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Groundcover Revolution

Kathy Jentz

Tired of spending your weekends mowing, trimming, and edging? Then it’s time to say goodbye to your standard grass lawn and join the Groundcover Revolution

Turns out you’re not alone in your desire to ditch the lawn and replace it with something prettier, more diverse, lower maintenance, welcoming to pollinators, and good for Earth’s climate health. Reducing the lawn is among the biggest trends in homeownership, with an endless stream of homeowners looking for an eco-friendly alternative to a traditional turfgrass lawn. In the last few years alone, over 23 million American adults converted part of their lawn to a natural landscape, and now they’re looking to do even more.

The biggest challenge to adopting this new ideal of the perfect lawn? Knowing how and when to replace your turf, and which plants are the best ones for the job. Groundcover Revolution is here with all the answers you need (and some you didn’t even know you needed!).

Those answers include:

 

  • How replacing a lawn with groundcovers reduces resource consumption on a significant level
  • Why groundcovers require far less long-term maintenance than turf after establishment
  • The many additional benefits of groundcovers, including erosion control, a reduction in chemical usage, a boost in biodiversity, and mitigation of climate change as a carbon sink
  • The ways groundcovers overcome challenges such as tree roots, compacted soils, poor drainage, and dense shade
  • The step-by-step mechanics of how to get rid of your lawn, how to place and plant groundcovers from seeds, plugs, or transplants, and how to care for your new “quilted lawn” once it’s in place 


Also included are 40 in-depth profiles of plants that are perfect choices for replacing a grass lawn. There are options for sun, for shade, for dry and wet sites, and for various climates around the globe. There are choices that bloom, options that are evergreen, and selections that are deer resistant. Author Kathy Jentz has also included an incredibly useful chart that gives you all the specifics on each of the 40 choices for quick reference and to make your groundcover selection process even easier.

Don’t let a lack of information stop you from creating the no-mow groundcover lawn of your dreams. Join the revolution and say goodbye to the burden of lawn care and hello to summer weekends relaxing by the pool or camping with family and friends. Whether you want to replace the entire lawn or just reduce the amount of land dedicated to turf, it’s time to usher in a new and improved idea of what a beautiful lawn should be.

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A Field Guide To Succulents

Misa Matsuyama

A Field Guide to Succulents introduces you to over 200 popular succulent and cacti species including many you've never seen before!

Each chapter serves as an illustrated field guide that covers the characteristics and needs of a particular succulent family, then zooms in to show you their attributes in detail and from angles that let you truly see what makes these varieties different from one another.

This book gives you:
 

  • All the basics on how to grow succulents and cacti successfully--tools, soils, watering, placement, propagating, pest and disease prevention, and how to see them through seasonal changes so that your plants will keep growing and thriving
  • A stunning photo guide to over 200 plants both popular and exotic
  • Ideas for group plantings that are attractive to the eye and congenial to the plants
  • Tips from experienced growers on ways to approach succulent gardening


The simple instructions are geared toward beginners; the interesting mix of plants shown and explained here will appeal to succulent collectors. Fans at every level will enjoy this up-close exploration into the infinitely diverse and surprising world of succulents.

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The Compost Coach

Kate Flood

The Compost Coach is a colourful, comprehensive and accessible guide to creating the very best compost AKA garden gold. Kate is on a mission to empower readers to understand the small steps they can take every day to look after the environment and live more sustainability.

The book is pitched at the home composter, including people who live in apartments and houses with or without gardens (yes, you can compost without a garden!). Kate helps the reader to rethink their waste management and teaches them how easy it is to divert food scraps and household carbon away from landfill. She unravels the technicalities of soil science, talks through the building blocks of a robust compost system and busts a few myths along the way. Charming illustrations, how-to photos, and Kate's warm, entertaining voice complete the package.

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The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden

Stacy Tornio

"The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden helps you become more intentional about attracting birds, bees, and more to the garden...you can build a beautiful garden for all seasons while simultaneously striving to support wildlife."―Horticulture



The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden is a beginner-friendly handbook that helps homeowners create a beautiful garden that attracts birds, bees, butterflies, and more. Everyone wants a garden buzzing with life, and Stacy Tornio makes it easy by sharing details about which plants attract specific creatures.



Stacy Tornio makes it easy to attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your home garden by sharing details about which plants attract specific creatures. The simple organization makes it easy to find exactly what you want, with chapters on attracting birds, bringing in bees butterflies, and welcoming wildlife. If you are looking to build a garden from scratch, there are ten plans with specific plant choices. The plans include a hummingbird garden, a birdseed garden, and options that are low-maintenance and drought-resistant. You'll also find expert advice on finding the right feeder, avoiding pesticides, and choosing native plants. The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden is a beautiful, photo-filled guide that will help you grow the earth-friendly garden of your dreams.



 

 

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The New Plant Collector

Darryl Cheng

Darryl Cheng, bestselling author of The New Plant Parent, is back with the first book for indoor gardeners who want to step up from basic plant care to creating rewarding plant collections.

The world of indoor gardening is exploding with desirable new and unusual plants. Thanks to the resources of the internet and social media, finding amazing varieties has never been easier--but knowing how to get maximum enjoyment from this enticing world is not so easy.

In The New Plant Collector, Darryl Cheng brings his knowledge-based approach to the quest, offering collecting suggestions to suit every level of experience, and describing the riches of twenty-two different plant groups, from anthuriums to tillandsias. As always, he focuses on meeting each plant's requirements for light and moisture, and he provides practical ways to create optimal growing conditions at home. To inspire readers, there are photographs showing the dazzling variety of colors, forms, and patterns that each group offers.

For Cheng, the happy indoor gardener learns to appreciate plants as living things that undergo stages of growth, decline, and rebirth. He teaches the joys of propagation, so that anyone can produce new life from old, increasing and sharing the world's wealth of beautiful plants.

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Garden Wonderland

Leslie Bennett

A visual feast of garden design inspiration that embraces diversity and teaches you how to create a lush, colorful, edible, and meaningful garden wonderland of your own.

“Through story and imagery, Garden Wonderland reminds us over and over that plants should be part of everyday for everyone: as food, experience, memory, and creativity.”—Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of the Cultivating Place public radio program and podcast, and author of What We Sow

Award-winning garden designer Leslie Bennett creates gardens filled with stunning layers of color and texture. But even more than that, they “feed the eye and nourish the soul” (Elle Decor).

Featuring practical how-to information alongside examples from nineteen gardens, Bennett shows how to incorporate personal and edible elements into the landscape to honor a variety of cultures, while including families of all shapes and sizes, to create space that nurtures self, community, and more. For example, the team designed a garden for the cofounder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation to showcase art from emerging Black artists, while for a vegan chef's garden, they incorporated unusual vegetables that can't be found in grocery stores. A garden for a daughter of diplomats reflects the many places she's lived around the world; for a family that wants to beautify their neighborhood, they designed a vibrant community-oriented front yard.

With chapters on floral, edible, gathering, healing, and cultural wonderlands, Bennett provides advice for tailoring a garden to your own needs, whether it's a place to host elegant garden parties, for children to play, to grow your own food and creativity, or a sanctuary to rest and relax. In Garden Wonderland, Bennett helps you unlock the potential of your garden to become a space of inspiring natural beauty, abundance, connection, and belonging.

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The Container Garden Recipe Book

Lana Williams

Over 50 step-by-step recipes for stunning outdoor planters of all shapes and sizes, in Artisan's bestselling flower recipe book format.



We're taking the Recipe Book series outside! In the Container Garden Recipe Book, Lana Williams of the Oakland-based Tender Gardener offers readers dozens of step-by-step recipes for lush outdoor planters, from classic terra-cotta pots to window boxes, urns, bowls, and more. There are recipes specifically designed to adorn your porch or patio (a rustic birdcage-cum-hanging basket, a stately Japanese maple planted in a painted terra-cotta urn) and others that are perfect for backyard entertaining (an elegant tabletop trough of succulents, a concrete water garden that's sure to be a conversation starter). And with Lana as their guide, readers' yards will never be bare thanks to creative designs for all seasons, from urns bursting with spring bulbs to a summer trough brimming with fresh herbs and an heirloom pumpkin converted into the perfect home for fall blooms. 



And recreating these stunning designs couldn't be simpler! Each recipe includes a detailed ingredients list and step-by-step instructions, along with hundreds of photos showing where and how to place each plant. Also included is foundational information on planting techniques, care instructions, choosing the right container, as well as plant spotlights highlighting foolproof options for all climates and seasons, from spring bulbs to evergreens.

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Complete Guide to Growing and Cultivating Herbs and Spices

Linda Gray

Unlock the hidden potential of your property so you can cultivate a home herb and spice garden from scratch! In the Complete Guide to Growing and Cultivating Herbs & Spices, author Linda Gray steers readers through every step of planning indoor and outdoor gardens. From popular herbs-including aloe vera, basil, chives, and thyme-to delicious spices, such as caraway, garlic, ginger, and even the elusive saffron, you'll discover plant-specific advice to target the best possible additions to your garden. This guide isn't a one-size-fits-all program-it's a comprehensive resource to discover what fits your unique space and climate. You'll learn everything, from growing wild, diverse gardens outdoors to growing herbs and spices in controlled containers. Discover which plants fit your unique conditions so you can pick the perfect plants to grow and thrive around your home! Gray covers every aspect of herb and spice knowledge-from keeping pests out to bringing your plants to life in delicious recipes. Don't be surprised if home-cooked meals taste better when you grow the herbs and spices yourself! What's Inside: Strategies for selecting which herbs and spices to grow, prepping your space at home, and designing a home garden to maximize your space, Plant guides to learn the specific challenges and advantages of produce and select the best for your climate, Delicious recipes to highlight the unique flavors you've developed from your herbs, spices, and vegetables, Design and planning strategies to protect your garden from pests, recycle existing materials, and even encourage your kids to get involved

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Bird-Friendly Gardening

Jen McGuinness

Bird-Friendly Gardening is the definitive guide to planting a wildlife-welcoming home landscape filled with a diversity of native plants that feed, shelter, and support birds.

With hundreds of North American bird species facing population decline or at risk of extinction, right now is the perfect time to create a home-based habitat garden that offers birds the resources they need to safely feed, migrate, breed, and thrive.

Thankfully, making your outdoor space a secure and comfortable haven for many different bird species isn’t a Herculean task. It’s a matter of understanding the needs of our avian friends and how native plants, combined with purposeful garden design, can help meet those needs. And that’s exactly the know-how you’ll find here, outlined in a simple-to-follow, actionable format by author Jennifer McGuinness. 

Step beyond the seed-filled bird feeder and suet block, and learn how to further provide for birds. Some of the topics covered in the book include:
 

  • How to design a bird-centered habitat garden in spaces large and small
  • Advice on providing fresh water year-round
  • Understanding the connection between native plants and insects and the birds that rely on them
  • How to design and plant a fruit garden, a bird seed garden, a runoff-absorbing rain garden, or even a container garden that nurtures birds
  • Meet dozens of trees, shrubs, and other plants that support the insects almost all adult birds need to feed their young
  • 18 step-by-step garden design projects and plant lists for creating a diversity of bird-friendly spaces
  • Tips for preventing window strikes and cat kills
  • Best practices for including bird feeders, nest boxes, and bird baths in your landscape


Whether your “spark bird” was a lightning-fast Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a brilliant Indigo Bunting, or a petite Hammond’s Flycatcher, it’s time to put out the welcome mat for birds in your home garden. YOU can make a significant impact on the lives of thousands of birds, whether they’re just passing through during migration or making a feather-lined summertime home for raising the next generation.

It’s time for gardeners from coast to coast to heed the call and welcome their flighty friends home with Bird-Friendly Gardening.

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The Backyard Homestead Guide to Growing Organic Food

Tanya Denckla Cobb

This essential guide to growing a bountiful food garden includes detailed seed-starting, growing, and harvesting information for 62 vegetables, fruits, and herbs, a complete companion-planting guide, and organic pest-control handbook.

The latest addition to Storey's bestselling Backyard Homestead series, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Growing Organic Food is a one-stop reference for all the key information food gardeners need to grow a healthy, bountiful garden. Author Tanya Denckla Cobb presents key information based on extensive research and years of experience, including when to start seeds for each type of crop (and at what temperature), how far apart to space seedlings, how to tell when a crop is ready to harvest, and notes on preservation. The book features a comprehensive companion planting guide and an in-depth review of the most effective organic pest control practices, including recipes for how to make your own pest deterrent sprays.

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Illinois, Indiana & Ohio Month-by-Month Gardening

Beth Botts

The when-to and how-to schedule for growing, caring for, and maintaining your garden in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio! Never garden alone! The Month-by-Month Gardening series is the perfect companion to take the guesswork out of gardening. With this book, you'll know what to do each month to have gardening success all year, from January to December. It's full of the when-tos and how-tos of gardening along with richly illustrated step-by-step instructions, so you can garden with confidence. With a fresh look and updated information, Illinois, Indiana & Ohio Month-by-Month Gardening includes all the when-to and how-to information that has made these books so popular over the years, presented in a new, easier-to-use format with more full-color photography and the most current information available. From planting to watering and fertilizing, and from maintenance to problem solving, Illinois, Indiana & Ohio Month-by-Month Gardening shows all levels of gardeners the best practices to grow satisfying and rewarding results.

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The Midwest Native Plant Primer

Alan Branhagen

Bring your garden to life—and life to your garden!

Do you want a garden that makes a real difference? Choose plants native to our Midwest region. The rewards will benefit you, your yard, and the environment—from reducing maintenance tasks to attracting earth-friendly pollinators such as native birds, butterflies, and bees. Native plant expert Alan Branhagen makes adding these superstar plants easier than ever before, with proven advice that every home gardener can follow. This incomparable sourcebook includes 225 recommended native ferns, grasses, wildflowers, perennials, vines, shrubs, and trees. It’s everything you need to know to create a beautiful and beneficial garden.

This must-have handbook is for gardeners in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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