Seed Library

Vast flower beds and large summer vegetable gardens are many southern gardeners' pride and joy. But gardening on a large scale isn't--and doesn't need to be--for everyone. In an era when many people would like to grow plants but are challenged by time, space, and lack of other resources, this concise, easy-to-use guide introduces southern gardeners to the art, craft, and science of growing plants in containers and in small spaces. Through friendly, engaging text and beautiful, inspiring photographs, Barbara Ellis demonstrates how to create container and small-space gardens that can withstand southern heat and humidity while still looking gorgeous all season long. Written for gardeners of all ages and experience levels, this book will inspire southerners to add containers brimming with flowers, herbs, vegetables, or a mix of all things green to every yard, garden, and terrace.

Features plants that everyone can grow throughout the southeast, with suggestions for overwintering tender plants indoors or replacing them annually.

Covers key plant-care basics, including options on container selection, potting mediums, seasonal care, pest and disease control, and more.

Identifies plants that support butterflies, hummingbirds, and pollinators.

Offers comprehensive lists to help readers select the best plant options for their sites and objectives.

Gives advice for readers on tight budgets and on how to create attractive containers from found materials.

Create green outdoor spaces no matter how small and see how transformative they can be.

Gardener and activist Tayshan Hayden Smith demonstrates 20 different practical projects you can create to positively change small outdoor spaces and pulls out inspiration from a variety of successful community gardens around the world.

Tayshan's practical advice will help you make the most of your projects, with easy-to-follow steps and photography alongside inspiring examples of how simple garden projects--on even the smallest scale and budget--can open the doors to better well-being, uniting communities and reviving natural spaces to help create the greener future we're all fighting for.

Reconnect with the outdoor space around you--perhaps start growing your own food or build a learning bed to educate children (and even adults) about the soil beneath their feet. Begin to reimagine how even the smallest of spaces can be green and living--transform a drainpipe into the perfect trellis for a climbing clematis or construct a pollinator wall out of repurposed tin cans to support local wildlife.

Tayshan underpins all his practical takeaways with inspiring manifestos on why we need to improve small spaces, the environmental benefits for nature, and the wider issues around connections with growing and greening space. He also emphasizes the importance of recycling and reusing, both for the environment and keeping costs down.

Most importantly, his message is clear: Everyone can play their part in creating green spaces to benefit us as individuals, communities, and the environment, too.

From a New York Times bestselling author, a wildlife ecology expert and environmental advocate provides readers with the next step in their ecological journey.

In How Can I Help?, Tallamy tackles the questions commonly asked at his popular lectures and shares compelling and actionable answers that will help gardeners and homeowners take the next step in their ecological journey. Topics range from ecology, evolution, biodiversity and conservation to restoration, native plants, invasive species, pest control, and supporting wildlife at home. Tallamy keenly understands that most people want to take part in conservation efforts but often feel powerless to do so as individuals. But one person can make a difference, and How Can I Help? details how.

Whether by reducing your lawn, planting a handful of native species, or allowing leaves to sit untouched, you will be inspired and empowered to join millions of other like-minded people to become the future of backyard conservation.

Growing your own food is good for you and the planet. Backed by scientific research, Indigenous knowledge, and the authors' years of firsthand experience, Homegrown Handgathered offers field-tested techniques for beginners and experts alike to thrive off the bounty of the land with confidence. This complete manual for organic food production will show you how to select a site, plan your garden, source and start seeds, manage pests and weeds, compost, preserve your harvests, and more. Comprehensive growing guides for more than 15 essential crops-from beans, carrots, and corn to squashes, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes-detail favored growing conditions, processing tips, key nutrients, and more. Each crop chapter also features easy-to-follow recipes from a range of cultures that will transform your harvest into delicious, nourishing meals. From Jalapeño Cornbread and Oyster Mushroom Grits to Venison Borscht and Walnut-Shiitake Burgers, gardening never tasted so good!

Hey, houseplant lovers! Are you ready to up your growing game? Get ready to branch out and step into the world of growing your own herbs—indoors! 

Whether your green thumb is weathered and worn or shiny and new, there’s no better place to start your herb-growing adventure than with Herbal Houseplants. Inside the beautifully illustrated pages, author and expert herbalist Susan Betz lets you in on a little secret: Herbs make great houseplants. And, you don’t need fancy grow lights, expensive potting soil, or high-end equipment to grow them. All you need is a sunny windowsill and the right plant. 

Learn which herbs perform best as houseplants, how to care for them, and even how to harvest and use your homegrown herbs for culinary creations, household cleaning products, herbal teas, handmade crafts, and more.

In Herbal Houseplants you’ll learn:

• The basics of caring for herbs indoors
• How to keep indoor herbs productive and pest free
• Tips for choosing the best herbs for indoor growing
• Essential advice for watering, fertilizing, and harvesting
• Dozens of recipes and DIY projects for enjoying your herbal harvest
• How to grow exotic herbs, like patchouli, tulsi, and Corsican mint

From parsley and thyme to sage and lemongrass—and many herbs in between—tending and enjoying herbal houseplants pays big rewards for little effort.

DIVA revealing peek into the captivating world of gardening in miniature, complete with inspiring photos and practical step-by-step instructions./divDIV /divDIVA delightful, fun, and endlessly creative new trend is sweeping the gardening world: miniature gardening! With your imagination as the only limit to this infinitely customizable technique, miniature gardening showcases your individuality. Once you've learned how to design, create, and grow tiny plant combinations successfully, you'll be able to let your creativity loose indoors and out. In Miniature Gardens, gardening expert Katie Elzer-Peters demonstrates the latest in plant options and designs through her gorgeous color photography and laser-focused DIY advice. Plenty of good tips and idea-generating information on small-scale furnishings are included as well. Where other books on this popular subject offer run-of-the-mill images and only limited how-to information, Miniature Gardens gives you a thorough and beautiful window into this tiny world, from fairy gardening to dish gardening, terrariums, and even a miniature water garden project. From cute home tabletop designs to elaborate mini-villages and everything in between, miniature gardening is a pastime that can be enjoyed by hobbyists and families of all ages and in all sizes of living space. With Miniature Gardens, you're just a lightning strike of inspiration away from bringing to life the endless creations unique to your own imagination./div
 

Simple and foolproof! Enjoy beautiful container plantings with no stress or fuss. Container Theme Gardens offers 42 plans for container arrangements, each using just five specific plants that you can find at your local garden center. There’s something here for every setting and every style, including a meadow in a box, a pond in a pot, a simple salad garden, and a combination that will attract hummingbirds. Each plan includes photographs of what the full planting will look like, as well as a handy shopping list so you know exactly what you need.

Even beginner gardeners can select plants to create a stunning garden as unique as the Carolinas - with expert help to ensure success!

Carolinas Getting Started Garden Guide is a plant selection guide, perfect for when you're choosing plants and starting a garden in a climate that can be as challenging as it is beautiful. Choose the right plants and care for them properly with help from an expert. Toby Bost, one of the area's most highly respected and experienced gardeners, shares his deep knowledge of the region, gardens, and plants in a lively, upbeat style.

The author's top picks for plants that will thrive in (or in spite of) the Carolina's heat, humidty, coastal conditions, clay and sandy loam soils, and other unique growing conditions guarantee success for the area gardeners and home landscapers. Plants are divided into easy-to-browse chapters, including Annuals, Bulbs, Groundcovers, Ornamental Grasses, Perennials, Shrubs, Trees, Lawns, and Vines. Each plant is highlighted in its respective chapter with a large full-color photograph and tips on how, when, and where to plant.

Carolinas Getting Started Garden Guide doesn't stop at plant selection. Methods for preparing soil, watering, fertilizer application, and pest management are also covered in detail. Along with the "nitty-gritty" of tending your garden, Toby shares his inspiration for garden design, offers ways to incorporate your plants into the landscape, and names some favorite cultivars or species. His sound, practical advice is clothed in beautiful descriptions of each plant that will inspire you to get your hands dirty!

Follow your zany muse and get creative with your vegetable garden. Niki Jabbour brings you 73 novel and inspiring food garden designs that include a cocktail garden featuring all the ingredients for your favorite drinks, a spicy retreat comprising 24 varieties of chile peppers, and a garden that’s devoted to supplying year-round salad greens. Created by celebrated gardeners, each unique design is accompanied by both plant lists and charming anecdotes. This fully illustrated collection glitters with off-beat personality and quirkiness.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the various methods of composting and how to adapt them to your home and garden. With full-color photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, this will be an essential addition to every gardener’s library.

Great compost is one of the most important secrets of successful organic gardening. Topics covered here include:

• What you can and can’t throw on your compost pile
• How to balance nitrogen and carbon in your pile for quick decomposition and rich compost
• Buying or building the best tools and containers
• Vermicomposting
• How to compost indoors
• Troubleshooting smelly compost, dry compost, and other problems
• How and when to apply the compost to your garden beds

With growing concerns about the use of pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs in mainstream gardening practices, more and more families are turning to their backyards to grow their own food using methods they know are safe. The need for clear, straightforward instruction on organic gardening techniques has never been greater. With Composting for Absolute Beginners, readers will get the information they need to prepare their gardens for healthy, abundant crops.