Many gardeners presume that it is not possible to create a habitat for wildlife, and evoke wild places and natural open spaces, unless you have a large garden. This volume aims to turn that presumption on its head, showing how even in a small space you can create a sustainable ecosystem.

Free space for the city gardener might be no more than a cramped patio, balcony, rooftop, windowsill, hanging rafter, dark cabinet, garage, or storage area, but no space is too small or too dark to raise food. With this book as a guide, people living in apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes will be able to grow up to 20 percent of their own fresh food using a combination of traditional gardening methods and space-saving techniques such as reflected lighting and container "terracing." Those with access to yards can produce even more. Author R. J. Ruppenthal worked on an organic vegetable farm in his youth, but his expertise in urban and indoor gardening has been hard-won through years of trial-and-error experience. In the small city homes where he has lived, often with no more than a balcony, windowsill, and countertop for gardening, Ruppenthal and his family have been able to eat at least some homegrown food 365 days per year.

Small? Yes. A concrete slab populated with plastic chairs and an abandoned grill? Not anymore. Small-Space Container Gardens layers practical gardening fundamentals with creative solutions, encouraging us to think “outside the pot.” You'll learn how to tackle unique challenges, like windy conditions several stories above street level, and how to care for plants and troubleshoot problems like garden pests and diseases. From design basics to essential plant picks, Small-Space Container Gardens proves you don't need a yard to have a happy, healthy garden. For anyone who wants more green in their life, it's time to start gardening creatively in small spaces.

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Shares practical solutions for making the most of small spaces from shady corners and rooftops to doorways and pavement cracks, in an accessible guide that explains how to affordably and entertainingly tend edible and ornamental varieties.

With the growing recognition that a wisely and sensitively planted garden has a lot to offer to wildlife and the food web, more and more people are looking for ways to make their gardens environmentally friendly. However, gardeners have tended to assume that to create habitats for wildlife, and evoke wild and natural places, you need a lot of space. In Natural Gardening in Small Spaces, renowned plantsman Noel Kingsbury refutes that presumption, showing how even in a small garden you can create a sustainable ecosystem that looks great --- and, once established, largely looks after itself. He first explains how plant communities work and what this means for the gardener, then proceeds to examine the various types of natural habitat that can offer inspiration to the small-space gardener. If your garden is shady, you can take natural woodland as your model: think of wild flowers carpeting the ground in spring, ferns and mosses growing lushly in the moister spots. In a more open position, you might consider planting a miniature wildflower meadow, or a late-flowering prairie, in place of a conventional lawn. Gardening on thin dry soil in exposed conditions can initially seem a thankless task, but windswept heath, sun-baked scrub, rocky cliffs offer a home to some of the most beautiful and dramatic plants of all. Looking to the wetlands, even the tiniest garden pool can be an ecosystem in miniature. And of all environments the woodland edge, the meeting place of the cool enclosed world of the forest and open, sunlit grasslands, offers perhaps the most useful source of inspiration for the small natural garden. A chapter on the practicalities deals with such issues as how to garden without watering, using mulches to minimize the growth of weeds and the loss of water, and boosting opportunities for wildlife with bird boxes and mammal hibernation sites; while a detailed plant directory lists the best plants for natural gardens, chosen for beauty, ease of growth and adaptability, and use for wildlife. Over 150 glorious photographs of small natural gardens provide visual evidence of Noel Kingsbury’s contention that event the smallest garden can provide a natural haven.

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.