“We owe it to our plants to read this book. After all, while we just live with the weather, our plants have to survive it.” —The Washington Post All gardeners are at the whim of Mother Nature, and so are our plants. Whether it’s coping with extreme drought or record-breaking snow fall, gardeners—and gardens—across the country are fighting against the elements. Instead of just reacting to the weather, Michael Allaby suggests that gardeners use knowledge about how the weather works to create the best growing conditions for their plants. Allaby brings big-picture atmospheric concepts to life with a comprehensive introduction to how weather works and explanations climate change, weather systems, and microclimates. The Gardener’s Guide to Weather and Climate proves that instead of gardening at the mercy of the weather, knowledgeable gardeners can make the weather work for them

He visits thousands of gardeners each year. Some of them see him coming, others are caught by surprise. Far too many never recover. His name is Jack Frost -- and he's coming soon to a garden near you. A Gardener's Guide to Frost is packed with practical advice that every gardener can put to use each summer. Readers will learn to look at their gardens the way Jack Frost does so they can keep their gardens thriving despite his icy visits. The clear, easy-to-understand explanations come from someone with dirt under his fingernails, and the book includes helpful tables and other resources, including a handy chart listing the frost tolerance of common garden vegetables. Readers will also meet some gardeners who have devised ways to keep on gardening right past fall frosts and into winter. For all its practical advice, however, this book doesn't present Jack Frost as some sort of villain who spoils our all-too-short gardening seasons. Rather, it explains how we can learn to garden with frost -- even embracing it as a friend who helps us slow down and appreciate the beautiful and fleeting gifts of gardening. Book jacket.

Now gardeners can bring an exotic flair to their gardens by introducing the color, textures, and fabulous foliage of tropical plants. Not just for hot climates anymore, bromeliads, orchids, bananas, palms, birds of paradise, elephant ears, canna, and more can bring a touch of the tropics to any garden. Gardener's can choose from more than 150 plants featured in this book, each chosen for the visual impact it adds to any landscape or container garden. Plants are organized by a range of clearly defined zones, making it easy for gardeners to find the plants that will succeed in their landscape. Author Nellie Neal explains how to best use tropical plants both indoors and out. To make this book a universally useful guide, it is organized to explain how to grow tropical plants in a wide range of clearly defined zones. Further, the book illustrates how to best use these plants in landscapes and containers, indoors and out, no matter where you live. It is a practical, user-friendly celebration of tropical plants.

For gardeners who live in sunbelt regions of America--whether southeastern, southcentral, or southwestern--this book describes the differences that set hot-weather garden performers apart from other garden varieties.

Gardeners across the nation are seeing clear signs of trouble in their home gardens, no matter the size—like many aspects of life on our warming planet, gardening practices need updates. In the Southeast, gardeners are under pressure to deal with increasing weather extremes, shifting hardiness zones, and seasonal unpredictability. Such environmental conditions are increasingly tough on plants as well as insects, pollinators, birds, and mammals. In this lively and heartening guide, Barbara J. Sullivan offers an essential, easy-to-use resource for adapting to the new realities of climate change. This book will empower southerners to grow beautiful gardens while using gardening practices that contribute to solutions for our shared environment. Surveys the science behind climate change and gardening Covers USDA hardiness zones 5a to 9b, which include thirteen southeastern states Gives advice on planning and installing gardens that will not only thrive but also help address critical environmental challenges Covers key topics ranging from designing a climate-friendly garden that will attract songbirds and pollinators to weaning off gas-powered tools to using water wisely Features a wealth of color illustrations, charts, and tables brimming with recommended native plants for the region

Organic Gardening in Cold Climates can teach you how to reap a vegetable bounty despite a short growing season. Gardeners from the Rocky Mountains to New England can enjoy luscious red tomatoes, fresh kale, and baby carrots chilled by the damp earth in their own backyard.

Lauren Springer and Rob Proctor have long been good friends and garden writing colleagues. Here, readers will be entertained, informed, and inspired by the pair's practical wisdom, wit, and tales of perseverance. Garden success depends on the most appropriate plant selections, the best gardening techniques, and maximizing the seasons. Every subject the authors tackle--from early snows to slugs, from bulbs to botanical Latin--urges readers to make the most of the gardens they tend. Passionate Gardener takes the gardener through the seasons in a comprehensive, yet pleasurable and accessible way, as the authors celebrate a diversity of plants for every site and every season. They champion sound, ecologically friendly gardening techniques, from soil and water issues to pest management. They also offer up stories of their horticultural adventures as their personal gardens have evolved, making this lively, information-packed reading with a personal, real touch.--From publisher description.