The GIANT Book on Growing Trees and Bushes

📖 The Scoop

 Table of Contents 

Introduction 
Which Fruit to Grow? 
Fruit Production Charts 
Cold Hardiness zones 
Apples 
Citrus fruits 
Buying the Right Trees and Bushes 
Soil Conditions 
Nitrogen Fixing Crops 
Planning your garden 
Natural Weedkillers 
General Planting 
Supporting Your Fruit Trees 
Bird Protection 
Frost Protection 
Planting Fruit Trees Against Walls 
What Are Espaliers? 
Keeping Your Bushes and Trees Healthy 
Fertilizers and pesticides – 
Cow Manure – the Best Organic Fertilizer/Compost Base 
John Innes Compost 
Basic Healthy Compost Mixtures 
How to Make Leaf Compost 
Natural Pesticides 
Neem Pesticide 
Preparing Neem seeds 
Chilis 
Tobacco 
Bougainvillea Leaves 
Fungicides for Soil 
Onion – Garlic Antifungal Solution 
Papaya Cure – 
Using Cow Manure Ash as a Pesticide 
Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms in Plants 
Spraying 
Garden Pests 
Pollination 
Fruit Plant Propagation 
Harvesting your fruit 
EVERGREENS AND SHRUBS 
Planning Your Garden – Evergreens for Screens 
Evergreens – Planting Tips 
Recognizing the “Right” Evergreen 
Why Would Not I Choose a Conifer 
Tips for Planting Evergreens 
Choice of Evergreens 
Arbutus – The Strawberry Tree –Arbutus menziesii 
Camellia 
Heath Plants – Erica 
Gorse– Ulex 
Bottlebrush – Callistemon 
Magnolias 
Daphne – the Spurge Laurel Family 
Box [Buxus] 
Mimosa 
Lavender – Lavandula 
Holly – [Ilex] 
“Gold” and “Silver” Hollies – 
Rhododendrons 
CONIFERS 
Growing Conifers 
Tips before Choosing Your Conifers 
The Scots Pine [Pinus species] 
Growing a Scots Pine Successfully 
Silver [white] Firs 
The Douglas Fir 
Spruce [Picea] 
Cypress – Cupressus 
Junipers 
Cedars 
Planting Your Conifers 
Conclusion 
Author Bio 
Publisher 

Introduction 

When Mother Nature blessed the new born earth with life forms milleniums ago, the diversity of one celled creatures took up different lines of evolution due to climatic changes and mutations. That is when plant life evolved along with animal life. And that is how the surface of the earth was covered with lush fruitful vegetation, which flourished and evolved in different climates. 

As time went by, climatic changes also changed the nature and the appearance of these plants. From multicelled algae and fungi, they became huge multicelled giant trees, like the Sequoia, which are remnants of those glorious days of giant Green trees gone by. 

And soon man found out that trees were very useful to give him shelter, to give him food, and to provide him with essential fruit, leaves, and seeds to supplement his diet. That was because he was imitating the animals around him. 

They nibbled at leaves, he did the same thing. Sometimes he ended up with a tummy ache. Sometimes the animals ended up sick while he was left hale and hearty. But down the ages, and through lots of trial and error, he found out that every single plant out there could be put into use, even those plants we consider weeds today. 

The mythological and historical hanging Gardens of Babylon, which were supposed to have been built by Nebuchadnezzar, but in actuality were built by Sennacherib in Nineveh, Assyria, about 300 km away from Babylon. 

These were lush with green trees from all over the world. And historians who are not really bothered about historic authenticity and the names of kings, did not bother much about the locality or the creator of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 

First-hand accounts of that time were not available, and when Babylon conquered Assyria, they called it the new Babylon. And so centuries later historians wrote about the wonders of marvelous trees and green vegetation, growing in Babylon. 

So that is the reason why since ancient times, trees, especially fruit trees have been an important part of cultured and civilized landscaping. They were and are planted in gardens for the pleasure of the general public or for your own private enjoyment.

Genre: Gardening / Trees (fancy, right?)