Author(s): Christine Lavelle

Home and Garden

Creating and maintaining a beautiful garden that is safe and natural is becoming increasingly popular as we begin to understand the benefits of adopting an organic way of life. This volume is an indispensable guide to using organic methods to create flourishing ornamental and wildlife gardens. There is also a vital section on kitchen gardening that reflects our growing interest in eating and producing fresh, healthy and chemical-free vegetables, herbs and fruit.

Christine and Michael Lavelle give clear advice on creating and caring for a natural garden, showing how to adopt an organic approach to each garden task, whether this is soil preparation, weeding and weed control, watering and feeding, or pruning and propagation. There is also helpful practical information on dealing organically with pests and diseases in both the garden and the greenhouse.

The book looks in turn at different aspects of organic gardening, from creating spectacular lawns and decorative beds and borders in the ornamental garden, through attracting a host of beneficial creatures to the wildlife garden, to growing a wealth of crops in the kitchen garden. An easy-to-use directory of vegetables, herbs and fruit provides clear, at-a-glance information on growing a wide range of healthy produce, with advice on sowing, planting, harvesting and storing.

With its wealth of inspirational and practical photographs, useful step-by-step information and well-informed text, this is a comprehensive guide for both first-time and experienced gardeners, whether you wish to start an organic garden from scratch or use organic methods in an existing garden.