Gardening for Sustainability

All gardeners will want to seek out this new, authoritative book by professor John J. Albers on the principles and practices for developing, maintaining, and enjoying stunning, botanically diverse, low-maintenance landscapes that can flourish year-round in tough conditions. Learn how to select the best plants, make garden rooms work, provide for pollinators and wildlife, make a rain garden, and simply enjoy his observations on restoring native habitat, pruning, transplanting and even on how to correct gardening mistakes. The book provides gardeners with strategies for the creation and maintenance of a healthy, vibrant, sustainable, botanically rich garden. It provides a clear rationale and guide for changing the way we create and maintain our gardens, and thereby points the way for all gardeners to reduce their environmental impact and make a difference in their communities and the ecological health of the earth. By following the basic principles and the latest scientific horticultural practices outlined in this book, everyone can take part in the beautification of our urban areas while enhancing biodiversity and ecological sustainability and resilience. A hands-on gardener for many decades with a keen eye for unusual and distinctive plants, the author accompanies you on a portable tour of his garden, showing what a passionate gardener with an eye for beauty and a keen interest in plant collecting can do. The first part of the book provides an inspiring example of the development of an urban botanical oasis using the principles and practices described in the second part of the book. It includes the evolution of the garden, the development of different horticultural and artistic elements, and illustrates the beauty and diversity of plant life. The second part of the book describes the practical principles, rationale, and practices that were used in the development of the botanical oasis, the important elements of maintenance, and concludes with a discussion of the common mistakes to avoid during the creation of a garden. Gardening for Sustainability has a hard cover; its 118 pages include 68 beautiful color illustrations.