Anthony Paul

Plant and Flower Books

William Alexander had a simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard. It was a dream that would lead to life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, and weeds; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer); the near electrocution of the tree man; and the pity of his wife and children. When Alexander decided to run a cost-benefit analysis, adding up everything from the Havahart animal trap ($60) to the Velcro tomato wraps ($5) to the steel edging ($1,200), then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it came as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each tomato.

This book offers powerful, all-natural solutions to these problems and hundreds more. Every bug, pest, critter and animal related problem you can think of is covered in this comprehensive, detailed and creative book. And every one of the 1001 solutions in this book avoids the use of any kind of pesticide or other poison that could potentially cause harm to our families, our communities, and our natural environment. There are over 2 billion pesticides manufactured in the United States every year. In 2002, more than 3.2 million people suffered medically related side effects from the use of pesticides. By using the simple, tried and true solutions provided in 1001 All Natural Secrets to a Pest-Free Property, you can make a significant contribution to reducing the damage caused by pesticides and other poisons.

Common household products and down-home ingenuity are combined to combat frustrating garden problems in this indispensable handbook for both green thumbs and novice gardeners. Organized by garden area, 1,954 easy-to-use homemade remedy recipes containing items such as beer, baby shampoo, and ammonia - instruct gardeners how to turn puny plants, wretched roots, and tired trees into gorgeous garden specimens without the use of store-bought chemical alternatives. Quick fixes are offered for fighting fungus with pantyhose, defeating botanical disease with peppermint, and bug-proofing vegetables with mustard and cloves; and obstacles such as heavy rains, nutritional plant deficiencies, and gardening on sloped areas are also discussed.

Showering outdoors after a day of playing in the surf, digging in the garden, or taking a daylong bike ride is the ultimate in summer relaxation. Designer/builder Ethan Fierro celebrates the creativity and whimsical inspiration of summer with this collection of original outdoor shower designs he's uncovered from coast to coast. He offers dozens of examples for homeowners to choose from, all pictured in stunning color photographs, ranging from the simple showerhead on the side of the cottage, to semi-detached and freestanding structures. Accompanying text describes the design and material elements involved in each example. x

The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering. Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. But, except for labor, these inputs depend on the price of oil. Prior to the 1970s, North American home food growing used more land with less labor, with wider plant spacing, with less or no irrigation, and all done with sharp hand tools. But these sustainable systems have been largely forgotten. Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food.

"Why have we tamed the history of gardening in America?" Patricia Klindienst asks in The Earth Knows My Name. We are a democracy of gardeners yet, with few exceptions, the garden is presented as the province of the privileged and the white. Garden writing tends to exclude the stories of the ethnic peoples who have shaped our landscape for centuries. As a result, the idea of the garden has been stripped of its cultural weight. The Earth Knows My Name speaks directly to this gap in our understanding, exploring the deeper implications of what it means to cultivate a garden and to grow one"s own food.

French country gardening has experienced a renaissance in recent years. While the great French heritage still thrives, its traditions now provide inspiration for fresh delights and creative expression, as vividly demonstrated in this beautifully photographed volume. The book reaches into every corner of France, from Normandy to the Riviera, from Picardy to the Pyrenees, revealing in exquisite detail the full extent and exciting diversity of the modern French country garden. A magical and intimate "grandmother's garden" on the ancient Via Aurélia combines fruits, herbs, flowers, and vegetables; "gardens for the five senses" focus on sensual stimulation; "natural" gardens protect local ecosystems; and formal gardens incorporate witty and subversive variations on the traditional pattern. 236 color illustrations.

This multi-faceted tour through the gardens of Claude Monet and his home at Giverny offers a stunning portrait of a great artist's world. The radiant colors and brilliant composition of Monet's floral paintings have inspired artists, gardeners, designers as well as life-style gurus. This delightful gift book features dazzling reproductions of Monet's paintings and it expands on the experience of Giverny with photographs of the gardens from the artist's time and today, insights into the artist's domestic world, examples of his horticultural genius and even recipes from his kitchen.

When the National Trust decided to take on the care of gardens, the aim was that these would be the very best of their kind in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust now has the finest collection of gardens ever assembled under one ownership - the greatest in number, diversity, historic importance and quality. Taken together they contain the world's most important collection of cultivated plants, distinguished for their beauty, rarity, historical interest and scientific value.

With over 300 stunning photographs of wedding flowers, this book contains bouquets to inspire every bride. A bride's bouquet sets the mood for all wedding flowers, so choosing the perfect style is essential. Should they be stylish, formal or simply natural? Formed into a perfect round nosegay or romantic cascade? Which shape suits your dress? Will you choose red roses for love, or freesias for trust? "Wedding Bouquets" answers all these questions and more, to ensure the bouquet you finally choose is the perfect expression of how you feel on this important and magical day.

Achieving genuine self-sufficiency of the kind described in John Seymour's classic guide is sadly beyond the vast reach of the urban majority today. Few have the space, yet fewer will be prepared for the holiday-free life-time commitment it needs. For those few there are comprehensive guidebooks, but where do the rest of us - concerned citizens - keen to explore alternative ways of living but lacking the land - look for guidance?

This intensely practical account drawn from the long experience of Robin White has been eagerly awaited by Daphne enthusiasts and collectors. Acute observation of the growth, flowering characteristics, and foibles of daphnes documented here will be studied and taken up by gardeners everywhere.

All New Square Foot Gardening instructs gardeners to grow their vegetables and plants above ground in boxes filled with Mel's special soil recipe. Seeds planted in quadrants produce a bountiful harvest all year using minimum space. All New Square Foot Gardening ushers this 25-year-old method into a new marketplace for a new generation of gardeners. The book blends the author's Square Foot method with a highly illustrated "how-to" approach that every gardener will understand.

Celebrated landscape architect Jean Mus designs gardens that reflect his extraordinary abilities as both an artist and a horticulturalist. Mus's lavish installations display a rich spectrum of Mediterranean influences, incorporating pottery, slate walkways, sleek water channels, and Mediterranean flora. In Mediterranean Gardens, Mus invites the reader to explore twenty of the exclusive gardens that have made him famous.

A greenhouse can be a garden's greatest asset: its nucleus and powerhouse. There are many ways of using a greenhouse and a gardener can adopt one or all of them. In spring, you can start all kinds of young plants from seed; raise tender perennials to fill gaps in the garden; give young vegetable plants like beans and sweetcorn a head start; sow early lettuce while the soil is too sticky to work outdoors.

This practical and inspirational handbook is aimed at the new generation of gardeners who want to enjoy the taste and health benefits of growing their own food, but who have little time to spare. Expert advice and innovative techniques show you how to grow the right quantities of the fruit and vegetables you love, and enjoy the satisfactions of tending an allotment or vegetable garden without becoming a slave to your plot.