If you ever thought of propagating a plant, this is the book for you : American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation by Alan Toogood

American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques[Hardcover]

By

Alan Toogood

"The unrivaled priatical guide to the successful propagation of all garden plants -- from trees and shrubs to culinary herbs."

Expert Guidance On The Propagation Of More Than 1,500 Plants. Whether you want to increase your plants by the easiest or most reliable methods of propagation, or experiment with more unusual or advanced techniques, or use specialized techniques for a favorite plant group, AHS Plant Propagation contains all the techniques you need in easy-to-follow, step-by-step explanations such as:

What is is the best way to propogate a plant?
Each entry in the A-Z section of Plant Propagation tells you, plant by plant, which method of propagation to use, when to do it, and what degree of skill each method requires.

How can you improve germination of seeds?
AHS Plant Propagation tells you which seeds need special treatment before sowing and how to provide the conditions to ensure a good rate of germination.

How long does it take to obtain a flowering plant?
AHS Plant Propagation gives guidelines on the average success rate for each plant, how big a yield you can expect, and how long it should take to get a mature or flowering plant.

How do you make sure cuttings won't fail?
AHS Plant Propagation tells you how to take appropriate cuttings from each type of plant and how to make sure they root successfully.

Destined to become the standard work on the subject, AHS Plant Propagation is the practical handbook gardeners have been waiting for.

Amazon.com Review
The American Horticultural Society's Plant Propagation is one of those stuck-on-a-desert-island books. All the information you could ever possibly want in order to propagate virtually any plant or tree or cactus or succulent that might be growing on said desert island is to be found somewhere between the covers of this marvelous, informative book. If you're tired of buying many pots of expensive perennials, tuck a copy of Plant Propagation under your arm and buy one good specimen. From that specimen, following the simple directions, make many plants. It's the kind of skill that all grandmothers of a more distant generation seemed to have.

Still mixed up about hypogeal and epigeal germination? Can't tell a bulbil from a cormel? The very first section covers all the basics of plant biology as well as the history and basic how-to of propagation. The body of the book is divided into "Garden Trees," "Shrubs and Climbing Plants," "Perennials, Annuals and Biennials," "Cacti and Other Succulents," "Bulbous Plants," and "Vegetables." Each section begins with an overview of appropriate propagation techniques: the many styles of grafting, seed saving, taking cuttings, and bulb and root division. Individual plants within each section are addressed alphabetically. With Plant Propagation in hand, you can hybridize your own rose and name it after yourself. The text is written to an intelligent, somewhat experienced gardening reader, and the lush illustrations are accurate and effective. --Schuyler Ingle


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Review

Just as advertised. The book is easy to use, loaded with descriptions, both technical and practical, and lots of figures and pictures. My wife loved it.

Reviewed by: BABALOO (Edwardsville, IL)

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About the author

Alan Toogood (Editor-in-Chief) trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He has worked as a horticultural journalist on Gardener's Chronicle and Amateur Gardening, lectured in Horticulture and was editor of Greenhouse magazine. He is now a freelance horticultural journalist and consultant, Horticulture Correspondant for The Times and Features Coordinator for The Garden. Alan resides in Hampshire.

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Wonderful for gardeners and history buffs alike: Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf

Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation [Hardcover]

By

Andrea Wulf

From the author of the acclaimed The Brother Gardeners, a fascinating look at the founding fathers from the unique and intimate perspective of their lives as gardeners, plantsmen, and farmers.

For the founding fathers, gardening, agriculture, and botany were elemental passions, as deeply ingrained in their characters as their belief in liberty for the nation they were creating.

Andrea Wulf reveals for the first time this aspect of the revolutionary generation. She describes how, even as British ships gathered off Staten Island, George Washington wrote his estate manager about the garden at Mount Vernon; how a tour of English gardens renewed Thomas Jefferson’s and John Adams’s faith in their fledgling nation; how a trip to the great botanist John Bartram’s garden helped the delegates of the Constitutional Congress break their deadlock; and why James Madison is the forgotten father of American environmentalism. These and other stories reveal a guiding but previously overlooked ideology of the American Revolution.

Founding Gardeners adds depth and nuance to our understanding of the American experiment and provides us with a portrait of the founding fathers as they’ve never before been seen.


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Review

It is a pleasure to report that this is one of those unique and rare books that is both a delight to read as well as being chock full of important information and significant insights. The author, a Brit, argues that "it's impossible to understand the making of America without looking at the founding fathers as farmers and gardeners" (p. 4). To support her thesis, the author looks at principally Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison, although Franklin, George Mason, and George Wythe (among others) also make appearances. All of these four were deeply involved in agriculture and gardening, in addition to their political lives. I was surprised to learn how grumpy old John Adams turned into a happy camper when working on his farm or in his Philadelphia greenhouse (a gift of Abigail). While I knew that Jefferson was passionate about plants, so it was true of the other three as well, especially Washington who was quite the student of agriculture.

The author focuses upon some key events to develop her argument. Washington's American garden of native plants and shrubs is discussed. The 1786 garden tour that TJ and Adams made in England where they visited many of the famouns English gardens and discovered them to be largely populated with American plants. This was the work of the little-known John Bartram (1699-1777), who shipped American plants and seeds to England from his Philadelphia nursery, as well as supplying the framers. The author's "The Brother Gardeners" looks at these splendid English gardens and the role Bartram played in supplying American plants for them. One chapter deals with the deadlocked Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, which the author suggests might have been able to reach compromise due to a visit of some key delegates to Bartram's nursery for a refreshing break. While some have criticized this suggestion, I found it interesting, and whether one agrees with it or not does not affect the great value and enjoyment of the book.

Next we follow the 1791 New England purported garden tour of Jefferson and Madison, which was probably more political than botanical. A chapter discusses the selection and creation of Washington, D.C. The final chapters focus on Jefferson and Madison. Of course who better than Jefferson to organize and direct the Lewis and Clark expedition which resulted in a treasure trove of new trees and plants. TJ's retirement at Monticello is for me one of the most interesting stages of his life, and he was extensively involved in agricultural research during this period--as an "experimental gardener" to use the author's description. And the more shadowy Madison emerges as the father of the American environmental movement with his 1817 address to the Agricultural Society of Albemarle (Virginia).

The author explains how plants were more than just a hobby; these patriots saw American plants and shrubs as one basis for continued independence since they supplied our needs domestically. These framers shared the view that a nation of independent small farmers would foreclose the inherent corruption of laborers forced to survive in "putrid" cities. How slavery fitted into all this is also touched upon by the author. The author's research (reflected in 81 pages of notes, including important references to electronic data sources) is awesome. The book has 16 color plates and 19 B&W illustrations. I knew nothing of plants, but the author's skillful narrative is rich in descriptive power. The book itself is beautifully produced, from the colorful dust jacket to the fine paper--yet another example of the superb work done by Berryville Graphics in Virginia. Accept the author's argument or not, this book stands as a unique and insightful study of the sometimes mythical "founders".

Reviewed by: Ronald H. Clark (WASHINGTON, DC USA)

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About the author

Andrea Wulf was born in India and moved to Germany as a child. She lives in Britain where she trained as a design historian at the Royal College of Art. Her book "Founding Gardeners" was published in spring 2011 and went to number 32 on the New York Times Best Seller List . She is the author of “The Brother Gardeners. Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession” and the co-author of “This Other Eden: Seven Great Gardens and 300 Years of English History”. She has written for the Sunday Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Garden and Kew Magazine, and reviews for several newspapers, including The Guardian, New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement and the Mail on Sunday.

She has lectured widely to large audiences at the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Society in London, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Monticello and the Missouri Botanic Garden amongst many others (see events). She is a three-time fellow of the International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello.

She is a regular contributor on BBC radio and television.

The “Brother Gardeners” was long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2008, the most prestigious non-fiction award in the UK and won the American Horticultural Society 2010 Book Award as well as the CBHL 2010 Annual Literature Award.


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Also available in Kindle Edition

The beginner's introduction to greenhouses: All About Greenhouses (Ortho's All About Gardening) by Ortho Books

All About Greenhouses (Ortho's All About Gardening)

By

Ortho

Product Description

Using this book to plan your greenhouse
your greenhouse will be a practical structure well suited to your needs if you think the project through before buying anything. Think first about how you intend to use the greenhouse. Making a place to start seeds once a year is a much simpler project than designing a greenhouse for a wide selection of palms.The decisions you make now will guide you in choosing a site, the best kind and style of structure for your needs and budget, and its size, covering, and equipment. Planning begins with a consideration of greenhouse plans and kits, and the construction challenges and operating costs of each type. To proceed confidently, you must weigh the challenges of building it yourself or working with a constructor, and resolve any local tax, permit, and code issues.


Using this book to build and manage the structure
This book begins with an explanation of how a greenhouse works and where to locate one to make the most of your site and conditions. That knowledge will help you decide whether to build from scratch or begin with a kit, and answer questions of style and materials. Use this book to walk through each phase of greenhouse building, from construction basics and equipment options to plans for 10 greenhouses. The plans described in this book require a variety of skill levels and represent a range of costs. Each greenhouse plan offers tried-and-true techniques you can depend on and refer to as you build.

Each major component of a greenhouse-from ground to roof's peak, benches, and glowing areas-recieves detailed attention. A range of equipment is discussed for moderating temperature, managing light, and providing water and fertilizer. This book offers information about manual and automated systems as well as solar options.

You'll use the last two chapters to schedule planting and greenhouse maintenance projects, and learn more about favorite plants. Explore the cultural information to anticipate and solve common problems in both growing and management. Refer to the calendar on page 76 and 77 to know what maintenance tasks to do and how to keep them on schedule for good greenhouse health. Use it to remind yourself of fertilizer regimes and seasonal needs for added lighting or shade, and how to prevent pest problems with timely cultural practices. Details about plant groups will make their care easier, and a year's worth of projects will inspire you to use the greenhouse in every season.

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Review

This book provides an excellent understanding of greenhouses and lots of great ideas and designs for locating and building them on your property. I got the book to build a small greenhouse but it is so much more. This book is a good value.

Reviewed by: Gregg Reynolds

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