Gardening & Seed Libraries

Engagingly written, informative, and packed with color photographs, The Backyard Chicken Keeper's Bible pairs a sumptuous aesthetic with advice on identifying a broad range of chicken breeds and selecting the right ones for you, as well as discovering more about the evolution, history, and art of chickens of the world. With detailed visuals of the top backyard chicken breeds-- as well as notable chickens and keepers around the world and throughout history-- readers will discover more about starting and caring for their own home flock, plus the best equipment and resources to keep them happy and thriving, how to create chicken-friendly gardens, coops, and runs, and how to become better animal advocates.

In Love, Nature, Magic, organic advocate and former CEO of a global health and wellness company Maria Rodale combines her love of nature and gardening with her experience in shamanic journeying, embarking on an epic adventure to learn from plants, animals, and insects―including some of the most misunderstood beings in nature. Maria asks them their purpose and listens as they show and declare what they want us humans to know. From Thistles to Snakes, Poison Ivy to Mosquitoes, these nature beings convey messages that are relevant to every human, showing us how to live in balance and harmony on this Earth.

Through journeys filled with surprises, humor, and foibles, follow Maria’s evolution from being annoyed with to accepting―and even falling in love with―our most difficult neighbors (including human ones). Along the way, she tells her own story of how she learned about shamanic journeying and its near-universal manifestation in traditional cultures worldwide. She describes what her experiences of shamanic journeying are like―simply, honestly, and with a touch of irreverence.

Maria’s journeys include conversations with: Mugwort • Vulture • Bat • Rabbit • Lanternfly • Lightning Bug • Osage Orange • Deer • Paper Wasp • Dandelion • Tick • Groundhog • Milkweed • And more!

Throughout, Rodale shares an essential truth that resonates across her shamanic explorations: We first must heal our own hearts, for only then can we truly love others and begin to heal planet Earth.

What makes a garden good? For Chris McLaughlin, it's about growing the healthiest, most scrumptious fruits and veggies possible, but it's also about giving back. How can your little patch of Earth become a sanctuary for threatened wildlife, sequester carbon, and nurture native plants?

In Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden, poet and scholar Camille T. Dungy recounts the seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in the predominately white community of Fort Collins, Colorado. When she moved there in 2013, with her husband and daughter, the community held strict restrictions about what residents could and could not plant in their gardens. In chronicling her resistance to the homogeneous policies that limited the possibility and wonder that grows from the earth, Dungy employs the various plants, herbs, vegetables, and flowers she grows in her garden as metaphor and treatise for how homogeneity threatens the future of our planet, and why cultivating diverse and intersectional language in our national discourse about the environment is the best means of protecting it. Definitive and singular, Soil functions at the nexus of nature writing, environmental justice, and prose to encourage readers to recognize the relationship between the peoples of the African diaspora and the land on which they live, and to understand that wherever soil rests beneath our feet is home. 

Kids don’t need a big backyard or outdoor space to learn about gardening and how plants grow. This introductory garden book, packed with photos of 3 to 6 year olds in action, features hands-on planting and growing activities that can be done in a small yard, classroom, or community garden. Written by the staff of City Sprouts, a leading educational organization in promoting urban gardening and equitable access to nature, each activity—from Sorting Seeds to Going on a Worm Hunt to Planting a Tasty Salad—encourages kids to roll up their sleeves and learn about seeds, planting, and gardening. Step-by-step photos and on-the-page discovery prompts, presented in a lively design, make it easy and inviting for kids everywhere to become plant lovers and nature explorers. 

Discover the life lessons plants can teach you--from the importance of putting down roots to leaning on others for support and nourishment--in this charming, illustrated guide to personal growth. Every idea, relationship, or project begins with a seed: A seed of creativity, a flicker of hope, an inkling of motivation. In Please Grow, illustrator Alex Testere takes us on a journey through the life of a well-tended plant or garden--from nourishing a seed to propagating, protecting, pruning, and beyond--relating the lessons we can learn from the natural world to our everyday lives, including: Planting a seed is only the beginning. A flower is a reminder of what is possible when the right circumstances align. Extending your roots is like building community -- both are lifelines. Compost old ideas and experiences to create fuel for a fresh start. Nothing lasts foreverand in some cases, that can be a good thing. With sweet, vibrant art, ecological sidebars, and a sprinkling of practical plant care tips, Please Grow is a gentle reminder of life's cyclical, ever-blossoming nature. We all have the power to plant our own seeds and harvest our own blooms. So, what are you waiting for?

Master naturalist Nancy Lawson takes readers on a fascinating tour of the vibrant web of nature outside our back door—where animals and plants perceive and communicate using marvelous sensory abilities we are only beginning to understand. Organized into chapters investigating each of their five senses, Lawson's exploration reveals a remarkable world of interdependent creatures with amazing capabilities.

You'll learn of ultrasound clicks humans can't hear, and ultraviolet colors humans can't see. You'll cross paths with foraging American bumblebees drawn to the scent of wild bergamot, urban sparrows who adapt their mating song in response to human clamor, trees that amp up their growth in response to deer and moose saliva, and a chipmunk behaving like the world's smallest pole vaulter to nab juicy red berries hanging from the lowest parts of a coral honeysuckle vine.

Synthesizing cutting-edge scientific research, original interviews with animal and plant researchers, and poetic observations made in her own garden, Lawson shows us how to appreciate the natural environment from the sensory perspective of our wild neighbors right outside our door and beyond, and how to respect and nurture the habitats they need to survive.

Ground covers are an essential part of any garden-they suppress weeds, mask problem areas, and knit different parts of the garden together. Yet only a handful of old standbys are commonly used, resulting in dull, unimaginative landscapes. In reality, there are thousands of exciting, garden-worthy plants that make excellent ground covers-people just don't know about them. This comprehensive reference will provide both essential information and photographs for approximately 4000 outstanding plants. Also included will be information on planting, care and maintenance, propagation, and design, making the book an essential tool for designers and nursery professionals.