Stalking the Wild Amaranth

Stalking the Wild Amaranth

Author: Janet Marinelli

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Published: 2014-07-29

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 146687676X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An important horticultural memoir articulating a new landscape art that's both environmentally sensitive and rich in creativity. Janet Marinelli left her comfortable city garden to join a botanist colleague in search of the rare Seabeach Amaranth--one of our many native species that is in danger of extinction. The result of the ensuing seven-year odyssey, Stalking the Wild Amaranth is a work of science and a work of art. Marinelli tells the story of her discovery that contemporary gardening is out of sync with theories evolving on the frontiers of science and philosophy. She also tells of her quest for a new garden art that nurtures a greater richness and variety of earthly life. Inspired by the legacy of Henry David Thoreau, Marinelli blends history, horticulture, erudition, and personal insight into a narrative that ponders the relationship between humankind and nature. She fleshes out a vision for a new, ecologically wise landscape art, disagreeing ultimately with those who insist that growing native plants is the only way to recover our environmental equilibrium. Gardeners, she writes, should be free to experiment, to let our imaginations run wild, to learn how to be the creators of biodiversity as well as the preservers and restorers.


Perennial Vegetables

Perennial Vegetables

Author: Eric Toensmeier

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2007-05-16

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 1603581383

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There is a fantastic array of vegetables you can grow in your garden, and not all of them are annuals. In Perennial Vegetables the adventurous gardener will find information, tips, and sound advice on less common edibles that will make any garden a perpetual, low-maintenance source of food. Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as the flowers in your perennial beds and borders—no annual tilling and potting and planting. They thrive and produce abundant and nutritious crops throughout the season. It sounds too good to be true, but in Perennial Vegetables author and plant specialist Eric Toensmeier (Edible Forest Gardens) introduces gardeners to a world of little-known and wholly underappreciated plants. Ranging beyond the usual suspects (asparagus, rhubarb, and artichoke) to include such "minor" crops as ground cherry and ramps (both of which have found their way onto exclusive restaurant menus) and the much sought after, anti-oxidant-rich wolfberry (also known as goji berries), Toensmeier explains how to raise, tend, harvest, and cook with plants that yield great crops and satisfaction. Perennial vegetables are perfect as part of an edible landscape plan or permaculture garden. Profiling more than 100 species, illustrated with dozens of color photographs and illustrations, and filled with valuable growing tips, recipes, and resources, Perennial Vegetables is a groundbreaking and ground-healing book that will open the eyes of gardeners everywhere to the exciting world of edible perennials.


Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East, Revised and Expanded

Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East, Revised and Expanded

Author: Carolyn Summers

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2024-02-16

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1978833652

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

As recent years have seen alarming declines of insect and bird populations in many states, more gardeners have discovered the importance of including native plants in order to nurture these pollinators and sustain local ecosystems. But when so many popular landscaping designs involve exotic cultivars and invasive plant species, how can you create a garden that is both aesthetically pleasing and ecologically responsible? In this fully revised second edition of the classic guide Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East, gardening expert Carolyn Summers draws on the most recent research on sustainable landscaping. She is joined in this edition by her daughter, landscape designer Kate Brittenham, offering an intergenerational dialogue about the importance of using indigenous plants that preserve insect and bird habitats. The practical information they provide is equally useful for home gardeners and professionals, including detailed descriptions of keystone trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, and grasses that are native to the eastern United States. Accompanied by entirely new illustrations and updated plant lists, they offer chic yet eco-friendly landscape designs fully customized for different settings, from suburban yards to corporate office parks. The states covered in this book are CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WI, and WV, as well as southern Quebec and Ontario.


Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gardener's Desk Reference

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gardener's Desk Reference

Author: Janet Marinelli

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Published: 2016-06-28

Total Pages: 1384

ISBN-13: 1250128242

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The ultimate gardening reference work compiled by two dozen of the world's leading plant experts under the auspices of one of the world's greatest botanical gardens. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gardener's Desk Reference is a milestone in garden publishing, the kind of groundbreaking work that appears once in a lifetime. No gardening reference--ever--has combined this scope of information in a single volume. The coverage in most gardening reference books falls into a few standard horticultural categories. The Gardener's Desk Reference unlocks the door to a vast assortment of plant knowledge from around the world. There is enough information in this single volume to serve any plant enthusiast--beginning and professional alike--over a lifetime. For easy use, the wide-ranging material is divided into twenty different sections-- such as: Botany for Gardeners Kitchen Gardening The Horticultural Traveler Weights, Measures, and Conversions The hundreds of indispensable sidebars, graphs, tables, plant lists, maps, and illustrations found throughout the reference make it even more accessible and attractive. To do justice to the continent's breathtaking diversity of climates and plant communities, all plant lists are organized by region, and every recommended species or cultivar has been chosen by an experienced landscaper tested by years of gardening in the area. Never before have gardeners had access to the breadth and quality of information in this authoritative reference.


Edible Forest Gardens, Volume I

Edible Forest Gardens, Volume I

Author: Dave Jacke

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 1931498792

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Edible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. Edible Forest Gardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening--one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment.


Edible Forest Gardens, Volume II

Edible Forest Gardens, Volume II

Author: Dave Jacke

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 674

ISBN-13: 1931498806

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An edible forest garden is a perennial polyculture of multipurpose plants. Most plants regrow every year without replanting: perennials. Many species grow together: a polyculture. Each plant contributes to the success of the whole by fulfilling many functions: multipurpose. In other words, a forest garden is an edible ecosystem, a consciously designed community of mutually beneficial plants and animals intended for human food production. Edible forest gardens provide more than just a variety of foods. The seven F's apply here: food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, and "farmaceuticals," as well as fun. A beautiful, lush environment can be a conscious focus of your garden design, or a side benefit you enjoy."--from pub. website.


Design Your Natural Midwest Garden

Design Your Natural Midwest Garden

Author: Patricia Hill

Publisher: Big Earth Publishing

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9781931599818

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Gardening with native species by award winning designer shows you how to combine varieties that are perfect for the soils and climates of the upper Midwest


Food Not Lawns

Food Not Lawns

Author: H. C. Flores

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 193339207X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Combines practical wisdom on ecological design and community-building with a fresh, green perspective on an age-old subject. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares her nine-step permaculture design to help farmsteaders and city dwellers alike build fertile soil, promote biodiversity, and increase natural habitat in their own "paradise gardens." This joyful lifestyle manual inspires readers to apply the principles of the paradise garden--simplicity, resourcefulness, creativity, mindfulness, and community--to all aspects of life. Plant "guerrilla gardens" in barren intersections and medians; organize community meals; start a street theater troupe or host a local art swap; free your kitchen from refrigeration and enjoy truly fresh, nourishing foods from your own plot of land; work with children to create garden play spaces. Flores cares passionately about the damaged state of our environment and our throwaway society. Here, she shows us how to reclaim the earth, one garden at a time.--From publisher description.