late '80s . At the same time The Jewel Garden is the story of a creative partnership that has weathered the greatest storm, and a testament to the healing powers of the soil. Monty Don has always been candid about the garden's role in helping him to pull back from the abyss of depression; The Jewel Garden elaborates on this much further. Written in an optimistic, autobiographical vein, Monty and Sarah's story is truly an exploration of what it means to be a gardener.
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
One of every seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid. Some are stunningly over the top; others almost inconspicuous. The Orchidaceae is the second most widely geographically distributed family, after the grasses, yet remains one of the least understood. This book will profile 600 species, representing the remarkable and unexpected diversity and complexity in the taxonomy and phylogeny of these beguiling plants, and the extraordinary means they have evolved in order to ensure the attraction of pollinators. Each species entry includes life-size photographs to capture botanical detail, as well as information on distribution, peak flowering period, and unique attributes--both natural and cultural. The result is a work which will attract and allure, much as the orchids themselves do.
A combination of botanical beauty and practical advice in Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Orchids will inspire beginners and experienced growers to love and grow 60 beautiful orchids and 12 inspirational projects. From growing from seed to harvesting vanilla pods, the projects will bring the wonderful world of orchids to life and produce confident, keen growers wanting to expand their experience of these exotic flora.
“Dan Hinkley is a rare man, generous, inspired, and gifted with an eye for beauty that is given to few people. How I long to wander again in the galloping beauty of his garden at Windcliff. Here it is, in all its inspiring wonder.” —Anna Pavord, author of Landskipping and The Curious Gardener Daniel Hinkley is widely recognized as one of the foremost modern plant explorers and one of the world’s leading plant collectors. He has created two outstanding private gardens—Heronswood and Windcliff. Both gardens, and the story of how one begat the other, are beautifully celebrated in Hinkley’s new book, Windcliff. In these pages you will delight in Hinkley’s recounting of the creation of his garden, the stories of the plants that fill its space, and in his sage gardening advice. Hinkley’s spirited ruminations on the audacity and importance of garden-making—contemplations on the beauty of a sunflower turning its neck from dawn to dusk, the way a plant’s scent can spur a memory, and much more—will appeal to the hearts of every gardener. Filled with Claire Takacs’s otherworldly photography, Windcliff is spectacular for both its physical beauty and the quality of information it contains.
Featuring more than 200 color photographs, "Understanding Orchids" provides readers with easy-to-follow instructions for the orchids they would like to grow.
