Best Gardening & Horticulture Reference
With 512 full color pages and 1120 full color photographs and illustrations, Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible is the most complete cultivation book available. --Phil Kilv, Editor in Chief, Weed World Magazine, January 2006.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is the standard for the amateur/novice grower it has everything you will need and more."
"excellent book for anyone who is looking to get basic knowledge."
"love the dvd, fast speedy service, A+."
"Jorge Cervantes, is the one and only master grower!"
"good book with great pictures."
"Great book but needs to be updated."
Ed Smith's W-O-R-D system has helped countless gardeners grow an abundance of vegetables and herbs. Everything you loved about the first edition of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is still here: friendly, accessible language; full-color photography; comprehensive vegetable specific information in the A-to-Z section; ahead-of-its-time commitment to organic methods; and much more. New to this edition is coverage of 15 additional vegetables, including an expanded section on salad greens and more European and Asian vegetables. Readers will also find growing information on more fruits and herbs, new cultivar photographs in many vegetable entries, and a much-requested section on extending the season into the winter months. The impulse to grow vegetables is even stronger in 2009 than it was in 2000, when Storey published The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible . clearly explains everything novice and experienced gardeners need to know to grow vegetables and herbs. Edward C. Smith is the best-selling author of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible and The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The GREAT garden book and probably the only one you will ever need for veggie gardening."
"It provided me with enough information for create my own successful vegetable garden."
"If you love gardening like I do, this is a must!!!"
"This book is awesome."
"I need to use the book more but so far so good especially for the beginner."
"Bought the book after checking it out in the library - great information and tips whether you're a beginner or have been gardening for years."
"Provides a lot of advice on planting all kinds of plants in your gardens."
"Great book to put in with garden tools and potting soils."
Table of Contents 1 Oddments. 2 Introduction to Plants. 3 Grasses, Grains & Canes. 4 Garden Vegetables. 5 Herbs & Flavorings. 6 Tree, Vine, Bush & Bramble. 7 Food Preservation. 8 Introduction to Animals. 9 Poultry. 10 Goats, Cows & Home Dairying. 11 Bee, Rabbit, Sheep & Pig. 12 Appendix. “For the suburbanite with just enough space for a little garden to the die-hard homesteaders and everyone in between, The Encyclopedia of Country Living makes for both fascinating reading and a truly essential reference source. You won’t find a more complete source of step-by-step information about growing, processing, cooking and preserving every kind of food—from the garden, the orchard, the field or the barnyard!” Rodale Book Club. Even readers with no plans to raise sheep, sell homemade cheese or plant millet will find this a fascinating cultural document.” Publishers Weekly. And the massive book is filled with personal stories and anecdotes, making it a friendly and easy read — not at all like a textbook." It is a guide to all things country and, for those of us that don’t get down on the farm as often as we would like to, it is a mini vacation from the asphalt jungle. Emery offers practical advice on everything from gardening and canning to raising animals and churning butter. The Encyclopedia of Country Living is a warm and inviting trip to your Grandmother’s kitchen table and that, alone, is reason enough to pick up a copy for your own library." "Practical advice, invaluable information, and collected wisdom for folks and farmers in the country, city, and anywhere in between."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"From my first copy of The Encyclopedia of Country Living I learned how to milk a goat and raise my hogs. I learned how to dress out a large animal and brooder chicks with kerosene lanterns. Not that I read this book a lot or anything, but I literally wore the covers off of the copy that I ordered from Lehman's Non-Electric Hardware Store. I'm on my second copy now, which my husband had drilled with a three hole punch to give it more staying power."
"She had grown up on a farm, homesteading, and living and learning from her relatives many of the skills she writes about in her book (she admitted some parts of the book were researched--not surprising given this book is truly encyclopedic). This book is a classic. Other books likely of interest: >Your Cabin in the Woods, which is a great starter book for anyone thinking about getting their own place in the country, as it is a very helpful combination of both practical and philosophical."
"Carla Emery has meticulously assembled information about nearly every aspect of country living by getting the information from hands on experience and other old timers such as farmers, ranchers and homesteaders who live it. You will find nearly every aspect of practical knowledge gone into in great detail, everything from finding and acquiring a piece of land to how to build on it, raise animals, how to grow your own food, and prepare it for storage for the colder months."
"I was first introduced to this book by watching a YouTube video on home steading."
"This is a good book to start off with for a broad overview of homesteading which can lead you to other avenues to explore crafts and skills in more depth that interest you."
"The more I read, the more I kept wondering how could one person possibly collect so much knowledge in one lifetime?"
"Brilliant book!"
Best Gardening & Horticulture Techniques
With 512 full color pages and 1120 full color photographs and illustrations, Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible is the most complete cultivation book available. --Phil Kilv, Editor in Chief, Weed World Magazine, January 2006.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is the standard for the amateur/novice grower it has everything you will need and more."
"excellent book for anyone who is looking to get basic knowledge."
"love the dvd, fast speedy service, A+."
"Jorge Cervantes, is the one and only master grower!"
"good book with great pictures."
"Great book but needs to be updated."
Best Gardening & Landscape Design
In The Drunken Botanist , Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol over the centuries. An Amazon Best Book of the Month, March 2013 : Peppered with fascinating facts and well-chosen anecdotes, Amy Stewart’s brisk tour of the origin of spirits acquaints the curious cocktail fan with every conceivable ingredient.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Just last night, I went to a booksigning with Amy Stewart for "The Drunken Botanist", the first time I'd heard Stewart speak. I laughed when Amy said that when she was researching her previous book, "Wicked Bugs", she had no volunteers to help her. What sets Amy's book apart is that she is a horticulturist, and she tells you about the fabulous plants that make or go into all the different kinds of fermented beverages man has come up with. The book is divided into three parts: 1. For example, the chapter on sugar cane (in part 1), tells you: - the first and current places sugarcane is cultivated and how it is cultivated. - the botany of sugarcane. - how to make rum. - spirits made from sugar cane. - how rum became linked to British sailors. - drink recipes. Did you know that the British navy had rum rations for it's sailors until 1970! I miss Briony Morrow-Cribbs' and Jonathan Rosen's incredible drawings and engravings that were such enchanting - and vigorous - enhancements to Stewart's previous books, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects and Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities."
"Any hipster would appreciate learning about this hard to find drinks."
"Am highlighting places to check out on our trip to Italy this summer."
"Along with some history the author includes cocktail recipes which utilized some more obscure liqueurs."
"Anyone who enjoys plants and booze of any kind--beer, spirits, cocktails, wine, etc.--must read this book!"
"It's a very cool little book, and I learned quite a bit in the short amount of time I leafed though it."
"purchased as a gift, great little book full of lots of info for the gardener /drink lover in your life."
"Really fun to read and learn!"
Best House Plant Gardening
Provides all your DIY ideas for styling and tips on how to plant Inspiration for seasoned plant lovers as well as beginners, providing the total package on the topic of living with plants. She is a steady companion for the plant- community Urban Jungle Bloggers and hopes to inspire others with her love for all things green.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Really beautiful inspirational images, and great information as far as styling with plants goes!"
"Absolutely amazing book."
"This is a beautiful book!"
"Nice and simple Maintenance tips and good selection of good looking plants."
"This book is really useful for the plant enthusiast."
"One of my favorite books!"
"Beautiful photos, display ideas and tips, showing plant lovers from all over the world and how they live with and care for their many plant friends."
"I love love this book!"
Best Orchid Gardening
Perfect for beginners as well as orchid experts looking for new tricks, The Orchid Whisperer provides everything readers need to know to keep healthy orchids that will flower again and again! "The Orchid Whisperer" by Bruce Rogers contains expert tips for growing like a professional. In layman's language, Rogers shares his recommendations for plant selection, repotting, watering, and fertilizing most of the tropicals you will find at local markets. Rogers' language is engaging and humorous, and strikes the right balance between being easy to read and needing a science degree to understand. Bruce Rogers does not whisper; he announces loud and clear all that you need to know about the exotic orchid. "I do know how to grow orchids - one client likes to claim that I can make a brick bloom--and I share the tricks I've learned over the years in these pages." The information is clear, concise and easy to assimilate, from where to find the best bargains, to how to help your orchid survive the ride home in your car. His book is a sturdy, softcover guide printed on thick, glossy stock, with many full-page images of orchids.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good general care and reference book!"
"Purchased as a gift."
"Wonderful and insightful read!"
"Great information for beginner or experienced growers."
"This was quite helpful, but it had no information on Monkey Orchids, which is what I specifically wanted."
"As an e book the pictures were difficult to see so that identifying the different orchids was difficult."
"Excellent book for a beginner audience Thanks."
"It's a good book to read and get to know more about a few of many orchids out there and how to care for them."
Best Vegetable Gardening
Ed Smith's W-O-R-D system has helped countless gardeners grow an abundance of vegetables and herbs. Everything you loved about the first edition of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is still here: friendly, accessible language; full-color photography; comprehensive vegetable specific information in the A-to-Z section; ahead-of-its-time commitment to organic methods; and much more. New to this edition is coverage of 15 additional vegetables, including an expanded section on salad greens and more European and Asian vegetables. Readers will also find growing information on more fruits and herbs, new cultivar photographs in many vegetable entries, and a much-requested section on extending the season into the winter months. The impulse to grow vegetables is even stronger in 2009 than it was in 2000, when Storey published The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible . clearly explains everything novice and experienced gardeners need to know to grow vegetables and herbs. Edward C. Smith is the best-selling author of The Vegetable Gardener's Bible and The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The GREAT garden book and probably the only one you will ever need for veggie gardening."
"It provided me with enough information for create my own successful vegetable garden."
"If you love gardening like I do, this is a must!!!"
"This book is awesome."
"I need to use the book more but so far so good especially for the beginner."
"Great book to put in with garden tools and potting soils."
"Bought the book after checking it out in the library - great information and tips whether you're a beginner or have been gardening for years."
"Provides a lot of advice on planting all kinds of plants in your gardens."
Best Annual Flowers Gardening
Cool Flowers: How to Grow and Enjoy Long-Blooming Hardy Annual Flowers Using Cool Weather Techniques
Expert flower grower Lisa Zeigler profiles 30 long-blooming stars of the spring garden, the "hardy annuals" that thrive when they are planted during cool conditions (instead of waiting until the warmth of spring and losing much of the season). Being a flower farmer, Lisa Ziegler knows her hardy annuals, those that can survive winter temperatures and light up the border in spring, and the ones that still perk up the garden come the 4th of July. Her valuable tips for success with hardy annuals will extend your garden’s blooming season, no matter where you live. In user-friendly prose, Lisa Ziegler fills a niche too long neglected... how to grow tough annuals that actually enjoy coloring those challenging gaps between seasons. Follow her sage advice in Cool Flowers for glorious blooms, just when the neighbors are dreading their garden's gray winter snooze or last wilting days of summer. "I recommend picking up a copy of Cool Flowers for some inspiring ideas to grow hardy annuals in the cold months of gardening." Finally, here is an easy-to-understand book that explains the difference between hardy and tender annuals (known as half-hardy in the UK) and demystifies the selection and cultivation process. Whether you seek a cutting garden to fill in gaps while shrubs and perennials mature, or simply want to grow easy-care flowers - this is the book you have been waiting for.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I never could quite understand how I was supposed to have flowers for June markets when the growing season is really just starting then in my zone (and without a greenhouse)."
"As an advanced master gardener, this was the most concise, easy to understand instructions on the subject I have ever found."
"Lisa has introduced me to endless varieties of "cool flowers", those that can be planted indoors super early and planted in the field early as well."
"Lisa Ziegler explains in detail exactly what you should do from soil to seeds to planting to harvesting with pictures and facts."
"As a grower in a northern state, with a short growing season, I had been searching for a book just like this! Her social media presence (The Gardener' s Workshop) is also chalk-full of day-to-day cool flower growing examples."
"The book will inspire you and give you the knowledge and confidence to be a successful flower gardener."
"I bought this book to help expand and improve my cutting garden."
"This was the first book we bought as we entered into the realm of Flower Farming and Lisa's advice has been invaluable."
Best Japanese Garden
CLASSIC STYLES EXPLAINED. The origins and development of bonsai are traced, and the underlying principles of this fascinating art clearly explained. DETAILS OF MORE THAN 100 SPECIES. A photographic catalogue of bonsai trees and shrubs lies at the heart of the book, providing the cultivation and styling details of over 100 different species. For the past thirteen years the author has been a professional bonsai artist with his own studio, and is a leading bonsai nurseryman.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This the second time I've bought this book, it's that nice."
"The book is OK, it contains some brief information on the basics of the art."
"This is a nice book but I should have purchased a coffee table book of this beautiful art."
"However, after a bit of reading decided it was not a good ideal...being that I do NOT have the appropriate environment."
"Was given as a gift."
"a good book to have in your collection."
"Great Book for styling, and quick fact purposes (watering, style, soil type etc."
"The book was an old book and I bought it from the Salvation Army via amazon.com."