Fully revised and updated by the author, this is the perennial and comprehensive guide to the art of wildlife gardening from the RHS, freshly illustrated and bursting with new ideas, ideas and projects. Gardening and wildlife make perfect partners. So many people are discovering that by choosing the right plants for nectar and fruit, providing some shelter and safety, a little extra food and water, and a nest box or two, any garden, balcony or backyard can be dramatically brought to life. This best-selling book was first published as How to Make a Wildlife Garden, and launched at the 1985 Chelsea Flower Show, making wildlife a mainstream issue for gardeners and the public. Now fully revised and updated by the author, this beautiful new freshly illustrated edition highlights the changes in garden wildlife over the past 35 years. Incorporating RHS research, updated best practice and addressing a multitude of controversial conservation issues, this stunning guide is also a celebration of the rich variety of wild plants and animals that can bring a beautiful garden to life. Packed full of practical advice from which plants to choose for bees, birds and butterflies, how to construct the ideal wildlife pond, where to position nesting boxes and how to enjoy wildlife in any size of outdoor space, this authoritative companion shows how wildlife gardening can make a stylish and enjoyable contribution to the environment, inspiring new gardeners while also delighting the very many owners of the best-selling original.

This complete primer on how to make an eco-friendly container garden is dedicated to showing that everyone can have a garden, no matter the size, that can benefit the planet. RHS Greener Gardening: Containers guides you through greener choices when it comes to creating a container garden including materials, design, plant choice and maintenance. A few pots on the patio or a window box can become a dynamic mini eco system. A balcony garden can attract wildlife. With the right plants to choose from, a patio can hold an orchard. It's all a matter of 'thinking green', using recycled materials when possible, being wildlife-friendly, choosing plants that will avoid waste, and gardening sustainably. Featuring an easy-to-follow guide to green techniques as well as a helpful series of plant profiles, this is the perfect handbook for a sustainable container garden. Sections include - Setting up your container garden - Container gardening techniques: sourcing plants, containers & contents, watering, feeding & troubleshooting - Creating containers: growing in groups, choosing a theme, how to create a map or a plan

'The definitive go-to wildlife guide for all 16 million British gardens.' – Mike Dilger Even the smallest garden can be an important haven for wildlife, and this authoritative guide enables everyone to explore this wealth on their back doorstep. It covers all the main animal groups – including pond life – likely to be found in a garden in Great Britain and Ireland. Detailed descriptions and information on life history, behaviour and occurrence are provided for more than 500 species, as well as practical information on creating a pond for wildlife, making nestboxes and feeding birds. Richard Lewington, acknowledged as one of the finest natural history artists in Europe, has teamed up with his brother Ian, one of our most respected bird artists, to provide nearly 1,000 superbly detailed colour artworks to complement the text. Presented in an accessible, easy-to-use format, this fully updated and expanded edition covers everything from blue tits to bumblebees and hedgehogs to hawkmoths.

The Little Book of Wild Gardening is a guide for anyone wanting to garden in a more sustainable, natural way. Working with nature benefits not just the garden, but also the gardener, wildlife and the wider environment. Divided into sections for different garden areas - including lawns, flower beds, edibles, trees and water features - The Little Book of Wild Gardening details how to embrace a natural approach to gardening for plots large and small. Introductory chapters explain how garden ecosystems can work, and how a healthy garden can mean savings in both work and resources for the gardener. There are plant profiles providing a variety of choices for a wilder approach, plus design tips and expertise in sustainable and wildlife-friendly gardening. From a sustainable veg patch to wildflower meadows, and from bat boxes to gravel gardens, the book includes projects and plants in a range of sizes and timescales so gardeners can create a bountiful and enjoyable haven that will benefit themselves, their local area, and all kinds of wildlife.

Most conventional gardening books concentrate on how and when to carry out horticultural tasks such as pruning, seed sowing and taking cuttings. Science and the Garden, Third Edition is unique in explaining in straightforward terms some of the science that underlies these practices. It is principally a book of 'Why' – Why are plants green? Why do some plants only flower in the autumn? Why do lateral buds begin to grow when the terminal bud is removed by pruning? Why are some plants successful as weeds? Why does climate variability and change mean change for gardeners? But it also goes on to deal with the 'How', providing rationale behind the practical advice. The coverage is wide-ranging and comprehensive and includes: the diversity, structure, functioning and reproduction of garden plants; nomenclature and classification; genetics and plant breeding; soil properties and soil management; environmental factors affecting growth and development; methods of propagation; size and form; colour, scent and sound; climate; environmental change; protected cultivation; pest, disease and weed diversity and control; post-harvest management and storage; garden ecology and conservation; sustainable horticulture; gardens and human health and wellbeing; and gardens for science. This expanded and fully updated Third Edition of Science and the Garden includes two completely new chapters on important topics: Climate and Other Environmental Changes Health, Wellbeing and Socio-cultural Benefits Many of the other chapters have been completely re-written or extensively revised and expanded, often with new authors and/or illustrators, and the remainder have all been carefully updated and re-edited. Published in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society, reproduced in full colour throughout, carefully edited and beautifully produced, this new edition remains a key text for students of horticulture and will also appeal to amateur and professional gardeners wishing to know more about the fascinating science behind the plants and practices that are the everyday currency of gardening.

This guide includes all famous and notable gardens in the UK and highlights their horticultural attributes. An A-Z listing of popular plants enables readers to organize which gardens to visit in accordance with their plant preference. Addresses, telephone and fax numbers, websites, opening times, location maps and facilities offered by the gardens are included.