A comprehensive, richly illustrated reference on how to grow plants from seed provides everything a gardener needs to know about germinating, growing, and cultivating more than five hundred different types of flowering plants, furnishing essential information on light, soil, spacing requirements, climate, general plant care, and propagation, with quick-reference charts covering more than one thousand species. Original.
Annuals are very much back in style after the decades-long perennial revolution. You see annuals in every garden, with the old-fashioned flowers still among the most popular. With new varieties being launched every year and older ones (many dating back more than four or five years) disappearing just as quickly, gardeners need help sorting them out. Author Larry Hodgson tells you what to look for among the numerous new introductions: greater adaptability to growing conditions, longer period of bloom, improved insect and disease resistance, and more--everything, in fact, that you need to know to make growing annuals both simple and fun. You'll discover: How to cut back tired annuals, like sweet alyssum, to get them to rebloom even more intensely than before. How to save money by taking cuttings of so-called "designer" annuals, using one plant to create many. All about overwintering numerous "annuals" that are really tropical perennials. Which cool-loving annuals you can sow in the fall so they can sprout when the conditions are perfect the following spring. Simple tricks that make designing with annuals a snap. And much, much more! You'll find annual gardening has never been easier--or more exciting--than when you have Annuals for Every Purpose as a handy reference.
Experienced gardeners often ask: Why plant annuals? They are common and garish and just don't last. This anticipated new work by eminent horticulturist Wayne Winterrowd--covering more than 250 genera and 600 species and containing over 250 color photographs--provides a great many answers to that question. Familiar garden plants such as marigolds, sunflowers, and zinnias are lovingly portrayed, as well as new species that the gardener may have only just discovered or never previously encountered. Each species is fully described by appearance, range of color, propagation, culture, climatic preferences, and garden value. In addition, Winterrowd supplies fascinating accounts of the botanical etymology, the origins of common names, and the rich historical lore that surround all plants, familiar and rare alike. Most important, his lifetime of hands-on, practical garden experience crisscrosses these pages, offering a trove of practical advice. The result is a volume that will encourage committed annuals growers in their passion and introduce a whole new world of possibilities to gardeners who have hardly guessed at the riches of these formerly undervalued plants. A tremendously ambitious work that reflects almost ten years of careful research, observation, and experimentation, Annuals and Tender Plants for North American Gardens is a comprehensive, utterly engaging reference. Arranged alphabetically and with convenient, at-a-glance profiles prefacing each entry, this beautifully designed guide is both a good read and a visual delight.
This book is a must for successful gardening with annuals and perennials, with important information for identifying, growing and maintaining 200 of the best loved of these flowers in the United States. Carefully organized for easy reference and practical use, the book presents each entry in full color, giving specific information for height, color, location and soil requirements, together with helpful hints for propagating, displaying, transplanting and more. Every flower -- from the Sweet Alyssum to the Giant Zinnia in the annuals group, from the fragrant Daphne to the exotic Monkshood in the perennials group -- is treated with the same explicit detail and informative illustrations that have made the earlier Woman's Day plant books the most popular and useful gudies for the novice and expert gardener alike. Whether used as a guide for growing your favorite blooms in a small patch of earth, for creating a beautiful garden to enhance more extensive grounds, or for making a "cutting garden" for fresh or dried flowers for your home, this book will become an essential part of any gardener's library.
A guide to creating and growing a backyard garden simply and sustainably—from planning to planting to harvest, with profiles of essential vegetables and herbs, ecological tips, and fun and creative projects Growing food in your backyard (or even on a porch or windowsill!) is one of the simplest and most rewarding ways to nourish yourself, be self-sufficient, and connect with nature in a hands-on way. Here sustainability expert Julia Watkins shares everything you need to know to grow your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs (as well as wildflowers and other beneficial companion plants). The book covers all the nuts and bolts of creating and caring for your garden—planning, building, planting, tending, and harvesting—followed by a deeper dive into the plants themselves: demystifying annuals vs. perennials, cold-weather vs. warm-weather veggies, and profiles of favorite crops. Throughout, Julia offers tips for creating an eco-friendly and sustainable garden (such as vermicomposting, no-till “lasagna” gardening, and attracting pollinators), plus some fun and unexpected hands-on projects like how to build a bean teepee, make wildflower seed paper, and enjoy refreshing herbal lemonade ice pops.
Several concurrent trends have created the need for a new book on annual plants. One is the increasing popularity of container gardening, for which these plants are particularly suited. Another is the hottest trend in landscaping -- creating a bold, even jungly look through the use of tropical plants and other dramatic specimens, most grown as annuals in temperate zones. To meet the demand, growers have developed hundreds of new plants and improved cultivars of old favorites. In this Taylor's Guide, buyers will find more than five hundred of the latest, trendiest plants and the best cultivars of the beloved old standbys.
