Book Chat: Let's Find Your Next Great Read

In Complete Container Herb Gardening, herbal guru and certified horticulturist Sue Goetz walks you through the ins and outs of growing these fragrant and flavorful plant treasures in containers.

Herbs are among the easiest edible plants to grow, and when you cultivate your own fresh herbs, you can enjoy their abundant flavors, healing properties, and uses for natural home and beauty every day--plus reap big savings at the grocery store or farmer's market.

Whether you grow on a suburban patio, an urban rooftop, a condo balcony, or on the front porch of your duplex, discovering which herbs grow best in pots, how to select the ideal containers for the job, and how to tend your container herb garden to maximize production (and flavor!) is key to your success.

Highlighted by gorgeous photography, Sue also presents over a dozen container "recipes" for mixing and matching your favorite herbs to create stunning and useful combinations. From the perfect culinary partnerships and natural aromatherapy combos to collections of herbs for natural beauty and chemical-free cleaning products, these herbal arrangements are no-fail and perfectly Instagram-worthy.

Complete Container Herb Gardening is the ideal roadmap for success, even for brand-new gardeners. Learn how to:

• Grow fresh kitchen herbs in small spaces
• Choose the best containers, soil, and tools for herbal success
• Make more herb plants...for free!
• Cultivate unique herbs and spices, like turmeric, saffron, and ginger
• Design herb containers that are both beautiful and highly productive
• Harvest armloads of herbs from a porch or patio
• Tend an indoor herb garden on a windowsill

Friendly, accessible, and packed with practical information, growing herbs has never been easier--even if you have just a small corner of space to spare. Unleash your inner #herbnerd with Complete Container Herb Gardening!

Gardening Your Front Yard is an active, inspiring resource that shows you how to treat your front yard like a backyard without sacrificing beauty, from choosing the right plants to building front patios and walkways.

With her unique combination of DIY/building savvy and gardening expertise, author Tara Nolan (Raised Bed Revolution) weaves you past the main pitfalls you may encounter when trying to fit a garden or gardens between your home and the street. This beautiful and comprehensive hardcover book shows how to accomplish several hardscape projects, such as building front patios, borders, edging, and walkways, as well as making your own raised beds, planting containers, trellises, rose arbors, privacy screens, and more—all custom-designed for the rigors of front-yard gardening.

Gardening Your Front Yard is a garden book in every sense of the word, however. Choosing the right plants is even more important when you are dealing with a small, highly visible area with less than ideal growing conditions—all common traits of most front yards. You will find advice on training vines up brickwork and planting around foundation walls, planting boulevards/hell strips, and you’ll even take a trip into the side yard. Shade gardens, privacy screening, and security dos and don'ts are covered, plus how to intermingle edibles and landscape plants, cactus and succulent gardens, birdbaths, and much, much more.

With the sage advice and step-by-step projects of this comprehensive guide, convert your front yard from a bland grasscape to a vital living space.

In this second book in the internationally successful No-Waste Gardening series, learn how to recycle and repurpose your way to a successful, productive, and eco-friendly organic garden! 

In No-Waste Organic Gardening, author Shawna Coronado guides you toward a more sustainable landscape with dozens of tips, tricks, and solutions that save you time and money—all while saving the planet, too! A revision of Shawna's previous title,101 Organic Gardening Hacks, this new book tackles waste-reducing gardening in a clever, accessible way. 

Learn how to:

• Upcycle household discards to grow seedlings
• Turn yard debris into “black gold” in a DIY compost bin
• Control pests with traps made from household discards
• Build a rain barrel from an old trash can
• Mix up your own potting soil to reduce plastic bag waste
• Protect spring plantings with repurposed jugs, jars, and containers
• Build a new raised bed with everyday items—no power tools required! 

Plus, you’ll find solutions to common garden problems and plenty of innovative and resourceful ways to reduce your outgoing waste. Conquering the increasingly important art of responsible gardening is a whole lot easier than you might think, with help from No-Waste Organic Gardening. For more advice on living waste-free, explore the first book in the No-Waste Gardening series, No-Waste Kitchen Gardening. 

If concerns about the environment and the health and wellness of yourself and your family leave you longing to make a change, start growing and preserving your own organic foods. With the guidance found in The Modern Homestead Garden, you'll discover how little land and effort it takes to start growing healthy, nutritious food.

Modern homesteading is a lifestyle focused on living lightly on the land and increasing self-sufficiency. It doesn’t matter whether “home” is 50 acres in the country, a suburban corner lot, or an apartment in the city; all you need is a desire to reduce your footprint on the earth and live a more sustainable life. To be a modern homesteader, you don’t have to live off-grid and you don’t have to give up contemporary conveniences.

For most modern homesteaders, it all starts with making the conscious decision to reduce your reliance on the commercial food supply chain. In The Modern Homestead Garden, author and YouTube gardening star Gary Pilarchik of The Rusted Garden walks you step-by-step through the process of building a homestead garden. From laying out the planting beds,nurturing the soil, and starting seeds, straight through to cooking and preserving the harvest, Gary serves as your warm and accessible guide, no matter how large or how small your homestead is. With the guidance found here, you’ll move at your own pace, learn, share, and enjoy the journey as you slowly transform your home into an edible landscape.

• Practical advice to site and build your very first homestead garden
• Crop profiles to get you growing quickly 
• Cost-effective ways to source seeds and plants 
• The low-down on feeding plants in an earth-friendly way
• Methods for preparing planting beds and containers
• Soil prep advice every homesteader can use 
• All natural trouble-shooting solutions 
• How to include berries, cane fruits, vine crops, and fruit trees in your homestead plans
• Food preservation advice that's easy and delicious

Modern homesteading is as much an attitude as it is an action. It’s not dependent on how much land you have or even how much food you can grow; it’s about cultivating self-sufficiency and self-reliance, no matter its level. Welcome to The Modern Homestead Garden.

“Fearless Gardening encourages you—exhorts you—to boldly go forth and claim your garden as a space of joy and creativity.” —Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of public radio’s Cultivating Place

Embrace your inner rebel and create the garden you want—even if it breaks the rules. Loree Bohl, the voice behind the popular blog The Danger Garden, shows how it’s done in Fearless Gardening, with zone-busting ideas and success stories. Bohl’s own gorgeous home garden inspires, with agaves that shrug off ice storms, palms that thrive in the rain, and planting risks that are beautifully rewarded.

In Grow Your Own Spices, author and spice-growing gardener Tasha Greer hands you everything you need to know to grow a thriving spice garden, with practical tips and in-depth advice on cultivating over 30 different spices.

Unlike herbs, which consist of the green leaves of certain plants, spices come from the seeds, roots, bark, or berries of plants, which means growing, harvesting, and preparing spices is a lot more nuanced than growing leafy herbs. Start with easy-to-grow seed spices first, such as sesame seeds, fennel, and cumin, then graduate to more challenging spice varieties, such as star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Spices not only offer culinary flare, there’s also increasing evidence of their ability to fight inflammation and reduce various health risks. Medical usage tips from expert herbalist Lindsey Feldpausch are found throughout the book and offer well-researched advice on how to use homegrown spices to improve your well-being.

Regardless of whether you’re using spices as a health-boosting supplement or simply to power-up the flavor of your meals, purchasing spices is an expensive proposition. Why pay all that money when you can grow your own organic spices with the easy-to-follow advice found here? 
 
In the pages of Grow Your Own Spices, you’ll learn: 

• How to cultivate your own saffron, the world’s most expensive spice
• The best way to tend tropical spices, like ginger, turmeric, and cardamom, even if you live in a cold climate
• Easy-to-grow spices that are perfect for beginners
• The unique way certain spices, such as wasabi, cloves, and cinnamon, are grown and harvested
• How to cultivate root spices, including horseradish and chicory 
• Tips for harvesting your own capers, mustard, sesame seeds, and even paprika

Let Grow Your Own Spices show you how to spice up your garden, your plate, and your health, with your own fresh, homegrown spices! 

Gardens are proven to be good for your well-being. Here's why--and how to optimize your own garden to promote wellness.

This book uniquely explains all the evidence behind why green spaces are good for you and then shows you how to put that knowledge into practice to optimize your own garden for well-being.

Explore the fascinating science behind how green spaces and gardening--the design, the plants, and the physical activity of gardening--can impact positively on your well-being. Then use this newfound knowledge to evolve your own outdoor space into a mind- and body-nurturing environment. The same principles apply to a small balcony, a large suburban or country garden, or a shared community garden.

Colors and scents stimulate our senses, but do you know why, and how you can maximize the impact in your planting? We know that it's good to attract pollinators to the garden, but did you know that certain birdsong calls reduce human stress levels, so it's worth planting to attract those birds too? Or that plants absorb different levels of pollutants, so your well-chosen hedging plants could combat air pollution? For example, one well-chosen, medium-sized shrub can capture 30 diesel vehicles' worth of particulate pollution every year.

The way you design your garden, and the plant choices you make, can impact your psyche: your well-being and stress levels; your immune and cardiovascular systems; and your engagement and contact with nature at a primal level. It can help neutralize pollution from noise, pollens, exhaust fumes, particles, and gases, and help reduce your household energy and water consumption. Research in recent years has shown tangible benefits from the act of gardening and from contact with green spaces: it can counteract obesity, nature deficit disorder, and depression.

Understand the science and how you can use it, and your garden will truly become your paradise.

Design a beautiful and self-sufficient garden; learn the secrets of heirloom vegetables, herbs, and flowers; and enjoy 55 seasonal recipes featuring the fruits of your labor--all with one book!

Heirlooms are more than just delicious ingredients or beautiful flowers--their seeds offer us a connection with the earth, and each one tells a story. Author and garden lecturer Ellen Ecker Ogden was inspired to preserve the diversity of plants that are slipping away after learning that we have lost over 85% of the plant world in the last century to extinction.

In The New Heirloom Garden, Ogden inspires us with a history of seed saving in this country, then guides gardeners of all levels to create their own heirloom gardens with tangible gardening tips, twelve themed garden designs, and detailed resources. The first half of the book shares specific garden plans, plant keys with descriptions, plant and seed wish lists, interviews with gardening experts, and even tips and tricks to handle your own local weather. The second half of the book contains 55 recipes for delicious entrees, sides, drinks, and desserts that can be made from each vegetable, fruit, and flower grown in your garden. Readers will delight in making Fennel and Watermelon Salad, Cucumber Summer Soup, Fire Cider, and Winter Squash Pie. It's a book designed for readers to bring to their local supply store, take outside into the garden, and then enjoy in the kitchen.

In New Naturalism, horticulturist and modern plantsman Kelly D. Norris shares his inspiring, ecologically sound vision for home gardens created with stylish yet naturalistic plantings that mimic the wild spaces we covet, such as meadows, prairies, woodlands, and streamsides--far from the contrived, formal, high-maintenance plantings of the past.

Through a basic introduction to plant biology and ecology, you'll learn how to design and grow a lush, thriving home garden by harnessing the power of plant layers and palettes defined by nature, not humans.

The next generation of home landscapes don't consist of plants in a row, pruned to perfection and reliant on pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides to survive. Instead, today's stunning landscapes convey nature's inherent beauty. These gardens are imbued with romance and emotion, yet they have so much more to offer than their gorgeous aesthetics. Naturalistic garden designs, such as those featured in this groundbreaking new book, contribute to positive environmental change by increasing biodiversity, providing a refuge for wildlife, and reconnecting humans to nature.

In the pages of New Naturalism you'll find:

• Planting recipes for building meadows, prairies, and other grassland-inspired open plantings even in compact, urban settings
• Nature-inspired ways to upgrade existing foundation plantings, shrub beds, and flower borders to a wilder aesthetic while still managing the space
• Inspiration for taking sidewalk and driveway plantings and turning them into visually soft, welcoming spaces for humans and wildlife alike
• Ideas for turning shady landscapes into canopied retreats that celebrate nature
• Creative ways to make an ecologically vibrant garden in even the smallest of spaces

New Naturalism approaches the planting beds around our homes as ecological systems. If properly designed and planted, these areas can support positive environmental change, increase plant and animal diversity, and create a more resilient space that's less reliant on artificial inputs. And they do it all while looking beautiful and improving property values.

A stunning guide to growing, harvesting, and arranging gorgeous dahlia blooms from celebrated farmer-florist and New York Times bestselling author Erin Benzakein, founder of Floret Flower Farm.

World-renowned flower farmer and floral designer Erin Benzakein reveals all the secrets to growing, cultivating, and arranging gorgeous dahlias. These coveted floral treasures come in a dazzling range of colors, sizes, and forms, with enough variety for virtually every garden space and personal preference, making them one of the most beloved flowers for arrangements.

In these pages, readers will discover:

• Expert advice for planting, harvesting, and arranging garden-fresh dahlias
• A simple-to-follow overview of the dahlia classification system
• An A–Z guide with photos and descriptions of more than 350 varieties
• Step-by-step how-to's for designing show-stopping dahlia bouquets that elevate any occasion

Expert Author: Erin Benzakein's gorgeous flowers are celebrated throughout the world. Her book Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers was a New York Times bestseller and her first book, Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden, won the American Horticultural Society Book Award.

Filled with Wisdom: Overflowing with hundreds of lush photographs and invaluable advice, DISCOVERING DAHLIAS is an essential resource for gardeners and a must-have for anyone who loves flowers, including flower lovers, avid and novice gardeners, floral designers, florists, small farmers, stylists, and designers.

Tiny plants are poised to take over the gardening world. And no category of tiny plants is as welcome and wildly embraceable as tiny edibles. Not only are they cute as a button, but they’re tasty and nutritious too! In Micro Food Gardening, author and small-space gardening pro Jen McGuinness, introduces you to a world of miniature edible plants and dozens of DIY projects for growing them.

Not everyone has room to grow a full-sized tomato plant or a melon vine that takes up more room than your car, but everyone has space for a micro tomato that tops out at the height of a Barbie doll or a dwarf watermelon with vines that won’t grow any longer than your leg. From miniature herbs and salad greens to tiny strawberry plants, baby beets, and mini cabbages, you’ll quickly discover that micro gardening offers a surprisingly diverse and delicious array of edible opportunities. Plus, with step-by-step instructions for a plethora of DIY micro food gardening projects, you’ll be up and growing in no time at all.
 
Whether you micro garden on a high-rise balcony, an itty bitty patio, a front porch container, or even in a basket on the handlebars of your bicycle, there are mini food plants ready to start cranking out fresh produce just a few weeks after planting.

Creative projects include:

• A window box of mini potatoes for a porch, deck, or fire escape railing
• A mini lettuce table that serves to both grow food and hold your beverage
• A compact “cake tower” of strawberry plants 
• A wine box spice garden
• A mini food fountain with herbs, veggies, and edible flowers
• A small-space omelet garden for cooking up the perfect breakfast

Plus, several indoor food-growing projects will have you enjoying homegrown micro veggies year-round, even in cold climates.

With advice on plant selection and care, project plans, full color photography, and growing tips, Micro Food Gardening is here to show you the joys of growing your own fresh, organic food, no matter where you call home.

Grow oodles of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers with no heavy lifting or digging required! Grow bag gardening utilizes lightweight, eco-friendly, fabric planter bags to grow great plants with minimal space and care. Get all the know-how you need to successfully grow a hearty homegrown harvest in Grow Bag Gardening.

Grow bags are perfect for urban, container, rooftop, balcony, and patio gardeners--but those with lots of property will find them useful, too. Grow bags fold flat for easy storage and are 100% frost-proof, so there's no lugging heavy pots indoors for the winter. They can be used for many seasons and their mobility means you can easily move these pots around to maximize sunlight. Fabric grow bags offer gardeners a great way to grow that's cost effective, simple, and beneficial to plants.

In the pages of Grow Bag Gardening you'll learn:

• Why gardening in these special fabric planter bags results in big yields
• How this no-weed, no-mess method of gardening is a real game changer
• What makes this method so good for your plants (hint: no root circling!)
• Where and how to set up your grow bag garden to reap the biggest rewards
• Step-by-step instructions for continual harvests, sewing your own grow bags, building a specialized trellising system, caring for your grow bag garden, and more.

Who can use grow bag gardening? Everyone! From school gardens to urban homesteads, everyone has room to grow their own veggies in a grow bag garden.

Kevin Espiritu, author of Field Guide to Urban Gardening and the mastermind behind the popular website EpicGardening.com, offers an in-depth look at this revolutionary gardening method and how it can help feed the world, one grow bag at a time.

Redefining the face of the American farmer

The growing trend of organic farming and homesteading is changing the way the farmer is portrayed in mainstream media, and yet, farmers of color are still largely left out of the picture. The Color of Food seeks to rectify this.

By recognizing the critical issues that lie at the intersection of race and food, this stunning collection of portraits and stories challenges the status quo of agrarian identity. Author, photographer, and biracial farmer Natasha Bowens' quest to explore her own roots in the soil leads her to unearth a larger story, weaving together the seemingly forgotten history of agriculture for people of color, the issues they face today, and the culture and resilience they bring to food and farming.

The Color of Food teaches us that the food and farm movement is about more than buying local and protecting our soil. It is about preserving culture and community, digging deeply into the places we've overlooked, and honoring those who have come before us. Blending storytelling, photography, oral history, and unique insight, these pages remind us that true food sovereignty means a place at the table for everyone.

If one imagines the typical American farmer, many people visualize sun-roughened skin, faded overalls, and calloused hands--hands that are usually white. While there's no doubt the growing trend of organic farming and homesteading is changing how the farmer is portrayed in mainstream media, farmers of color are still largely left out of the picture.

A pioneering urban farmer and MacArthur Genius Award-Winner points the way to building a new food system that can feed- and heal- communities.

The son of a sharecropper, Will Allen had no intention of ever becoming a farmer himself. But after years in professional basketball and as an executive for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Procter & Gamble, he cashed in his retirement fund for a two-acre plot just outside Milwaukee's largest public housing project. The area was a food desert with only convenience stores and fast-food restaurants to serve the needs of locals.

Despite financial challenges and daunting odds, Allen built the country's preeminent urban farm-a food and educational center that now produces enough produce and fish year-round to feed thousands. Employing young people from the neighboring housing project and community, Growing Power shows how local food systems can help troubled youths, dismantle racism, create jobs, bring urban and rural communities closer together, and improve public health. Today, Allen's organization helps develop community food systems across the country.

An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution is the story of Will's personal journey, the lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats.

A vegetable garden is not an option for everyone, and so container growing has become desirable for people with little outside space

Many have discovered the love of growing houseplants and want to take their skills to another level; others are inspired by the idea of growing their own food organically and sustainably. The book covers all the essentials of growing a range of edible plants in pots, and meeting each crop's specific needs.

Author Claire Ratinon brings her urban food growing expertise to this popular subject, in a book designed to appeal to new gardeners and anyone who would like to take on the rewarding challenge of growing their own dinner, even if they've only got a window box or balcony to work with.