Even in a cool climate, the beautiful big-leaved plants showcased in this gardener’s guide can transform a backyard into a tropical paradise. Through exquisite and detailed color photos and in-depth information, you’ll see how to choose these plants and successfully care for and cultivate them. An extensive A-to-Z directory provides a unique photographic record of large-leaved varieties and a quick reference to their optimum growing conditions—a valuable aid to formulating planting schemes and designing a garden. Each entry includes images, the family and common name, country of origin, growth requirements, and climate zone. Bananas, bulbs, and tubers, climbers, ferns and tree ferns, grasses, bamboos, palms, perennials, ground cover, trees, shrubs, water plants, and marginals are among the lush and lovely plants covered.

Now withe large images for tablets. Generously illustrated explanations and step-by-step demonstrations enable budding oil painters to improve and develop their skills and unique style. The many facets of the landscape, including water, skies, shadows, trees, and buildings are covered, with discussions on capturing even the most subtle variations in light and weather. Work with versatile techniques such as impasto, glazing, loose brushwork, wet-into-wet, and more to achieve stunning effects and different moods. Make the most of photographs and enjoy painting in the open air. An overview of materials and their basic usage will be especially helpful to the true novice.

Wirecraft is fun, accessible and inexpensive, making it an ideal pastime for anyone to enjoy. In this book Kate MacFadyen shows you how to use wirecraft to create a huge variety of attractive cards. These can accompany gifts or be sent to mark special occasions and will thrill friends and family alike by adding that personal touch.

Expert advice on hanging baskets, window boxes, patio pots and sink gardens. Advice on compatibility of containers and plants such as bulbs, climbers and fruit and vegetables, and how to arrange them for maximum visual and olfactory impact. Includes: * style solutions for all types of garden * comprehensive advice on plant selection * guidance on seasonal care, repotting, watering and feeding * tips on how to achieve year-round colour and scent Alan Titchmarsh imparts a lifetime of expertise in these definitive guides for beginners and experienced gardeners. Step-by-step illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions guide you through the basic gardening skills and on to the advanced techniques, providing everything you need to create and maintain your dream garden.

"This is a great reference book for planting design, which is an arena where so many of us are hugely challenged. Information in it is well written, engaging, useful, accessible, and original." -- Holly H. Shimizu, Executive Director, United States Botanic Garden "A unique blend of classic planting-design principles and ecological plant-selection criteria." -- Scot Medbury, President, Brooklyn Botanic Garden "After reading the book, you will be able to experiment with nature and use its myriad of facets to make your own original statement. You will be ready to take risks and design exciting and original gardens." -- From the Foreword by James A. van Sweden, Oehme, van Sweden & Associates A comprehensive guide to the "high art" of designing mixed bed plantings When done successfully, mixed beds represent the pinnacle of planting design -- a living work of art in which small trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, bulbs, tropicals, and groundcovers combine to create a true feeling of place. Professional Planting Design initiates you into the principles of planting design and helps you develop the ability to think about the planting design process, so that you can develop your own effective compositions that sustain multi-seasonal interest. Richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, Professional Planting Design covers the basics as well as the advanced concepts of planting design including: selecting plant characteristics, types of mixed bed plantings, structuring and composing mixed beds, creating mixed palettes for seasonal variation, designing in elevation and plan view, and choosing plants. You'll find coverage of design, landscape architecture, and horticulture interwoven throughout the guide, along with detailed steps for developing mixed bed planting compositions at a variety of scales for projects on both residential and commercial sites. Clear and concise yet thorough, this book will supplement your talent with the knowledge you need to create harmonious mixed plantings in the landscape that will provide continual interest throughout the seasons.

"A primer for woodcarvers in the vocabulary of classical ornamentation, and the practical skills needed to carve it."--"Woodshop News." "Blueprints are provided for moldings, volutes, rosettes, and capitals. The geometry of these designs is celebrated as the author brings these ancient motifs into making present-day objects such as picture frames, mantelpieces, and gateposts."--"Chip Chats."

This book takes the "houseplant look" outside by exploring the wonders of lush, green, foliage plants that are hardy in the garden to -10F. Unlike flowers that fade, these big-leaved, larger-than-life plants provide year-round impact for decades and small, urban gardens that are well protected are the perfect home for them. Expert horticulturist Philip Oostenbrink has been an enthusiastic grower for years and in this book recommends the best hardy, foliage plants for texture, leaf shape, and color. Jungle gardens can be shady and immersive, sunny and open or somewhere in between and there are plants suited to all these environments including purple-leaved bananas, desert-island palms, spiky agaves, architectural Pseudopanax, and succulents such as Echeveria and Aeonium. Beautiful special photography by Sarah Cuttle features standout jungle gardens that demonstrate how to combine foliage plants effectively and create backdrops and container displays that make the plants pop. This book is the irresistible next step for all houseplant addicts and for all who are ready to embark on their very own jungle adventure.