Set in the 19th century, the book follows the life of a young orphan named Tom Dacre. Tom finds himself thrust into the dark and gloomy world of an attic garret, where he resides with an assortment of peculiar characters. Despite his challenging circumstances, Tom discovers solace and escape in his secret garden, hidden away from the garret's confines. The garden becomes his sanctuary, a place where he can dream and let his imagination flourish. Through the power of nature, Tom embarks on a journey of self-discovery, learning important life lessons about resilience, friendship, and the transformative power of hope. As the story unfolds, Tom's fortunes take an unexpected turn when he encounters a mysterious stranger who holds the key to his past. Tom's quest for answers leads him on an adventure filled with twists and turns, uncovering secrets that will change his life forever. "The Garret and the Garden" is a heartwarming tale that explores themes of resilience, the importance of dreams, and the enduring power of nature. Ballantyne's vivid storytelling and vibrant characters make this novel an enchanting read for both young and mature readers alike.

"The Garret and the Garden; Or, Low Life High Up" by R. M. Ballantyne is a 19th-century detective fiction novel set in London, England. The story revolves around false imprisonment and a detective's efforts to prove innocence. It's filled with unexpected turns and keeps the readers curious till the end. Moreover, the novel sheds light on the harsh realities of life in Victorian-era London, including poverty and social injustice.

Compost your old "complete" gardening guide. There's a new way of gardening in Texas that's healthier for people and the environment, more effective at growing vigorous plants and reducing pests, cheaper to maintain, and just more fun. It's Howard Garrett's "The Natural Way" organic gardening program, and it's all here in Texas Gardening the Natural Way. This book is the first complete, state-of-the-art organic gardening handbook for Texas. Using Howard Garrett's new mainstream gardening techniques, Texas Gardening the Natural Way presents a total gardening program: How to plan, plant, and maintain beautiful landscapes without using chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides. Gardening fundamentals: soils, landscape design, planting techniques, and maintenance practices. Includes more native and adaptable varieties of garden and landscape plants than any other guide on the market. Trees: 134 species of evergreens, berry- and fruit-bearing, flowering, yellow fall color, orange fall color, and red fall color. Shrubs and specialty plants: 85 species for sun, shade, spring flowering, summer flowering, and treeform shrubs. Ground covers and vines: 51 species for sun and shade. Annuals and perennials: 136 species for fall color, winter color, summer color in shade and sun, and spring color. Also seeding rates for wildflowers. Lawn grasses: 10 species for sun and shade, with additional information on 16 native grasses, seeding rates for 32 grasses, and suggested mowing heights. Fruits, nuts, and vegetables: 58 species, with a vegetable planting chart and information on organic pecan and fruit tree growing, fruit varieties for Texas, grape and pecan varieties, and gardening by the moon. Common green manure crops: 29 crops that help enrich the soil. Herbs: 66 species for culinary and medicinal uses. Bugs: 73 types of helpful and harmful bugs, with organic remedies for pests, lists of beneficial bugs and plants that attract them, a beneficial bug release schedule, and sources for beneficial bugs. Plant diseases: organic treatments for 55 common problems. Organic methods for repelling mice, rabbits, armadillos, beavers, cats, squirrels, and deer. Organic management practices: watering, fertilizing, controlling weeds, releasing beneficial insects, biological controls (including bats and purple martins), and recipes for Garrett Juice, fire ant control drench, vinegar herbicide, Sick Tree Treatment, and Tree Trunk Goop. Average first and last freeze dates for locations around the state. Organic fertilizers and soil amendments: 61 varieties, including full instructions for making compost. Organic pest control products: 30 varieties. Common house plants and poisonous plants. Instructions for climbing vegetable structures and bat houses. 833 gorgeous full-color photographs.

This book shows you how to have healthy soil and recommends environmentally safe products and even some homemade remedies to control pests and diseases in your garden. It describes more than 100 food plants and gives specific information on the growth habits, culture, harvest, and storage of each.

Newport, Rhode Island, blessed with stunning ocean vistas and constant sea breezes, is home to some of the most exceptional private residences in America. Its deeply rooted history makes it a perennial destination, with more than 3.5 million visitors each year. Although it is one of the most high profile towns in the country, Newport is also one of the most cloistered. Private Newport: At Home and in the Garden offers an invitation to venture beyond the privet hedges and massive iron gates. It is the first book to step inside the privately owned mansions to reveal a diverse collection of architectural jewels complemented by spectacular gardens. These homes, created by distinguished architects and landscape designers, are stunning examples of Newport's 375-year "old-world" heritage. Eighteen exquisite and unique homes are prominently featured-from the resilient crescent curve of majestic Seafair, which withstood the Hurricane of '38, to the prizewinning Japanese garden at Wildacre, to the nostalgic working farm of heritage breeds at Swiss Village-each contributing its own part to the "Eden of America."

The early twentieth century marked a dramatic shift in the American conception of nature. This book analyzes the ways in which the scientific recasting of American nature as an antidote for degeneration influenced work of important modernist writers Harriet Monroe, Ezra Pound, and Marianne Moore.