By Plant Books

From Vines to Wines: The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine

Jeff Cox

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 70 new & used starting at $8.90

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Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Spirits
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> Wine & Winemaking
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Wine -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Almost perfect 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book tells you everything about growing grapes and producing fine wine. It even deals with the choice of grape-varieties suited for your climate. It is almost perfect. I think many Europeans will read this book, and it would have been perfect if it included the Meditteranean countries in the tables of climate-zones and selection of suitable varieties. It is very difficult to find this (about Europe) on the internet. But a great and very useful book.

Editorial Review:

Create you own backyard winery!

From breaking ground to savoring the finished product, Jeff Cox's From Vines to Wines is the most complete and up-to-date guide to growing flawless grapes and making extraordinary wine.

Wine connoisseurs, gardeners, and home winemakers will find the latest techniques in this fully revised and updated edition. With thorough, illustrated instructions, you'll learn how to:

-- Choose and prepare a vineyard site

-- Construct sturdy and effective trellising systems

-- Plant, prune, and harvest the perfect grapes for your climate

-- Press, ferment, age and bottle your own wine

-- Judge wine for clarity, color, aroma, body, and taste

Bonsai (101 Essential Tips)

Harry Tomlinson

Amazon Price: $5.00 List Price: $5.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK ADULT Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $1.82

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Japanese Gardens

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good Beginner Book, but needs more details... 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This was a good beginner book for my husband when we bought our first bonsai, although we wish there was more descriptions on trimming it and how much water to give it. We think we have some sort of ficus bonsai, but couldn't find it in the book, so we're hoping what we are doing will keep it alive! Good tips on most aspects of keeping them thriving.

Okay 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is small and really just a good overview of what Bonsai's are like. This is sort of a starter guide, explaining the ins and outs of Bonsai. If you're just beginning raising the trees, this is a good book to add to your collection. If you, however, already have a knowledge base about raising and caring for Bonsai, you can move along to a more comprehensive book.

Editorial Review:

Breaks down key information on cultivating bonsai into 101 easy-to-grasp tips and gives quick answers to all your questions.

Harry Tomlinson is one of Europe's leading bonsai artists and instructors. He has exhibited and judged bonsai all over the world. He is also the author of several books including DK's The Complete Book of Bonsai.

Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening

Louise Riotte

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $6.02

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Techniques -> Organic
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Techniques -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Better Gardening 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book has been great with helping to plant my garden using natural methods of pesticides. This is done by planting plants that repel insects and diseases next to each other. It is a very good way to keep from using chemical pesticides, and to get optimal yields of vegetables and fruits. I highly recomend it for the orgainic gardener or the beginning gardener. It is an exellant guide for all.

Plant Away 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a very informational book. I bought two, gave one to my 73 year old mother who just planted her first successful garden!

Editorial Review:

This gardening classic was first published in 1975, and now a second generation of gardeners who prefer pest-resistant planning to chemicals will find a place for it on the shelves. Not only does it tell what to plant with what, but also how to use herbal sprays to control insects, what wild plants to encourage in the garden, how to grow fruit and nut trees, how to start small plots or window-box gardens, and much more. It's one of the most practical books around for any gardener of edibles, no matter how serious or casual.

The Cannabis Grow Bible: The Definitive Guide to Growing Marijuana for Recreational and Medical Use

Greg Green

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Green Candy Press Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $13.52

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Recovery -> Drug Dependency
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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 89 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Don't fear the reefer! Dis book will grow you da good ganj mon! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Whaazup!? Is it 4:20 already? Time to wake and bake!

Being a young man with an abusive atheist father and a mom that ran out on me when I was 3, I have always had this huge void in my life. When I was a pup I would fill this void by stealing things and engaging in the destruction of other people's property!

In middle school I got violent. I would pick on the kids that were smaller then me and I was always getting into fights with the big-wigs of the school. I even hit a teacher once, dat bxxitch just wouldn't leave me alone about that homework!

That's all in the past though. Some of the other poverty-stricken kids that went to my school turned me onto this holy sacrament. It's been all good since then. Whenever I get sad about how horrible my life is, all I gotta do is sit back and puff.

Yeah, so that's where this book comes in. The more you toke, the more you're broke, hehe, yeah. So I got this book so I could grow my own private stash. The book told me everything I needed to know about growing wacky weed.

Unfortunately what it didn't tell me was that growing it was a crime! I am doin some time right now, but I'll make parole soon. I can't wait to get out and partake of sweet Mary Jane again though. Hey, puff puff give! Can I come over to you guys's place when I get out? Please?

Editorial Review:

This guide offers methods for growers who want to maximize the yield and potency of their crop. It explains the "Screen of Green" technique that gives a higher yield using fewer plants, an important development for American growers who, if caught, are penalized according to number of plants. The Cannabis Grow Bible is an authoritative source that features almost 200 color and black-and-white photographs, charts, and tables. With an emphasis on the day-to-day aspects of maintaining a garden and European expertise, this book ensures that growers will enjoy a successful harvest.

Designing with Succulents

Debra Lee Baldwin

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Timber Press, Incorporated Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $16.78

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> By Plant -> Cacti
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> By Plant -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Garden Design

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A must read! You'll be surprised at the versatility of these plants. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is destined to be page-worn very soon. As a neophyte gardener of anything further than the basics, there are many ways to use plants that are new to me. I love the idea of utilizing non-cacti succulents for so many reasons: conserving water in our parched Central Texas land, conserving time because I won't be out there every day trying to save something from dying in the heat, and the exotic looks of the leaves and blooms that these plants can offer.

The author loves succulents, and gives beautiful ideas for which ones work well together, the habits of various species, and she even has gorgeous photos of some beautiful RED Aloe plants that are out there. I stayed up quite late last night reading this one, and it's one of the few gardening books that I want to read every word and not just look at the pictures. A wonderful book! I can't wait to put some of her suggestions into my garden.

Editorial Review:

Succulent plants offer dazzling possibilities for garden design and require only minimal maintenance to remain lush and alluring year round. Featuring the work of more than 50 professional garden designers and creative homeowners, this complete design compendium is as practical as it is inspirational. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 photographs, it gives design and cultivation basics for paths, borders, slopes, and containers; hundreds of succulent plant recommendations; and descriptions of 90 easy-care, drought-tolerant companion plants. Beginners and experienced designers, landscapers, and collectors alike will find what they need to visualize, create, and nurture the three-dimensional work of art that is the succulent garden.

Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide to Growing the World's Most Exotic Plants

William Cullina

Amazon Price: $25.20 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $19.73

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Flowers -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Orchids are the largest family of plants in the world. With 30,000 known species, you could acquire a different orchid every day for eighty years and still not grow them all. Back in the realm of reality, readers of this beautiful book can quickly and easily find the orchids that are right for them -- which ones will thrive on a windowsill, which prefer artificial lights, and which need a greenhouse; which are for beginners, which for experts. And you can pinpoint the species within a particular genus that are the best ones to start with. Once you select your orchid, William Cullina's authoritative guide explains what to do to keep it alive and healthy. Featuring more than two hundred color photographs, Understanding Orchids covers everything you need to know to grow orchids successfully, whatever your level of interest or experience. With improved tissue-culture techniques making orchids more affordable, and the Internet making them readily available to consumers, growing orchids is more popular than ever: membership in the American Orchid Society has more than doubled in the last fifteen years. This is the book orchid fans have been waiting for.

The New Encyclopedia of Orchids: 1500 Species in Cultivation

Isobyl la Croix

Amazon Price: $37.77 List Price: $59.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Timber Press Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $33.78

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Amazing photography 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Just received this new book and am very impressed with the photographs. Good selection of species, some common in cultivation but many that you probably never have nor will see at any nursery or orchid show. Compared to the other big encyclopedias out there this one has mostly better photographs and more in depth descriptions of the plants and flowers but cultural information may be less complete. If you already have several of these general tomes then this one is not mandatory to purchase but will make a good addition to any library. A very nice book and good value.

Editorial Review:

1500 orchid species are profiled in this authoritative, detailed, and carefully researched encyclopedia. Infinitely varied and hugely interesting, these strikingly beautiful plants are sumptuously illustrated with over 1000 photographs in a reference that no orchid lover can afford to be without. Isobyl la Croix is a scientist, plant hunter, and horticulturalist; her deep passion for orchids informs the plant selection and adds depth to the plant descriptions. The cultivation advice includes information about the orchid's native habitat—including elevation, geography, and climate. Recent developments in DNA analysis have led to some surprising findings with regard to the relationships between orchids, and the author has undertaken an extensive effort to bring all orchid names up-to-date to reflect the latest scientific thinking and taxonomy. From Acampe to Zygostates, no other serious reference approaches the depth and authority of this remarkable book.

The Backyard Berry Book: A Hands-On Guide to Growing Berries, Brambles, and Vine Fruit in the Home Garden

Stella Otto

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ottographics Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $7.04

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent Book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I recommend it to anyone interested in growing fruit at home. The information about the different varieties of each type of fruit was very useful.

The Backyard Berry Book: A Hands-On Guide to Growing Berries, Brambles, and Vine Fruit in the Home Garden 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Extremely helpful! Just moved to a new home and wanted to start my plants off right. This book helped me not only in the selection of my plants, but where on my property it is best to plant them, and how to properly plant them. I also learned the correct ways of pruning and fertilizing each plant. I have found this book to be an invaluable tool to a begining backyard gardener.

Editorial Review:

In the late 20th century, unfortunately, berries are seen primarily in the supermarket at certain times of year, and while this is welcome, it used to be that everyone had a few berry bushes in the backyard: some currants, some gooseberries and a few rhubarb plants. Stella Otto explains how to bring this tradition back and raise lush crops of berries and fruit with pointers on soil nutrition, plant nutrients and mulching that will make your home-grown berries the envy of folks who only see them in the supermarket. This mouth-watering book will get you going.

The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Susan Orlean

Amazon Price: $11.20 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ballantine Books Amazon Marketplace: 403 new & used starting at $0.01

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 166 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Orchidelirium is the name the Victorians gave to the flower madness that is for botanical collectors the equivalent of gold fever. Wealthy orchid fanatics of that era sent explorers (heavily armed, more to protect themselves against other orchid seekers than against hostile natives or wild animals) to unmapped territories in search of new varieties of Cattleya and Paphiopedilum. As knowledge of the family Orchidaceae grew to encompass the currently more than 60,000 species and over 100,000 hybrids, orchidelirium might have been expected to go the way of Dutch tulip mania. Yet, as journalist Susan Orlean found out, there still exists a vein of orchid madness strong enough to inspire larceny among collectors.

The Orchid Thief centers on south Florida and John Laroche, a quixotic, charismatic schemer once convicted of attempting to take endangered orchids from the Fakahatchee swamp, a state preserve. Laroche, a horticultural consultant who once ran an extensive nursery for the Seminole tribe, dreams of making a fortune for the Seminoles and himself by cloning the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii. Laroche sums up the obsession that drives him and so many others:

I really have to watch myself, especially around plants. Even now, just being here, I still get that collector feeling. You know what I mean. I'll see something and then suddenly I get that feeling. It's like I can't just have something--I have to have it and learn about it and grow it and sell it and master it and have a million of it.

Even Orlean--so leery of orchid fever that she immediately gives away any plant that's pressed upon her by the growers in Laroche's circle--develops a desire to see a ghost orchid blooming and makes several ultimately unsuccessful treks into the Fakahatchee. Filled with Palm Beach socialites, Native Americans, English peers, smugglers, and naturalists as improbably colorful as the tropical blossoms that inspire them, this is a lyrical, funny, addictively entertaining read. --Barrie Trinkle

The Secret Techniques of Bonsai: A Guide to Starting, Raising, and Shaping Bonsai

Masakuni Kawasumi II and Masakuni Kawasu III

Amazon Price: $19.14 List Price: $29.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Kodansha International Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $17.27

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Japanese Gardens

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Japanese art of bonsai is practiced worldwide, but while basic techniques have been more or less effectively taught, many of the more intriguing ones, as well as recently invented ones, have not. THE SECRET TECHNIQUES OF BONSAI remedies this oversight with the thoughtful instruction of second and third generation experts.

SECRET TEACHINGS is by the author of the groundbreaking BONSAI WITH AMERICAN TREES, one of the first books to unveil the secrets of the trade. This time, Masakuni Kawasumi II teams up with his son, Masakuni III, to offer not only the basics for creating perfect bonsai but secret techniques he has developed over years of careful work and observation. Masakuni III, the first qualified tree doctor for bonsai in Japan, adds his unique insights. Between them they offer over eighty years of experience.

The techniques are simple and intuitive, yet have been developed only after decades of practice and perfection. Detailed information is provided to start, nurture, and shape bonsai. A number of secret techniques are introduced for beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike. The father-and-son team also delves into bonsai tool usage, another area of their expertise, giving the reader a clear sense of how to use specialized tools—or how to better use the garden and workshop tools they have at home. All these make this an invaluable book for beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike.

* Growing bonsai from seedlings or cuttings
* Secret techniques and new shortcuts to better bonsai
* Techniques for shaping, pruning, training, grafting, and repotting
* Step-by-step photos
* Expert advice from Japan's first bonsai tree doctor
* Detailed advice for using numerous bonsai tools to perfect bonsai work