Here are 57 books that Gaia's Garden fans have personally recommended if you like
Gaia's Garden.
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I’ve been an ecologist, scientist, organic farmer and gardener for over thirty years. I care deeply about our natural world and the devastating loss of biodiversity that is happening around the globe. As a long-term educator, I want to encourage people to diversify their gardens and lawns and become passionate observers of nature and our beautiful planet. We often throw our hands up because we don’t feel like we can do anything to help rectify environmental problems. But this is something we can all participate in whether we have land or not, but especially if we have access to land.
This book is a deep dive into the importance of planting native species for creating healthy, biodiverse ecosystems at a time when global biodiversity is declining. Suburban lawns and home gardens featuring nonnative ornamentals are ecological wastelands. I was fascinated by the idea that increasing native plants in backyards could turn whole neighbors into wild ecological zones with more bees, butterflies, birds, and wildlife species.
I learned so much about how alien ornamental species do not provide the food and habitat resources needed by important native insects (the little things that run the world). Insects are the food source for many birds (at least at some point in the bird’s lifecycle) and other wildlife in our planet's complex food webs. I found this book to be rigorous without being dry or academic. It has great photographs, too.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’ve been an ecologist, scientist, organic farmer and gardener for over thirty years. I care deeply about our natural world and the devastating loss of biodiversity that is happening around the globe. As a long-term educator, I want to encourage people to diversify their gardens and lawns and become passionate observers of nature and our beautiful planet. We often throw our hands up because we don’t feel like we can do anything to help rectify environmental problems. But this is something we can all participate in whether we have land or not, but especially if we have access to land.
This is a must-have book for farmers. It covers ways to increase beneficial insects on the farm. I learned so much about beneficial insects and how to enhance them on the farm through everything from using wild spaces, cover crops, and hedgerows.
So much of the information was applicable to our farm as well. The Xerces Society has many guidebooks for both farmers and gardeners, but I found this one especially fascinating for learning about insects, beneficial insects, and large-scale strategies for increasing biodiversity on the farm.
Harness the power of beneficial insects to deter pests and reduce crop damage. This comprehensive guide to farming with insects will have you building beetle banks and native plant field borders as you reap a bountiful and pesticide-free harvest. With strategies for identifying the insects you're trying to attract paired with step-by-step instructions for a variety of habitat-building projects, you'll soon learn how to employ your own biocontrol conservation tactics. Lay out the brush piles and plant the hedgerows because the insects are going to love it here!
I’ve been an ecologist, scientist, organic farmer and gardener for over thirty years. I care deeply about our natural world and the devastating loss of biodiversity that is happening around the globe. As a long-term educator, I want to encourage people to diversify their gardens and lawns and become passionate observers of nature and our beautiful planet. We often throw our hands up because we don’t feel like we can do anything to help rectify environmental problems. But this is something we can all participate in whether we have land or not, but especially if we have access to land.
This book offers a whole new perspective on why insects are important for global biodiversity. Instead of taking a strictly scientific and ecological approach, as in the other books I recommended, the author also examines mythology, history, folklore, and cultural traditions regarding our human relationship with insects.
It made me think about insects and my relationship with them in different ways. I loved this book.
Should we have compassion and respect for creeping, buzzing, stinging creatures? Joanne Lauck says yes—and challenges the reader to view six- and eight-legged beings as messengers, guides, initiatory figures, and friends. Drawing on myth, touching and funny anecdotes, Native American wisdom, and science, Lauck shows how we can live in harmony with insects, healing an inner aspect of ourselves in the process.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I’ve been an ecologist, scientist, organic farmer and gardener for over thirty years. I care deeply about our natural world and the devastating loss of biodiversity that is happening around the globe. As a long-term educator, I want to encourage people to diversify their gardens and lawns and become passionate observers of nature and our beautiful planet. We often throw our hands up because we don’t feel like we can do anything to help rectify environmental problems. But this is something we can all participate in whether we have land or not, but especially if we have access to land.
Jean Henri Fabre was a late 1800s educator, scientist, and writer whose words still resonate with readers, including myself, over one hundred years later. This book is a collection of many of his writings with beautiful watercolors by Marlene McLoughlin.
In the early days when Fabre was writing, someone studying the natural sciences would generally kill their subjects. Fabre was different. He observed them. He built fancy cages and fed his various subjects (mostly insects). In that way, he learned about their lifecycles, mating habits, and so much more. I was inspired to do more observing of insects and other wildlife in my own garden.
This book is a collection of Jean-Henri Fabr e''s musings on nature. Fabre''s words present a vivid picture of all he saw and experienced in the beautiful countryside in France, and his passionate observances shine in these exc erpts. '
I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!
I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book because it is perfectly aligned with not just self-sufficiency but also considerate of neighbor-embracing outreach and acknowledgement of appreciation of Mother Nature–God’s creation.
I also appreciated that the author recognizes this as a solution to the global world's problems, which is ultimately realized as "climate change" acceleration.
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Are you becoming more and more concerned about the global economy and have a burning desire to return to the land in a meaningful way?
What if you could restore your health and vitality in a way that brought you safety and assurance? What if you could work with nature efficiently to grow your own food?
I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!
I loved this book because Sepp Holzer is proficient in sharing precisely how to take each step of permaculture design with clear descriptions of why they become a cumulative abundant foundation for further development of your permaculture system.
From concepts to practical details, he demonstrates the thinking processes based on principles found in nature that can be applied anywhere.
Sepp Holzer farms steep mountainsides in Austria 1,500 meters above sea level. His farm is an intricate network of terraces, raised beds, ponds, waterways and tracks, well covered with productive fruit trees and other vegetation, with the farmhouse neatly nestling amongst them. This is in dramatic contrast to his neighbors' spruce monocultures.In this book, Holzer shares the skill and knowledge acquired over his lifetime. He covers every aspect of his farming methods, not just how to create a holistic system on the farm itself, but how to make a living from it. Holzer writes about everything from the overall concepts,…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!
The uniquely special flavor of this gem-packed book that caught my attention and kept me riveted from chapter to chapter is the focus on sustainable perennial food crops. Plant it once and forget it. The productivity continues to generate staple foods, building materials, fuel, and useful oils, all while improving the quality of the environment.
I find this very compelling for my conclusion that climate change can be reversed over time.
Restoration Agriculture explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate nature in form and function while still providing for our food, building, fuel and many other needs — in your own backyard, farm or ranch.
This book, based on real-world practices, presents an alternative to the agriculture system of eradication and offers exciting hope for our future.
I find these books most compelling because over the years I have become increasingly motivated to study and share the value of appreciating mankind’s responsibility to nature as God’s gift to us! And in doing so, have embraced our obligation as stewards to ensure future generations a “future Earth” cleaner than we found it. The current trend is faulty to the utmost degree, but can be reversed with intelligent design and appropriate education beginning in grade school. This should be everyone’s objective!
I loved this book as essential to all gardeners who would appreciate their "Zone-1" area closest to their home and kitchen to be as beautiful and productive as possible!
This book is the best that I have found for designing kitchen gardens, herb spirals, keyhole gardens, and general outdoor living areas. I also found it compelling that while symmetry and visual harmony were addressed liberally, the functionality of practical symbiosis for chosen fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers was not lost.
Discover how to partner ornamental plants with edible ones for a garden that offers both storybook appeal and a plethora of culinary delights.
*Winner of the GardenComm 2023 Laurel Media Awards Silver Award in the Book Publisher/Producer General Readership Category*
Stylish and celebratory, The Elegant and Edible Garden takes food growing to a higher plane. Host of The Potager Blog (@potagerblog), author and garden stylist Linda Vater, shares her vision for creating a garden space where food and flowers grow side by side. Known as a potager, these gardens are formal in their framework yet flexible and personal in their…
I’ve always loved nature and the idea of being more self-reliant, so growing some of my own food seemed like an obvious place to start. This led me to permaculture and the treasure box of goodies it provides for each of us to make a positive difference in the world. Almost by accident, I found myself teaching and I loved it so much it became my main vocation. I write to make sense of things for myself and this is how my Design Guide came about. Books are a gift so few of our ancestors had access to. I hope you enjoy my recommendations as much as I have.
I first came across an original Dutch copy of Vera’s book in a charity shop and I bought it despite not understanding the words because it looked so beautiful. In 2019 I finally got the chance to buy an English version and I was not disappointed. Vera is another no-dig, organic grower and this book demonstrates how attractive and abundant such gardens can be. I especially like her sections on her favourite edible flowers and how she groups plants together based on their shape and size but also how they can benefit each other. It’s an all-round beautiful and inspiring book that lives on my easy-access bookshelf!
Learn how to create your own no dig, organic garden with permaculture design and techniques. Vera's 15 years of experience as a no dig gardener provides a vast amount of knowledge on growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. The book is divided into two sections, container gardening and permaculture kitchen gardening. Part One shares knowledge especially useful to urban gardeners and those with little space. Part Two advises on starting and maintaining a garden. Vera's speciality is creating beautiful and delicious polycultures and she offers a range of examples to get you started and the knowledge to experiment. She also…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
Veg. I grow it; I nurture it; I shield it from cold winds, protect it from voracious pigeons, warm it against sudden frosts. And then I share it with friends, family, and neighbours… and we eat it. In between times I might write something gardeny or historical, but you’ll usually find me back on my veg plot, a little urban allotment in the west of England. I do a lot of reading there too!
Organics, raised beds, permaculture, vertical gardening: there are plenty of exciting new ideas coming out of the veg patch. One of the most persuasive is Charles Dowding’s no-dig brigade. Many of my ‘can’t dig’ friends are joining up too, prevented from wielding a spade by sore backs, arthritis, and other such ailments. This regime of hand weeding and hoeing, and freshening the soil with generous helpings of homemade mulching composts is so much kinder to the planet than plastering it with artificial fertilisers.
No dig organic gardening saves time and work. It requires an annual dressing of compost to help accelerate the improvement in soil structure and leads to higher fertility and less weeds. No dig experts, Charles Dowding and Stephanie Hafferty, explain how to set up a no dig garden. They describe how to: Make compost, enrich soil, harvest and prepare food and make natural beauty and clean ing products and garden preparations. These approaches work as well in small spaces as in large gardens. The Authors' combined experience gives you ways of growing, preparing and storing the plants you grow for…
