National Garden Book

By the Editors of Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine. Variant title : Sunset National Garden Book.

Guide to garden plants in North America.

The Essential Garden Design Workbook guides the reader through every stage of planning a garden — how to survey a site, how to choose landscaping materials, and how to develop planting schemes. This fully revised and updated second edition features new U.S. case studies and new photographs. Valuable tips on green gardening are new to this edition, and include how to harvest rainwater, how to design a green roof, tips on sustainable planting, and a guide to composting. Tailor-made for hands-on gardeners, the workbook approach is accessible, practical, and can be used to create a garden from scratch and to redesign an existing garden. Gardeners will find easy ways to measure large spaces, estimate the height of a tree, and find the right proportions for a deck. They'll also find tips on space, light, and color. Includes hundreds of easy-to-follow line drawings and diagrams.

The Gardener's Problem Solver tackles a wide range of gardening topics, from planting seedlings to how to kill slugs and other pests. Each of these 500 most-commonly asked questions is answered by a panel of experts from the National Gardening Association, and featured boxes provide additional information. For ease of reference, the questions are split among four main chapters-The Basics, Landscape Gardening, Flower Gardening, and Vegetable Gardening-and then further subdivided into subsections such as Climate and Weather, Composting, Lawns and Ground Covers, Roses, Bulbs, Fruits, and Herbs. Find the answers to such questions like: What are heirloom vegetables? What kind of creatures should be found in the compost bin? And do they help the compost process? What are the best vegetables to grow in containers? How do I prune my roses? How do roses respond to light and heavy pruning? Produced in partnership with the National Gardening Association, this book also contains climatic-zone maps showing rainfall and temperature worldwide, a detailed glossary, and an extensive index. This detailed and extensive problem-solving volume is an asset to any gardening home library.

There is something special about the English country house garden: from its quiet verdant lawns to its high yew hedges, this is a style much-desired and copied around the world. The English country house is most often conceived as a private, intimate place, a getaway from working life. A pergola, a sundial, a croquet lawn, a herbaceous border of soft planting; here is a space to wander and relax, to share secrets, and above all to enjoy afternoon tea. But even the most peaceful of gardens also take passion and hard work to create. The English Country House Garden takes a fresh look at the English country house garden, starting with the owners and the stories behind the making of the gardens. Glorious photographs capture the gardens at their finest moments through the seasons, and a sparkling and erudite text presents twenty-five gardens - some grand, some personal, some celebrated, some never-before-photographed - to explore why this garden style has been so very enduring and influential. From the Victorian grandeur of Tyntesfield and Cragside, to the Arts & Crafts simplicity of Rodmarton Manor and Charleston; from Scampston, in the same family since the 17th century, to new gardens by Dan Pearson and Tom Stuart-Smith; and with favourites such as Hidcote and Great Dixter alongside new discoveries, this book will be a delicious treat for garden-lovers.

“A practical and inspirational guide to a new style of planting.” —Country Homes & Interiors In this practical and inspirational guide, Greg Loades presents a new style of planting: a fusion between classic cottage style and the new perennial movement. Using real gardens as examples, The Modern Cottage Garden teaches gardeners how to combine the best of both styles—big, colorful blooms and striking grasses and native plants—into one beautiful space that requires little maintenance and has a long season of interest. Fresh planting ideas for containers, small gardens, and diverse climates present an exciting style that can shine anywhere.