Forest Gardening: Cultivating an Edible Landscape, 2nd Edition - Softcover

Hart, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0930031849 ISBN 13: 9780930031848

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1996

Synopsis

An English classic revised and expanded for North America

Forest Gardening is a way of working alongside nature--an approach that results in great productivity with minimal maintenance, and a method for transforming even a small cottage garden into a diverse and inviting habitat for songbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Based on the model of a natural woodland, a forest garden incorporates a wide variety of useful plants, including fruit and nut trees, perennial herbs, and vegetables.

Hart's book beautifully describes his decades of experience gardening in the Shropshire countryside, yet the principles of "backyard permaculture" he explores can be applied equally well in other locales across the planet, from tropical to temperate zones. Practical features of the book include:

• Design guidelines for creating your own perennial food-producing garden
• Lists of recommended plants and varieties, keyed to different climates
• An explanation of how plants in different levels or "stories" --from ground covers to full-sized trees--coexist and interact in a healthy and productive landscape.

Robert Hart blends history, philosophy, anthropology, and seasonal gardening wisdom in a lucid sequence of essays, which together comprise a remarkable testament to the pleasures of "hands-off" as well as hands-on gardening. Forest Gardening is truly a book for our times, offering a fresh sensibility that will encourage and inspire ecological gardeners throughout the world.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Based on the model of a healthy natural woodland, a forest garden incorporates a wide variety of useful plants, including fruit and nut trees, perennial herbs, and vegetables. Robert Hart's book beautifully describes his decades of experience gardening in the Shropshire countryside. The principles of "backyard permaculture" he has developed can be applied successfully in every temperate zone of North America, helping to transform even a small cottage garden into a diverse and hospitable habitat for songbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Blending history, philosophy, anthropology, and seasoned gardening wisdom in a lucid sequence of essays, Forest Gardening examines the pleasure of "hands off" as well as hands-on gardening. This book offers fresh ways of understanding the relationships between people and growing plants. For gardeners who aspire to create ecological as well as beautiful gardens, Forest Gardening will be an inspiration and a pleasure.|Chelsea Green, America's leading publisher of books for sustainable living, has just published an exciting new book for gardeners. This book includes:
-- Design guidelines for creating a perennial, food-producing garden
-- Recommended plants & varieties
-- A guide to the interaction of trees & ground covers in a healthy & productive landscape

Forest gardening is a way of working alongside nature - an approach that results in great productivity with minimal maintenance, and a method for transforming even a small backyard garden into a diverse and inviting habitat.

About the Author:

Robert Hart (1913-2000) was a pioneer practitioner of agroforestry and permaculture. His books include Forest Gardening, The Inviolable Hills, Ecosociety, and the widely acclaimed Forest Farming (co-authored with James Sholto Douglas). He lived in Shropshire, England.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0930031849
• ISBN 13: 9780930031848
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 259