Although we often think of fables as intended for the enlightenment and entertainment of children, here is one that adults will want to read. Mary Fahy has written a tale aimed at persons who find themselves in a period of transition, or who are experiencing loss or new birth in their lives. She tells the story of a tree that awakens one spring morning to discover that she has survived the winter, but with many changes in her being and appearance. Overcoming feelings of anger, fear and abandonment, the tree comes to appreciate the abundance she has been given and finds ways to share this mystery with others. Finally, the tree understands the mystery of love and fidelity. In the tradition of Hope for the Flowers, this beautifully illustrated, sensitively written book has become a classic in its own right. Readers will recognize their own story in it--a story of affirmation, indomitable spirit and love. +

A tree survives the cold winter in this parable about the power of faith.

The fascinating history of a tree that's older than our nation. In the 1630s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a Puritan settler planted a pear tree—the first pear tree in America. More than a century later, the tree still bore fruit, impressing a famous poet and one of the first US presidents. The pear tree survived hurricanes, fire, and vandalism, and today, more than 350 years after it was first planted, it's alive and strong, and clones of it grow all around the US. This is the amazing true story of the Endicott Pear tree, and how it grew up with our nation.

Arborist William Bryant Logan recovers the lost tradition that sustained human life and culture for ten millennia. Once, farmers knew how to make a living hedge and fed their flocks on tree-branch hay. Rural people knew how to prune hazel to foster abundance: both of edible nuts, and of straight, strong, flexible rods for bridges, walls, and baskets. Townspeople cut their beeches to make charcoal to fuel ironworks. Shipwrights shaped oaks to make hulls. No place could prosper without its inhabitants knowing how to cut their trees so they would sprout again. Pruning the trees didn’t destroy them. Rather, it created the healthiest, most sustainable and most diverse woodlands that we have ever known. In this journey from the English fens to Spain, Japan, and California, William Bryant Logan rediscovers what was once an everyday ecology. He offers us both practical knowledge about how to live with trees to mutual benefit and hope that humans may again learn what the persistence and generosity of trees can teach.

“A Way to Garden prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.” —The New York Times Book Review For Margaret Roach, gardening is more than a hobby, it’s a calling. Her unique approach, which she calls “horticultural how-to and woo-woo,” is a blend of vital information you need to memorize and intuitive steps you must simply feel and surrender to. In A Way to Garden, Roach imparts decades of garden wisdom on seasonal gardening, ornamental plants, vegetable gardening, design, gardening for wildlife, organic practices, and much more. She also challenges gardeners to think beyond their garden borders and to consider the ways gardening can enrich the world. Brimming with beautiful photographs of Roach’s own garden, A Way to Garden is practical, inspiring, and a must-have for every passionate gardener.

A WINTERTIME GUIDE TO DECIDUOUS TREES AND SHRUBS OF NORTHWESTERN OREGON AND WESTERN WASHINGTON.

The Callery pear tree standing at the base of the World Trade Center is almost destroyed on September 11, but it is pulled from the rubble, coaxed back to life, and replanted as part of the 9/11 memorial.