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Cultivate a Green Thumb: Gardening Ebooks on Freading




by Susannah Seton

A cornucopia of gardening tips, recipes, crafts, gift ideas, stories, and more from the author of Simple Pleasure of the Kitchen. “May All Your Weeds Be Wildflowers,” reads author Susannah Seton’s garden plaque, and in Every Garden Is a Story, she teaches how to grow your own wildflower meadow and offers advice on how to keep all the fresh cut flowers from the meadow lasting even longer. She reminds us of a whimsical childhood with accounts of Ghost Gardens and the gathering of Fairy Bouquets, and she awakens us gently with the reminder to detoxify your garden and be kind to the giving Earth. Every Garden Is a Story shows us just how much we can learn from our gardens. From Seton’s stories about her father’s quest for a seven-headed sweet pea to tales cancer survival to magical portraits of moon gardens, this book takes us on our own journey down the garden path. Each passage offers something special, like details on how to care for ourselves and our loved ones by caring for our Earth, plus tips, recipes, crafts, and ideas for gifts that keep giving back. There’s even an extensive resource section of garden centers, online seed catalogs, and recommended reading!

by Jessica Walliser

Companion planting has a long history of use by gardeners, but the explanation of why it works has been filled with folklore and conjecture. Plant Partners delivers a research-based rationale for this ever-popular growing technique, offering dozens of ways you can use scientifically tested plant partnerships to benefit your whole garden. Through an enhanced understanding of how plants interact with and influence each other, this guide suggests specific plant combinations that improve soil health and weed control, decrease pest damage, and increase biodiversity, resulting in real and measurable impacts in the garden.




by Dawn Combs

The author of Sweet Remedies offers a straightforward, empowering guide to homegrown herbal remedies for illness injuries, and preventative health. Most of us understand the value of eating and buying local. Taking back our food, goods, and services from multinational corporations and sourcing them from small growers, producers, artisans, and entrepreneurs benefits our families, our environment, and our communities. Heal Local argues that “100-mile healthcare” can be equally valuable in terms of how we treat illness and injury and maintain wellness. This innovative guide demonstrates that by harnessing multifaceted whole plants, we can rely on homegrown or regionally produced herbs rather than importing exotics and non-natives. Based on the small apothecary model, author Dawn Combs explains how to:


· Maximize the benefits of homegrown first aid, from increased freshness, potency, and effectiveness to community resilience and local economic growth

· Make home herbal healthcare less intimidating and more attainable, by focusing on twenty herbs to effectively treat most common injuries and ailments

· Implement a local medicine culture safely and sustainably, while protecting and respecting wild plant populations

Many herbals overwhelm their readers, presenting a list of hundreds of herbs, each with a different purpose. Heal Local empowers readers by showing that you don’t need to know everything about every herb on the planet to create a complete home apothecary. Anyone can be self-sufficient with their wellness, regardless of their previous knowledge, experience, or available space.



by Jessi Bloom

We all need a personal sanctuary. A place where we can be in harmony with the natural world and nurture our bodies, minds, and souls. And this sanctuary doesn’t have to be a far-away destination—it can be in your own backyard. In Creating Sanctuary, natural living expert Jessi Bloom taps into multiple sources of traditional plant wisdom to help you find a deeper connection to the outdoor space you already have—no matter the size. You will learn how to design a healing space, how to harness the power of 50 sacred plants, and how to create recipes and rituals that soothe and calm. Hands-on, inspiring, and packed with gorgeous photography, Creating Sanctuary will help you find new ways to revitalize your life.




by Linda Gilkeson

Grow more food, with less work, in any yard—now completely revised and expanded! Are you itching to start your own garden or grow more in the one you have, but feel that gardening is too challenging or time-consuming for your busy schedule? Now completely updated and expanded, Backyard Bounty will demystify gardening, bringing it back to the down-to-earth, environmentally practical activity that anyone can enjoy. Author and master gardener Linda Gilkeson covers everything you’ll need to grow a successful garden. Packed with a wealth of information specific to the Pacific Northwest, this complete guide emphasizes low-maintenance methods, covers problems related to common pests and climate concerns, includes a monthly garden schedule for year-round planting and harvesting, and features plant profiles for everything from apples to zucchini. Perfect for novice and experienced gardeners alike, Backyard Bounty shows how even the smallest garden can produce a surprising amount of food twelve months of the year. Got Sun?

by Carolyn Harstad

The author of Got Shade? and Go Native! turns out “an ideal primer for gardeners who want to have lovely, sustainable and hospitable plantings” (Moya Andrews, author of Perennials Short and Tall).


Are you looking for more butterflies and birds in your yard? Do you enjoy seasonal color and beauty? Are you concerned about environmental issues such as water conservation and pollution control? Do you yearn for simple, maintenance-free gardening? Arranged in a question-and-answer format, Got Sun? showcases native trees, shrubs, ground covers, ferns, vines, grasses, and over 100 sun-friendly perennials for your home garden. Illustrated with detailed drawings and beautiful color photographs, this is a book to keep close at hand as you plan and plant your garden.




Outstanding American Gardens: A Celebration by Page Dickey and Marion Brenner

The Garden Conservancy is celebrating its 25th anniversary with this beautifully illustrated book that documents a selection of the outstanding public and private gardens it has worked with since its founding in 1989. The book showcases eight gardens the conservancy has helped preserve and 43 of the more than 3,000 private gardens across the country that have been opened to the public through its Open Days Program. The private gardens cover a wide variety of regions, habitats, designs, and plants, from early spring through autumn. Featured private gardens include Panayoti Kelaidis’s rock garden in Denver, Colorado; Deborah Whigham and Gary Ratway’s collection of native and Mediterranean plants and earth walls in Albion, California; and James David’s imaginative mix of heat-tolerant plants, rills, and pools in Austin, Texas.



by Ruth Rogers Clausen

Essential Perennials focuses on what every gardener needs to know to choose from the thousands of perennials available, and care for the ones you already have. This A-to-Z guide is packed with more than 2,700 plants, with each entry listing flower color, bloom time, foliage characteristics, size, and light and temperature requirements. Each profile is supported by stunning color photography that showcases the flower and foliage that make each plant unique.









by Jenni Blackmore

Foodie meets novice gardener in this deliciously accessible, easy-to-use guide to planting, growing, harvesting, cooking, and preserving 20+ popular, easy-to-grow vegetables and herbs. Taking the first-time gardener from growing to cooking delicious, nutritious, and affordable meals using these herbs and vegetables, this book is a celebration of food in all its stages.

The Food Lover’s Garden guides you through:

  • Simple, tasty cooking recipes incorporating each vegetable and herb

  • Meal combinations of two or more of the featured herb and vegetable dishes

  • Selecting essential kitchen tools and gadgets to maximize the herb and vegetable harvesting

  • Canning and pickling recipes for preserving the rest.

From the humble potato to pungent garlic to the beauty of the beet, classic vegetables take a delicious turn with innovative cooking recipes. Truly food for all seasons and palates. Foodies, novice gardeners, urban homesteaders, and supporters of sustainable living—take back your right to high-quality food with The Food Lover’s Garden.


by Peter E. Kukielsk

Have you tried to grow roses, only to give up once you realized how dependent on pesticides they are? In this lush guide rose expert Peter Kukielski highlights 150 rose varieties that excel in gardens without the use of chemicals. Roses Without Chemicals features information on planting, pruning, and pests; plant profiles that include a color photo and details on color, growth habit, and fragrance; and helpful lists of roses organized by color, growing habit, and region.






Your Herb Garden by Barbara Segall

An invaluable reference for growing and using herbs. Includes extensive illustrations. This book covers everything the gardener needs to know in order to cultivate, harvest, and use a vast array of different herbs. There is a wealth of practical information on growing and planting, provided in a clear, easy-to-use, month-by-month format, allowing gardeners to instantly find the advice they need when they need it. You’ll find an introduction to the herb garden for each month, along with straightforward instructions and a checklist for seasonal tasks—as well as easy-to-follow projects, from designing an herb garden to harvesting herbs for scented gifts.




by Bill Noble

How does an individual garden relate to the larger landscape? How does it connect to the natural and cultural environment? Does it evoke a sense of place? In Spirit of Place, Bill Noble—a lifelong gardener, and the former director of preservation for the Garden Conservancy—helps gardeners answer these questions by sharing how they influenced the creation of his garden in Vermont.


Throughout, Noble reveals that a garden is never created in a vacuum but is rather the outcome of an individual’s personal vision combined with historical and cultural forces. Sumptuously illustrated, this thoughtful look at the process of garden-making shares insights gleaned over a long career that will inspire you to create a garden rich in context, personal vision, and spirit.



Craft a soothing aloe lotion after an encounter with poison ivy, make a dandelion-burdock tincture to fix sluggish digestion, and brew up some lavender-lemon balm tea to ease a stressful day. In this introductory guide, Rosemary Gladstar shows you how easy it can be to make your own herbal remedies for life’s common ailments. Gladstar profiles 33 common healing plants and includes advice on growing, harvesting, preparing, and using herbs in healing tinctures, oils, and creams. Stock your medicine cabinet full of all-natural, low-cost herbal preparations.































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