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

Build your vegetable garden on sustainable, eco-friendly foundations from the start with this new guide to growing your own fresh, organic food. Greener Gardening: Vegetables is the perfect handbook for all seasons, helping budding and experienced gardeners alike in their journey towards a greener way of gardening. The book covers: - Setting up a new vegetable garden so it works hard for you and the environment - A wide ranging directory of vegetables organized by harvesting season - Methods for sowing and growing, plus advice on troubleshooting and saving seed - 'Tasks to do' reminders for keeping on top of garden maintenance each season - 'Do It Greener' reminders of quick and easy way to get greener results You will find new ideas on every page to keep your garden productive and sustainable for years to come.

Discover more than 100 ideas to help you become an eco-friendly gardener. RHS Do Bees Need Weeds is packed with more than 100 practical questions and answers to help you become a more eco-friendly gardener, and show you how to adopt a more sustainable way of gardening. The book includes simple, low-cost ideas, from fun projects such as how to build a wormery or a homemade water butt to advice on which plants suit bees best and how to achieve a zero-waste garden. In these pages you will find dozens of solutions to common garden problems as well as inspiring innovations that reduce your gardening consumption, tackle waste and help the environment. Filled with fascinating facts and ideas that will help you make a real difference to the green credentials of your garden, this book is both informative and entertaining, with plenty of I-never-knew-that mini-features. This is a book you and your family need, and one that you'll all enjoy, too. Includes questions such as: - Which features will make my garden greener? - Are my garden lights harmful? - How can a lawn be wildlife-friendly? - Is it ever OK to have a bonfire? - Are there alternatives to plastic? - Can I grow year-round crops? - Is it OK to buy compost?

Your garden could be even better for you. Discover... How certain plants can form a barrier against air and noise pollution Which birdsong alleviates anxiety How plants can help to save energy Why green is so good for us Learn how connecting with nature can reduce stress and improve wellbeing. You don't even need a garden - even a balcony or houseplants can help to boost your mood. Every recommendation is backed by scientific research, drawn together by the team of RHS scientists and experts. Favourite garden designer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Matt Keightley then suggests how to translate the science into ideas for your green space. With this groundbreaking book, find out how, in sometimes very simple ways, you can create an outdoor space that nourishes your mind and body, and is good for our planet too.

*** This easy Q&A format book is suited to both beginner and more experienced growers, and encompasses a wide range of subjects to take readers beyond the basics of fruit and vegetable growing. Taking into account the popularity for growing food from scratch among newbie gardeners, you'll find advice in this book whether you have a garden, an allotment, or even a balcony or other small space to work with-everyone can get involved with growing delicious edibles no matter what space they have available. Discover: - Which varieties to choose for gourmet home cooking, the most nutritious crops to grow, and how to grow unusual edibles like olives. - Techniques and tips to get the most out of each crop, from how to grow epic-size pumpkins to whether it's worth thinning beetroot. - Troubleshooting tips for pest problems: ways to work with wildlife rather than against it and providing an alternative viewpoint on traditional problems, such as eating the weeds as well! - How to make the most of your fruit and vegetable harvest, with information on the best time to pick produce and how to preserve it.

Evening Standard The Best Gardening Books of 2016 Confused by the bewildering range of plants on offer at your local garden centre? How do you choose, use and create beautiful planting schemes like the professionals? The book takes you on a structured journey through the design process, from the initial assessment of your existing space, through choosing a theme or style, to putting it all together. Learn what various plant groups can provide and how to problem-solve by selecting the right species. Understand the role that form, colour, scent and texture play in the garden, and how to use focal points and accent plants for added interest. Tiny courtyard gardeners and suburban gardeners alike will learn how to mix plants in pleasing combinations that will provide interest through the seasons and last for years. RHS How to Plant a Garden proves that a good planting scheme can transform your garden from the ordinary to the truly inspirational.

Best Garden Design from the Chelsea Flower Show is for all gardeners inspired by the famous RHS show, either by visiting it (157000 visitors annually) or through television coverage (NZ, Aus, France, Russia, Canada, and more). The book features best planning, design and decoration ideas from the last five years of shows, including masterclasses with gold-medal winners, celebrity designers, RHS experts and the world's top plantsmen and plantswomen. The design and planting ideas inside the book are not just enviable but are made achievable for show-goers and armchair gardeners alike.