Projects include: Slatted garden bench -- Rectangular tree seat -- Home cooking -- Raised features -- Bridging space -- Pond cascade -- Simple spout -- Constructive composting -- Playhouse -- Sunken sandpile -- Romance overhead -- An arbor room -- Dramatic light -- Stage light -- Magic light.

“Any of the plans, adapted to a particular situation, would be a great place to start for gardeners who don’t have the time, experience or confidence to research and develop a plan on their own. Browsing through these plans also would give a more confident gardener ideas.”—Chicago Tribune.

This gound-breaking book presents 35 beautiful garden designs in clear, botanically accurate, full-color illustrations and bird's-eye-view line drawings accompanied by lists of their appropriate plant ingredients. 35 full-color illustrations, 35 line drawings.

Beautifully illustrated garden plans and numerous full-color photographs make this a book to cherish as well as a practical guide to planning and planting a memorable garden. The book features 25 ready-made garden plans, scaled to every possible backyard situation and complete with easy-to-follow directions for planting and maintaining.

In a time of climate change and mass extinction, how we garden matters more than ever: “An outstanding and deeply passionate book.” —Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals Plenty of books tell home gardeners and professional landscape designers how to garden sustainably, what plants to use, and what resources to explore. Yet few examine why our urban wildlife gardens matter so much—not just for ourselves, but for the larger human and animal communities. Our landscapes push aside wildlife and in turn diminish our genetically programmed love for wildness. How can we get ourselves back into balance through gardens, to speak life's language and learn from other species? Benjamin Vogt addresses why we need a new garden ethic, and why we urgently need wildness in our daily lives—lives sequestered in buildings surrounded by monocultures of lawn and concrete that significantly harm our physical and mental health. He examines the psychological issues around climate change and mass extinction as a way to understand how we are short-circuiting our response to global crises, especially by not growing native plants in our gardens. Simply put, environmentalism is not political; it's social justice for all species marginalized today and for those facing extinction tomorrow. By thinking deeply and honestly about our built landscapes, we can create a compassionate activism that connects us more profoundly to nature and to one another.

Gardeners, small farmers, and outdoor living enthusiasts will love this compilation of 76 rustic DIY projects. From plant supports and clotheslines to a chicken coop, a greenhouse, and a root cellar with storage bins, most of the projects are suitable for complete novices, and all use just basic tools and easy-to-find materials. You’ll find techniques to build whatever your outdoor world is missing, with additional tips to live sustainably, happily, and independently. Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How.

From the bestselling author of The Small House Book, comes a collection of designs for tiny homes with “instant curb appeal.” (The New York Times) From internationally recognized small living expert Jay Shafer, who has been featured on CNN, Oprah, Fine Homebuilding, and This Old House, a revised edition of his bestselling book, Tumbleweed DIY Book of Backyard Sheds and Tiny Houses. Ranging in size from 100 to 120 square feet, these tiny backyard buildings can be used as guest cottages, art or writing studios, home offices, craft workshops, vacation retreats, or full-time residences. This book is filled with photos, elevation drawings, and door/window schedules for constructing six of the handsome little buildings, plus an extensive how-to set of instructions that can be applied to any backyard building project. This revised edition contains many new photos of buildings designed by Jay Shafer. Praise for Jay Shafer and Tumbleweed Tiny Houses: "... guru of the small house movement." —John Blackstone, CBS "Move-in ready gems." —Better Homes and Gardens “Astounding." —Oprah Winfrey "A visionary designer ..." —Domino Magazine "100 square feet of bliss." —Thelma Guiterrez, CNN

A Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Ducks - Keeping Ducks in Your Backyard Table of Contents Introduction Raising Ducks in Your Backyard Choosing Ducks Dabbling Ducks and Diving Ducks Incubation of Ducklings Artificial Incubation Brooding Cleaning duck eggs Ducks and drakes Housing Your Ducks How to Make a Grass Run Keeping a Small Flock Traditional House Dimensions Preventing Flight over Netting Breeding Ducks for the Table. Preparing Ducklings Ducks and Water Feeding Your Ducks. Layers Mash for Ducks What is Grass Meal? What is Bean Meal? Drinking Water Conclusion Author Bio Introduction It must have been somewhere, and some time millenniums ago, when man found that the Mallard and Muscovy that he hunted in the marshes, and brought home to his family was a bird which could be domesticated. One is not very certain about which particular civilization decided that duck brought up in your own farmyard, was a good source of eating for the whole family. Roast duck, broiled duck, duck with seasonings and herbs, even wild duck, along with their cousins, the geese and the swans made excellent fare especially during times, when other food resources were not so easily available. Geese and swans are definitely not considered ducks, though they belong to the same family. The original ancestral species is the same, even though the characteristics differ. Geese and swans are larger in size and can be found in seawater, as well as in freshwater. Ducks are smaller in size, but prefer freshwater habitats. In the same manner, you should not confuse ducks with other aquatic birds like divers, coots and grebes. All of them are good eating, but they are unrelated, except for their liking for water. Apart from the meat content and eggs, ducks have also been reared for their soft down. Drakes are larger in size, when compared to the female ducks. Some of the popular species are Muscovy ducks, Mallards Paradise Shelduck and Aylesbury . The bills are long, broad and sometimes, they are serrated so that the ducks can feed on easily filtered aquatic plant and animal species. A duck shoot has always been a popular occupation of people who enjoy hunting for gain, especially when you are shooting these birds on the wing. A duck cannot fly when it is molting, and it normally molts before the duck group’s migration to a warmer climate.

In this colorful Garden Ponds Made Easy title, authors Dennis Kelsey-Wood and Tom Barthell have provided an essential guide for first-time pond enthusiasts. The authors outline all of the considerations for starting out with a new pond, including determining the site, style, size of the pond, and deciding on the construction of the pond (whether preformed, concrete, or fiberglass). Garden Ponds offers a chapter on water which discusses water chemistry factors, volume of the pond, and pond surface. Other important factors involve the aeration, filtration, drainage, and maintenance of a clean (algae-free) pond. Special features, including waterfalls, fountains, and watercourses, electricity, and landscaping are addressed in detail, all accompanied by color photographs and drawings. A chapter on pond construction details every step of the project from creating a blueprint to securing the foundation. The infinite choices involved with stocking the pond with fish and plants can be overwhelming for the first-time pond owner, and the authors give excellent advice about making smart choices for a harmonious, beautiful garden pond. A special chapter on seasonal pond care gives the pond keeper recommendations for maintaining the pond all year long. Resources and glossary included.