Gardening

The ultimate guide to encouraging wildlife into the garden all year round.

Taking a month-by-month approach, The Wildlife Gardener's Almanac is packed with ideas, advice, tips and checklists, to give gardener's the best chance to make their contribution to conserving our native flora and fauna, no matter what size their garden.

Each chapter of this beautifully illustrated book presents an introduction to the wild plants and creatures to expect at that time of the year, lists of seasonal tasks with straightforward instructions on how to carry them out, detailed profiles of plants in bloom, and a practical project aimed at encouraging more wildlife into the garden, including making a wildlife pond, building a nest box, planning a herb bed, planting a wildflower meadow and more.

With appendices covering wildlife gardening in containers and suggested garden layouts, this guide offers a wealth of gardening information in an accessible format, allowing gardeners to find the advice they need, exactly when they need it.

Grow your way to happiness with this practical handbook for a more sustainable life.

Whether you have a large country garden or a small backyard in the city, this essential guide to the ‘Good Life’ will help you on your journey to becoming more self-sufficient – which is something we all need to be thinking about. Climate change, industrial farming with its reliance on chemicals, rising food prices, fears over food security or just a desire to spend more time outdoors – there are many reasons driving people towards homegrown food and self-sufficiency. 

Growing your own fruit and vegetables, preserving your produce and generating your own energy are all covered in this thrifty guide by the original ‘Tom and Barbara’, Eve and Terence McLaughlin, who wrote the first edition of this book in 1979. This information-packed book has expert advice on growing, harvesting, storing and preserving your produce. You can brew your own beer and learn how to bottle, cure, smoke and pickle your produce to make it last longer.

The book features easy-to-follow instructions for DIY tools and equipment to save money, reduce energy consumption and cut back on waste. Learn how to plan your site, explore the best planting times and methods, discover how to grow a variety of vegetables, fruit and nuts, and how to deal with pests and diseases.

As well as growing your own food, the book also covers the basics of keeping livestock – including chickens, ducks, goats and pigs – and how to harness alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Putting your own food on the table and playing your part in creating a more sustainable future is hugely rewarding and also has health benefits – the physical exercise of planting and harvesting, the mental wellness that comes with spending time in nature, and the reduction in chemicals in the food you eat – there is so much in this activity that fosters greater wellbeing.

Whether you're planning a move to full-blown self-sufficiency or are just curious about what's involved and want to take your first steps to growing your own food, this essential guide has everything you need to know.