This book will be the bible for people who cultivate orchids and for people who want to grow them. In Orchid Modern: Living and Designing with the World’s Most Elegant Houseplants
(Timber Press, 2019), Marc Hachadourian, curator of the orchid collection at the NY Botanical Garden, takes you through everything you need to know to grow and design with the world's most precious plants. "It all starts," he says, "with just one orchid," but if you're a person who loves plants and flowers, "orchids have a way of working themselves into your life." And he tells you just how to do it.:how to grow them indoors or out, how to help them flourish, how to identify and deal with pests and diseases. Best of all, he shows you how to create with orchids: making terrariums, wreaths, kokedama (Japanese display), bonsai, penjing, a hanging mobile, and much more. And finally, the back sections identifies the different orchid species and how to grow them. It's a book you'll want for the day when it starts "with just one orchid."
And while we're talking houseplants, consider Creative Terrariums: 33 Modern Mini-Gardens for Your Home (Fox Chapel Publishing) Step-by-Step Cutting-Edge, Contemporary Designs to Add a Decorative Organic Presence to Even the Smallest Room
(Fox Chapel Publishing, 2019) by Enid Svymbersky, who blogs at A Charming Project. She explains the basics of creating terrariums, then profiles 30 different terrariums you can create, from a seaside-inspired planting inside of a shell to others inside glass containers (even one inside a martini glass) and others hanging inside lightbulbs.
Read it this summer, and get inspired for some spectacular fall projects.
I'm not sure you could grow veg crops in a terrarium, but British author Alex Mitchell, in Crops in Tight Spots
(Kyle Books, 2019), says you can definitely grow mushrooms underneath your bed!
Whether it's windowsills or window boxes, or outdoor containers of various sizes, she explains how to get great produce out of small spaces. Mitchell tells you the best fruit trees to grow in pots (different fig, apple, pear, cherry varieties); edible plants for tabletops; pots full of pickles; and hanging baskets filled with fruits. There are also solutions for small gardens, windy roofs and balconies, as well as steps and alleys.
So if you think you have no room to grow your own, go out and get this book.
One of the best things about gardening, of course, is the wildlife that shows up to appreciate what you've done for them. Naturalist David Mizejewski of the National Wildlife Federation tells you how to connect with natural world in National Wildlife Federation(R): Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife, Expanded Second Edition (Creative Homeowner) 17 Projects & Step-by-Step Instructions to Give Back to Nature
(Fox Chapel Publishing, 2019). It's the second edition of this practical guide to attract butterflies, birds, and other beneficials into your garden. And as MIzejewski says in the introduction to the guide, "... more than one-third of America's wildlife is at risk of extinction in the coming decades. While the situation sounds grim, you might be surprised to learn that you can help reverse this alarming decline for some species by creating your own wildlife habitat garden." He lists the trees, shrubs and perennials that provide food and shelter for wildlife and help restore the natural habitat. There is much, much more, and I encourage each and every gardener to read this book and implement some of its important advice.
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