Designing and planting a garden can be a daunting task for the novice gardener. How do you start? What plants do you choose? What style of garden should you have? In this primer, the author provides a step-by step guide. Covering a wide gamut of plants – from trees and shrubs to herbs, annuals and perennials, fruits and vegetables, she provides suggestions of top picks, as well as details on maintenance and plant care. Ideas of how to deal with problems in the garden are also provided. Garden design principles are covered so that the resulting garden can be one that suits the goals and life style of the gardener. The book ends with a discussion of the gardening trends of the 21st century. A great addition to the library of the novice gardener.

It’s a rare midwesterner who doesn’t grow something, whether potted plants on a porch, caged tomato vines, a blooming border, or a solitary rose. And it’s an even rarer midwestern gardener who isn’t sometimes flummoxed by extremes of weather, pesky insects and persistent diseases, or simple questions about what to plant where. For nearly four decades, Jan Riggenbach has given these gardeners answers, as well as a weekly dose of gentle humor and wise counsel, in her widely syndicated newspaper column, Midwest Gardening. Your Midwest Garden draws on these columns to offer readers in America’s heartland all the gardening information they want and need, along with plenty they might not even suspect they’re missing. Annuals and perennials, shrubs and vines, fruits and vegetables, wildflowers, bulbs, and herbs: As readable as it is useful, this book reviews the familiar, reconsiders old favorites, and introduces dozens of surprising and seldom-grown plants ideal for Midwest gardens and landscapes. Illustrated with color photos from the author’s garden, it provides tips on plant placement and care, starting seeds and making compost, matching specimens and sites, combating insects and diseases, simplifying garden chores, designing for winter beauty, and myriad other ways of enriching and enjoying your Midwest garden.

DIVWith over 30 years of gardening experience, renowned regional horticulturalist Melinda Myers brings you the perfect when-to, how-to, and which-plant guide for gardening in the Midwestern United States./divDIV/divDIVMeant for the more experienced intermediate to advanced gardener, Midwest Gardener’s Handbook is an all-inclusive resource guide featuring hundreds of proven plants—including winter-hardy choices—that are optimal for Midwestern gardeners. With the help of gorgeous photography and in-depth instructions, author Melinda Myers will teach you how to plant, prune, water, control pests, and continually care for your personal outdoor oasis. A helpful icon key highlights each featured plant’s benefits, along with its particular sun and shade requirements. Featured plant categories discuss annuals, bulbs, edibles, ferns and groundcovers, ornamental grasses, perennials, roses, shrubs, trees, turfgrasses, and vines. Each plant is showcased with specific advice on how, when, and where to plant; growing tips, such as watering requirements; and descriptions of routine care. Alongside these “nitty-gritty” aspects of planting and growing, Myers shares her inspiration for garden design, the various ways you can beautifully incorporate plants into your landscape, and her favorite cultivars and species. Even better, she provides twelve full months of when-to advice for each plant category, allowing you to successfully enjoy this peaceful pastime all year round. With proven, practical instructions adapted specially for the Midwestern climate, Midwest Gardener’s Handbook is your ticket to successful planting in America’s Heartland./div

New England Gardener's Handbook is written by popular gardening experts who include their collective wisdom in one complete guide for New England gardeners. In addition to the hundreds of hardy plants in eleven different plant categories, there are monthly to-do calendars assisting gardeners with the proper care and timing for everything from planting to pruning. Full-color photos for each plant and helpful illustrations and charts make this an easy-to-use resource for all New England gardeners with expert advice for home gardeners in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition is an essential resource for growing a garden in the Midwestern states, covering a wide variety of topics, including soil care, plant choices, and garden maintenance.

In a time of climate change and mass extinction, how we garden matters more than ever: “An outstanding and deeply passionate book.” —Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals Plenty of books tell home gardeners and professional landscape designers how to garden sustainably, what plants to use, and what resources to explore. Yet few examine why our urban wildlife gardens matter so much—not just for ourselves, but for the larger human and animal communities. Our landscapes push aside wildlife and in turn diminish our genetically programmed love for wildness. How can we get ourselves back into balance through gardens, to speak life's language and learn from other species? Benjamin Vogt addresses why we need a new garden ethic, and why we urgently need wildness in our daily lives—lives sequestered in buildings surrounded by monocultures of lawn and concrete that significantly harm our physical and mental health. He examines the psychological issues around climate change and mass extinction as a way to understand how we are short-circuiting our response to global crises, especially by not growing native plants in our gardens. Simply put, environmentalism is not political; it's social justice for all species marginalized today and for those facing extinction tomorrow. By thinking deeply and honestly about our built landscapes, we can create a compassionate activism that connects us more profoundly to nature and to one another.

Offers advice on buying and growing different kinds of plants with an emphasis on the use of native plant species and the techniques of organic gardening.