Handbooks

"A brilliant collection of gardening handbooks." —New York Times

Since 1945, BBG's award-winning horticultural handbooks have offered practical information in a compact, easy-to-read format. Written by top gardening experts and packed with spectacular color photos, BBG guides are full of ideas on how to make your garden beautiful, bountiful, and ecologically sensible.

- Japanese-Style Gardens
  
  This delightful guide includes profiles of iconic Japanese-style public gardens, a primer on the historical roots of various styles, commentary by the most respected names in Japanese garden design, and practical information on designing and caring for a Japanese-inspired home garden.
  
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- The Kid’s Guide to Exploring Nature
  
  This gorgeously illustrated book, created by Brooklyn Botanic Garden's expert educators, teaches children how to observe environments as a naturalist does and leads them on 24 adventures that reveal the complex ecosystems of plants and animals in the woods, at the beach, and in a city park.
  
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- Easy Compost
  
  This completely revised edition of BBG's bestselling handbook Easy Compost, updated with a new focus on urban composting, remains an essential guide to the science and art of this green practice.
  
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- Green Roofs and Rooftop Gardens
  
  Living roofs cool the air, reduce water pollution, extend roof life, and cut energy costs. They also provide green space for city dwellers and habitat for birds and insects. Green Roofs and Rooftop Gardens tells the stories behind some of the city’s most interesting green roofs and offers tips for starting your own.
  
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- A Native Plants Reader
  
  Complementing Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s top “how to” guides like Great Natives for Tough Places, A Native Plants Reader offers a set of engaging narratives on the importance of native plants.
  
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- Edible Gardens
  
  Bring great-looking food plants into your garden with a portfolio of delicious designs for an edible front yard, native food forest, children’s garden, and more! A plant encyclopedia profiles the origins, ornamental qualities, growing requirements, and culinary uses of more than 100 edible garden plants.
  
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- The Climate Conscious Gardener
  
  Gardeners can make a difference! This step-by-step guide to offsetting climate change through gardens and landscaping explains what happens when the atmospheric balance of carbon and nitrogen goes awry, and how plants, soil, and synthetic gardening aids (such as fertilizer and pesticides) affect climate.
  
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- Great Natives for Tough Places
  
  Find native plants that thrive in challenging growing conditions! This comprehensive guide offers portraits of more than 120 gorgeous and low-maintenance plants, as well as strategies for selection and care.
  
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- Fragrant Designs
  
  Fragrant flowers and foliage can make the difference between a pretty garden and an unforgettable one! Let this enticing guide take you on a tour of some of nature's most compelling scents.
  
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- Healthy Soils for Sustainable Gardens
  
  Create a resource-wise garden! This hands-on guide helps you understand the unique characteristics of your garden's soil and shows you how to build its natural fertility with organic and sustainable methods.
  
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- The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-ups
  
  SPECIAL PUBLICATION
  Hardcover | 9" x 11" | 96 pages | 100% postconsumer recycled paper
  
  Winner, Garden Writers Association Gold Award
  
  The Tree Book's beautiful illustrations show buds, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed of 33 trees that grow in North America. Histories of each tree bring to life its character and significance to us, while introductory chapters explore the science and magic of these gentle green giants.
  
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- Community Gardening
  
  Today, new concerns about food safety and sustainable practices, greater isolation from neighbors, and the loss of gardening space have made the age-old practice of community gardening more relevant than ever. Whether you are already a member of a community garden, want to get involved in one, or are just curious, this guide offers valuable lessons about cultivation and cooperation-as well as dynamic gardens and great food!
  
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- Gardening With Children
  
  What better way to connect children with the natural world than through gardening? Team up with the youngsters in your care on scores of fun outdoor and indoor garden-related activities. Share the joy of watching plants and the animals that live among them grow and flourish as you guide children in the discovery of nature’s cycles and communities.
  
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- Designing Borders for Sun and Shade
  
  Garden writer, nurseryman, and designer Bob Hyland, who has gardened on both coasts and in between, describes how you can create a gorgeous border in sun or shade and offers design styles and suggestions for beautiful shrubs, grasses, bulbs, and annuals suited to North America's many diverse regions and climates.
  
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- 100 Garden Tips and Timesavers
  
  100 Garden Tips and Timesavers has color-coded chapter bars for quick reference to general topics like gardening techniques and vegetables, and each tip is described with step-by-step instructions. Keep it handy for inspiration!
  
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- Annuals for Every Garden
  
  Whether you'd like to create a spectacular ever-changing annual border, design a drought-resistant display, or enjoy an evening garden, in this book you'll find the plants that are just right for the job—plus tips to create unforgettable displays.
  
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- Gourmet Herbs
  
  By growing herbs in your garden, in pots on your terrace, or on a sunny windowsill, you can ensure a steady supply of even hard-to-find varieties for your kitchen.
  
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- Chile Peppers: Hot Tips and Tasty Picks for Gardeners and Gourmets
  
  Sweet bell peppers in every color of the rainbow, mild jalapeños, novel ornamental types, and fiery exotic chiles from around the world are inspiring new interest among gardeners. This indispensable guide tells you everything you need to know to grow and enjoy these tongue-tingling pods.
  
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Image, top of page: Rebecca Bullene