From the acclaimed author of Driftless, “a novel of forgiveness, a generous ode to the spirit’s indefatigable longing for love” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). When David Rhodes burst onto the American literary scene in the 1970s, he was hailed as “a brilliant visionary” (John Gardner) and compared to Sherwood Anderson and Marilynne Robinson. In Driftless, his “most accomplished work yet” (Joseph Kanon), Rhodes brought Words, WI, to life in a way that resonated with readers across the country. Now with Jewelweed, this beloved author returns to the same out-of-the-way hamlet and introduces a cast of characters who all find themselves charged with overcoming the burdens left by the past, sometimes with the help of peach preserves or pie. After serving time for a dubious conviction, Blake Bookchester is paroled and returns home. The story of Blake’s hometown is one of challenge, change, and redemption, of outsiders and of limitations, and simultaneously one of supernatural happenings and of great love. Each of Rhodes’s characters—flawed, deeply human, and ultimately universal—approach the future with a combination of hope and trepidation, increasingly mindful of the importance of community to their individual lives. Rich with a sense of empathy and wonder, Jewelweed offers a vision in which the ordinary becomes mythical. “I liked Driftless, but his emotionally rich new novel, Jewelweed, a sequel of sorts, is even better. The novel emits frequent solar flares of surprise and wonder.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer “[A] rhapsodic, many-faceted novel of profound dilemmas, survival, and gratitude . . . [a] refulgent hymn to the earth, ‘psychic strength,’ hard work, integrity, and love.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A Way to Garden prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.” —The New York Times Book Review For Margaret Roach, gardening is more than a hobby, it’s a calling. Her unique approach, which she calls “horticultural how-to and woo-woo,” is a blend of vital information you need to memorize and intuitive steps you must simply feel and surrender to. In A Way to Garden, Roach imparts decades of garden wisdom on seasonal gardening, ornamental plants, vegetable gardening, design, gardening for wildlife, organic practices, and much more. She also challenges gardeners to think beyond their garden borders and to consider the ways gardening can enrich the world. Brimming with beautiful photographs of Roach’s own garden, A Way to Garden is practical, inspiring, and a must-have for every passionate gardener.

“A fast-moving story about small town life with characters that seem to have walked off the pages of Edgar Lee Masters’s Spoon River Anthology.”—The Wall Street Journal The few hundred souls who inhabit Words, Wisconsin, are an extraordinary cast of characters. The middle-aged couple who zealously guards their farm from a scheming milk cooperative. The lifelong invalid, crippled by conflicting emotions about her sister. A cantankerous retiree, haunted by childhood memories after discovering a cougar in his haymow. The former drifter who forever alters the ties that bind a community. In his first novel in 30 years, David Rhodes offers a vivid and unforgettable look at life in small-town America. “[Rhodes’s] finest work yet . . . Driftless is the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years.”—Chicago Tribune “Set in a rural Wisconsin town, the book presents a series of portraits that resemble Edgar Lee Masters’s ‘Spoon River Anthology’ in their vividness and in the cumulative picture they create of village life.”—The New Yorker “Encompassing and incisive, comedic and profound, Driftless is a radiant novel of community and courage.”—Booklist (starred review) “A welcome antidote to overheated urban fiction . . . A quiet novel of depth and simplicity.”—Kirkus Reviews “It takes a while for all these stories to kick in, but once they do, Rhodes shows he still knows how to keep readers riveted. Add a blizzard, a marauding cougar and some rabble-rousing militiamen, and the result is a novel that is as affecting as it is pleasantly overstuffed.”—Publishers Weekly

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Provides an introduction to patterns of forest ecology, looks at each of the major forest types of eastern North America, examines changes that occur as abandoned fields turn into forests, features background on the process of adaptation and natural selection, and describes forest changes in each of the four seasons.

Ecological approach to natural history provides complete descriptions of 80 common wetland plants.

First-ever revision of a classic guidebook. Information on each plant's characteristics, distribution, and medicinal qualities as well as updated taxonomy and 15 new species. How to identify and use wild plants for medicinal purposes.

Ralph Waldo Emerson defined a weed as a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. To the wild-plant enthusiast who has discovered the virtues of many plants, there are relatively few weeds. After using this book, you will never again consider lamb's-quarters a weed. Instead, you will nurture it with respect and even encourage its growth in your garden. Edible Wild Plants of Pennsylvania and Neighboring States contains botanically accurate, up-to-date information essential for the identification of more than one hundred delectable wild plants. Each plant entry provides characteristics, habitat, distribution, edible parts, food uses, precautions, and preparation, followed by tasty recipes and interesting remarks about the plant's botanical history. The plants are arranged according to height, with the ground-huggers appearing first and the trees last. Each plant is also cross-referenced by common and scientific names. The authors have written this book with the novice forager in mind, including useful tips on foraging from where to search for food to precautions to take. They also provide a list of toxic look-alikes, a nutrient composition chart, and a glossary of terms.

A first edition published for the dedication of the new Fred Rogers Center building at St. Vincent College Latrobe, Pennsylvania.WIM, a beautifully designed book for all ages, presents 65 pen and ink drawings with whimsical names, whose upside can also be their downside and whose downside can also be their upside. With no front and no back, no up and no down, this book invites viewers of all ages to participate in light hearted visual adventures of the human spirit. In the 1970¿s, when he created these drawings, the artist wrote: ¿ . . . the treasures of the spirit within us tend to be encumbered with objects, things, and everyday business. To enter one¿s imagination, to play, to delight in the gift of the human spirit ¿ these free activities break through that prison and nurture the quality of human life. Through these drawings I have attempted to enter that imagining mode in the life of the spirit and to evoke some of its treasures for those who view them. . . .¿ Dedicated to Fred Rogers who noted that ¿the child is in me still, but sometimes not so still. . .¿ these drawings will appeal to children of all ages, including those of us in our golden years.Hard cover in black Kivar with Llama embossing and gold foil stamp, dust jacket, 64 pages printed on 100# Mohawk Via.

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.