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Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
What You’re Not to Read
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Part I: Urban Gardening 101
Part II: Gardening Basics
Part III: Places and Ways to Garden
Part IV: Growing Plants in the City
Part V: Growing to Perfection
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Urban Gardening 101
Chapter 1: Gardening in the City
Knowing the Basics of Soil Prep
Finding the Many Places to Garden the City
Growing All Kinds of Plants in The City
Trees and shrubs
Edibles
Annual flowers
Perennial flowers and roses
Lawns and groundcovers
Exploring the Down and Dirty of Growing
Weeding and mulching
Watering
Pest patrol
Chapter 2: Reaping the Benefits of Urban Gardening
Enjoying Local Produce from Urban Food Gardens
Looking at places to grow food
Checking out urban food gardening projects
Creating Healthy Cities
Reducing pollution
Making cities more livable
Improving the neighborhood
Chapter 3: The Urban Microclimate
The Sunny City: Working with the Sun and Warmer Urban Temperatures
Taking advantage of seasonal solar angles
Dealing with solar glare
Minimizing the Heat Island Effect
The Windy City: Working with Seasonal Urban Wind Patterns
Taking Macroclimate and Microclimate Conditions into Account in Your Garden
Knowing your hardiness zone
Considering your own microclimatic conditions
Part II: Gardening Basics
Chapter 4: Getting to Know Your Soil
Determining Your Type of Soil
Understanding the different soil types
Figuring out what you have
Checking Your Soil’s Drainage
Performing a percolation test
Mastering the metal rod test
Discovering Your Soil’s pH Level
Finding Out What Lies Beneath the Soil
Doing a little digging (literally and figuratively)
Protecting yourself from soil contaminants
Chapter 5: Feeding and Fertilizing Your Soil
Organics 101: Plant Matter
Adding a Little Something Extra to Build Soil Fertility: Animal Manure
Making Compost and Growing Soil
Composting safely in the city
Choosing a container
Building your pile
Troubleshooting common composting problems
Composting with worms
Giving Your Plants and Soil a Boost with Fertilizers
Getting to know the “big three” in commercial fertilizers
Wet versus dry fertilizers
Applying a side dressing of fertilizer
Chapter 6: Getting Your Hands Dirty: Planting How-To
Planting Annual Flowers and Veggies
Starting with a raised bed
Deciding whether to buy seeds or transplants
Making a seed-starting schedule based on frost dates
Growing your own seedlings
Picking out transplants
Planting your annual or vegetable garden
Planting Trees and Shrubs
Buying a tree or shrub
Digging the hole and planting
Getting your trees and shrubs off to a good start
Planting Perennial Flowers, Bulbs, and Roses
Buying and planting perennial flowers
Buying and planting bulbs
Buying and planting roses
Part III: Places and Ways to Garden
Chapter 7: Creating an Outdoor Room
Analyzing Your Outdoor Space
Fencing In Your Space
Planning Your Outdoor Room
Creating Your Garden Entrance
Installing moon gates for a Zen-like feel
Showing off your space with garden arbors
Opting for other types of entry features
Defining the Uses for Your Outdoor Room
Creating a Focal Element
Using a unique plant
Creating serenity with a water feature
Going with a man-made feature
Turning Recycled Materials into Chic and Useful Garden Art
Using yard sale items
Repurposing materials (Reusing junk)
Considering Interactive Garden Art
A garden sundial
Music in the garden
Chapter 8: Containing Your Gardening
Surveying Container Options
Cool commercial containers
Hanging, balancing, and other interesting containers
Bathtubs, birdcages, bicycles, and more
Selecting Soil for Your Container
Planting a Container
Prepping your pots
Planting your containers properly
Jazzing Up Your Containers
Placing containers for visual interest
Coordinating colors
Cool container combos
Taking Care of Your Container Plants
Watering
Maintaining your containers
Moving containers
Chapter 9: A Garden with a View: The Rooftop Garden
Finding Out the Rooftop Gardening Basics
Why grow up? Reviewing reasons for planting on the roof
What’s your type? Choosing a green roof or roof garden
How much is enough? Looking at your limits
What’s next? Getting started and developing a plan
Designing a Rooftop Garden or Green Roof
Structural considerations: Making sure your roof won’t cave in
Managing rainwater
Deciding what to grow
Planning electrical service and lighting
Transporting materials
Staying In Bounds with a Rooftop Container Garden
Chapter 10: Going Vertical in Your Garden
Discovering the Benefits of Growing Vertical
Facing the Challenges of Growing Vertical
Rethinking Your Space: Up, Down, and All Around
Getting Plants to Grow Up
Vertical structures: Providing a place to climb
Growing vertical veggies and fruits
Giving Containers a Lift
Understanding the special considerations for vertical container gardening
Choosing vertical containers
Chapter 11: Apartment Gardens
Balcony Gardens
Using containers on your balcony
Creating a picture frame garden
Using flowerbox planters
Indoor Gardening
Creating an indoor herb garden
Growing under lights indoors
Practicing indoor plant care and watering
Chapter 12: Community Gardening and Urban Farming
Community Gardening 101
A brief history of community gardening
How community gardening works
Starting a Community Gardening Program
Selecting a site
Developing your site
Organizing the garden
Managing the garden
Urban Farming = Urban Renewal
Benefits of gardening together
Avoiding down zoning
Marketing Locally
Selling produce at farmers’ markets
Participating in farm-to-school initiatives
Selling to local restaurants
Hosting harvest festivals
Creating community gatherings and celebrations
Sharing a Garden
Gardening with roommates
Volunteering for others
Hiring out as an urban farmer
Planting a row for the hungry
Going from Pavement to Parks
Reclaiming urban green space
Creating urban parklets
Part IV: Growing Plants in the City
Chapter 13: City Setting, Country Food
Making a Veggie Garden Plan
Choosing a site for your vegetable garden
Sizing up your garden: How big is big?
Laying it all out
Keeping Your Veggies Happy
Feeding
Weeding, mulching, and watering
Raising the Top City Vegetables
Leafy greens
The tomato family: Eggplants, peppers, and other relatives
Melons, squash, and other vining vegetables
Root vegetables
Peas and beans
Cabbage, broccoli, and more
Easy herbs
Extending the Season
Succession planting: Lettuce forever!
Intercropping: The space between
Protecting plants in cool weather
Chapter 14: The Annual Flowering of the City
Understanding Annuals
Siting Your Annual Flower Garden
Figuring out whether your garden can support sun- or shade-loving annuals
Prepping and planting
Considering color
Thinking about texture and fragrance
Growing flowers for cutting
Growing Annuals in Containers
Choosing Annual Flowers for All Seasons and Soils
Cool spring and fall flowers
Summer flowers
Flowers for every soil
Caring for Your Annuals to Keep a Continuous Flower Show
Watering
Weeding
Fertilizing
Deadheading
Pruning
Keeping them up
Using Succession Planting to Maintain Your Annual Flowers
Chapter 15: Perennial Flowers, Roses, and Bulbs in the City
Getting to Know Perennials, Roses, and Bulbs
Finding a Permanent Planting Spot
Considering sun, soil, and exposure
Going with containers
Choosing Perennials Fit for City Living
Sun-loving perennial flowers
Shade-loving perennial flowers
Growing and Maintaining Perennial Flowers
General care and maintenance
Providing a little extra support
Divide and multiply
Enjoying La Vie en Rose
Selecting the best city roses
Growing and caring for roses
Lighting Up Your Garden with Bulbs
Finding a spot for bulbs
Finding the best spring flowering bulbs for the city
Determining the best summer flowering bulbs for the city
Caring for bulbs
Chapter 16: Growing a Tree . . . in Brooklyn
Selecting City-Friendly Trees
The best deciduous trees
Evergreen tree options
Growing Some Shrubbery
Looking at ways to use shrubs in your yard
Discovering some great city shrubs
Keeping Your Trees and Shrubs Fit
Watering and fertilizing
Pruning 101
Growing City Fruits
Finding the best fruit trees for the city
Keeping those tree fruits growing
Keeping Berry Bushes in the City
Choosing the best city berries
Staying berry healthy
Chapter 17: Lawns and Ground Covers
Selecting the Right Grass
Cool-season grasses
Warm-season grasses
Seed versus sod
Caring for Your Lawn
Looking at city mowers
Mowing correctly
Maintaining your lawn
Patching up paradise
Ground Cover Alternatives
Lawns versus ground covers
Cityside ground covers
Planting and caring for your cover
Part V: Growing to Perfection
Chapter 18: Weeding and Mulching Your Plants
Winning the War on Weeds
Identifying weeds and knowing why you should care
Stopping weeds before they’re a problem
Controlling weeds once they’re large
Mulching 101
Types of mulch
Mulching correctly
Chapter 19: Watering Your Garden
Conserving Water
Knowing how much you need to water
Using less water
Harvesting Water
Installing a rain barrel
Utilizing gray water
Creating a rain garden
Delivering Water to Your Plants
Hoses and cans
Watering wands
Trigger nozzles
Soaker hoses
Drip irrigation
Sprinklers
A few other watering methods to try
Chapter 20: Controlling Urban Garden Pests
Knowing the Good Guys
Bringing in beneficial insects
Attracting birds to your yard
Encouraging bees to stick around
Being Proactive to Control the Bad Guys
Designing your garden to prevent problems
Deciding whether you really have a problem
Dealing with Insect Pests in Your Garden
Know your bug
Managing your pests without sprays
Using safe sprays
Spotting and Treating Diseases
Knowing whether you’re really dealing with a disease
Preventing damage in the first place
Being aware of some common diseases
Finding the safest sprays for diseases
Critters in the Bean Patch
Identifying animal damage
Figuring out which common city animals to watch for
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Chapter 21: Ten Tools for Urban Gardeners
Hand Trowels and Cultivators
Shovels
Hoes
Hand Pruners
Garden Clothes
Buckets and Baskets
Watering Hoses and Wands
Wheelbarrow
Composter
Garden Shed
Chapter 22: Ten Kid-Friendly Ways to Garden in the City
Garden at School
Garden at a Community Garden
Garden at a Local Botanic Garden
Grow a Sunflower House
Let Kids Decorate the Garden
Create a Child’s Window Box Garden
Create a Windowsill Herb Garden
Grow a Terrarium Garden
Grow a Potato Barrel
Grow Plants from Store Produce
Chapter 23: Ten Tips to Manage a Sustainable Urban Garden
Know Your Soil Conditions
Compost Is Key
Conserve Water and Harvest Your Rain
Use Organic Fertilizers
Preserve Existing Agriculture and Natural Resources
Know Your Microclimate Conditions
Select “the Right” Plants for Your Area
Consider Hydroponic and Aquaponic Gardening
Minimize the Costs
Involve Your Community
Cheat Sheet
Urban Gardening For Dummies®
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ISBN 978-1-118-34035-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-50243-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-50244-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-50241-9 (ebk)
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About the Authors
Paul Simon is a nationally recognized landscape architect, public artist, horticulturist, master gardener, and urban designer. With over 20 years of experience, Paul brings a wealth of knowledge, skills, and abilities from various fields in the gardening, horticulture, and design industries.
Paul holds a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from the University of Kentucky with a diverse curriculum in site design, urban design, community planning, geography, architecture, plant and soil sciences, forestry, and civil engineering. He is also an esteemed member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Paul is personally committed and driven toward solving developable solutions while maintaining professional integrity and respect for the environment.
Many of his projects specialize in urban design, parks and community gardens, public art, outdoor learning, and green design initiatives — some of which have been nationally published, recognized, and awarded. Paul is also driven to create human environments that are sustainable, socially relevant, economically feasible, and user functional.
In addition, Paul is involved as a horticultural editor for www.kidsgardening.org
. Kids Gardening is a leading national provider of K-12, plant-based educational materials, providing programs and initiatives for plant-based education in schools, communities, and backyards across the country. Paul continues to provide unique articles underscoring the importance of kids gardening and outdoor learning.
Charlie Nardozzi is a nationally recognized garden writer, speaker, and radio and television personality. He has worked for more than 20 years bringing expert gardening information to home gardeners through radio, television, talks, online, and the printed page. Charlie delights in making gardening information simple, easy, fun, and accessible to everyone. His energy, exuberance, and love of the natural world also make him an exciting public speaker and presenter. He has spoken at national venues such as the Philadelphia Flower Show, Master Gardener conferences, and trade shows.
Charlie is a garden coach and consultant teaching and inspiring home gardeners to grow the best vegetables, fruits, flowers, trees, and shrubs in their yards.
Charlie co-hosts In The Garden, tips on the local CBS affiliate television station (WCAX-Channel 3), a weekly, call-in radio show on WJOY-1230AM, and the Vermont Garden Journal on Vermont Public Radio.
Charlie is also known for his writing. He has written for national magazines such as Organic Gardening and contributed to many of the For Dummies gardening titles, authoring Vegetable Gardening For Dummies in 2009. He also authored the Ultimate Gardener (HCI Press, 2009) which highlights heart-warming stories about the trials and tribulations of gardening and Northeast Fruit and Vegetable Gardening in (Cool Springs Press, April, 2012). He also contributed to other book project such as Vegetables from an Italian Garden (Phaidon Press, 2011).
Charlie’s skills as a garden communicator extend beyond the printed page. He’s the former host of PBS’s Garden Smart, reaching more than 60 million households. He has also been a gardening expert on many national syndicated television and radio shows such as HGTV’s Today at Home, Discovery Channel’s Home Matters, Sirius Radio’s Martha Stewart Living, and Garden Life Radio
Charlie also works with companies/organizations to provide horticultural guidance on special adult and kids projects. He’s worked with the Hilton Garden Inn on their “Grow a School Garden Project,” Gardener’s Supply Company and Stonyfield Yogurt on their “Eat a Rainbow Project,” and farm-to-school programs with Shelburne Farms and Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA).
He was the senior horticulturist and spokesperson for the National Gardening Association (NGA), where he wrote and edited articles for their magazine and online newsletters, conducted media interviews about gardening, and provided horticultural consultation to NGA programs.
Authors’ Acknowledgments
From Paul: I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the many people who have been instrumental over the years in developing my background as an urban designer, horticulturist, landscape architect, and public artist.
Thanks to my parents John and Kristine Simon and my uncle Albert Bremer who helped guide me many years ago into the horticulture and design professions. Thanks to former employers including Quansett Nurseries in South Dartmouth Massachusetts and Hillenmeyer Nurseries in Lexington Kentucky who have taught me so much about the planting, nursery, and landscaping industries.
Big thanks to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and the Landscape Architecture Department for their well-rounded teachings to design human environments that are sustainable, socially relevant, artful, and functional, especially professors Janice Cervelli, Thomas Nieman, Horst Schach, and Ned Crankshaw. Also thanks to the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener program which does incredible work recruiting, training, and overseeing volunteer extension master gardeners and multiple gardening programs and opportunities.
Special thanks to the National Gardening Association for the opportunity to co-author a book with Charlie Nardozzi and provide an A to Z guide on Urban Gardening practices. And a super-special thanks to Susan Littlefield who has helped edit many of the chapters and continues to provide professional horticultural guidance and expertise in addition to her editorial support.
Thanks to Nancy Reinhardt for copyediting and Mike Pecen for his technical review of the chapter submissions and Kathryn Born for illustrations. Also thanks to Chrissy Guthrie and Erin Calligan Mooney for their consistent help in guiding chapter submissions and scheduling the timely management for the books completion.
Finally, thanks to my wife Rubi and my children Nathalie, Olivia, and Elena who together share the love and passion for gardening, and to my mother-in-law Norma who has helped our busy family keep it together.
From Charlie: I’d like to thank Chrissy Guthrie and Erin Mooney for their expertise in keeping the book on target. Thanks to the National Gardening Association for the opportunity to write another For Dummies book and to Paul Simon, my co-author, for being so easy to work with, offering his expertise in landscape architecture and gardening. I appreciate Kathryn Born for her illustrations, Nancy Reinhardt for her keen eye while copyediting, Mike Pecen for his horticultural review of the chapters, and Susan Littlefield for editing every chapter.
Dedications
From Paul: I would like to dedicate this book to all of you who are digging into the earth, greening our cities, and sharing your knowledge to support a sustainable future for all.
From Charlie: I dedicate this book to all those budding gardeners in urban areas who are transforming concrete jungles into thriving, vibrant, green communities, growing food for themselves and their neighbors, reversing crime and pollution, and generally creating a wholesome place to live.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites
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Acquisitions Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney
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Introduction
Urban gardening trends are undoubtedly on the rise, and the excitement to green our cities and develop edible landscapes is being shared across the world. City planning officials and municipalities are recognizing this healthy trend and taking appropriate measures to redraft regulations in support of many urban agricultural initiatives. Individuals and local organizations are forming grassroots alliances to make urban areas more livable and self-sustaining. Of course the urban environment certainly presents its own set of challenges, but with the right tools, know-how, and a little help, a dedicated urban gardener can succeed — and we hope this book can provide you some guidance along the way.
The ways to garden the city are as varied as our cities are. Your ambition may be to transform a vacant lot, an underutilized parking area, or your back deck or patio into a green oasis. Perhaps you wish to become involved in a community garden association, or build your own urban farm? Whatever level of gardening you choose, you are on the right path supporting the health of our environment and a renewal of our cities.
About This Book
This book provides a complete A–Z guide for the urban gardener. Topics include preparing urban soil conditions, how to plant, where you can plant, and the many types of plantings suitable for urban gardens. And, of course, urban edibles are especially covered.
You also discover some techniques for reducing air and water pollution and how gardens may reduce crime, increase property values, and contribute to healthier, improved neighborhoods.
From rooftops, balconies, patios, along walls and stairways, or growing indoors, we cover many urban gardening techniques and trends to help get you started right away!
Conventions Used in This Book
To help you navigate through this book, we included some conventions to follow:
All references to temperature are in degrees Fahrenheit (F) and measurements in feet and inches.
When we refer to plant hardiness, we are using the U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which you can find at http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb
.
When we refer to the Extension Service, we’re talking about the government- or university-sponsored service that offers helpful information on gardening. The Master Gardeners we refer to are volunteers trained by horticultural professionals in each state to also offer gardening advice. The Extension Service can be found through your local land-grant university, such as the University of Connecticut. The Master Gardeners for the United States and Canada can be found for each state on this website: www.extension.org/pages/9925/state-and-provincial-master-gardener-programs:-extension-and-affiliated-program-listings
.
Most plant types are listed first by common name and then by botanical name initials.
Following are a few other conventions to keep in mind:
Whenever a new term is introduced in a chapter, it appears in italic, followed by a brief definition or cross-reference.
Key words or phrases appear in bold.
Numbered steps also appear in bold.
What You’re Not to Read
Although we’d love it if you read every word we’ve written and kept Urban Gardening For Dummies by your bedside table for midnight inspirations, we realize urban gardeners (like everyone else) are busy people. So, if you want the meat and potatoes of the book, you can skip over the sidebars and any text marked with the Technical Stuff icon. Sidebars appear in gray boxes and feature interesting but nonessential information that’s related to the main text. The Technical Stuff icon features information that is beyond need-to-know but that further enhances your understanding of a given topic.
Foolish Assumptions
Every book starts with a few assumptions about who will be reading it. While most don’t state their assumptions, we’re going to be right up front with ours:
You live in a small to large city and are interested in growing plants safely.
You know someone in a small to large city who you think is interested in growing plants safely.
You know someone in a small to large city who you think should be interested in growing plants safely.
You don’t have much gardening experience.
You want to improve your physical surroundings, adding greenery, healthy food plants, and wildlife habitat to your yard all while growing the plants organically.
You’re even willing to sacrifice precious deck and balcony space for a few pots filled with delicious herbs and greens.
You want to share and impress your friends and family with the amount of garden beauty and food you can grow in the city on the ground, roof, wall, or public space.
How This Book Is Organized
Like most Dummies books, Urban Gardening For Dummies is broken into parts. Each part has chapters related to that theme. Here’s an overview to get you started.
Part I: Urban Gardening 101
In Part I, we give you an overview of urban gardening, including preparing your soil, planting, and where you can place the many types of plantings suitable for urban gardens, especially edibles! Chapter 1 covers city gardening and how you can best develop your urban green thumb. In Chapter 2, we show you how urban landscapes help reduce air and water pollution and how gardens may reduce crime, increase property values, and contribute to healthier, improved neighborhoods. In Chapter 3, we describe the urban microclimate, including the urban Heat Island Effect, local weather patterns, and how you can actually influence weather conditions at micro-level to benefit the health of your urban garden.
Part II: Gardening Basics
In Part II, the digging really begins — in the soil, that is. Chapter 4 discusses analyzing soil types, understanding soil pH, drainage, and poor and contaminated soil conditions. In Chapter 5, we give you the scoop on how you can build good soil for your garden with manure, organic fertilizers, and compost. In Chapter 6, you’ll discover when to seed, when to transplant, and how to select the right plants for your garden. We even show you some tricks of the trade for planting annuals, veggies, perennials, roses, trees, and shrubs.
Part III: Places and Ways to Garden
So where can you garden in the city? Head over to Part III for answers to this question from the ground up. Chapter 7 shows you ways to create a beautiful and artful outdoor room with arbors, recycled materials, and water features. In Chapter 8, we get funky with container gardening and show you creative ways to plant pots of every possible shape and size. Apartment dwellers need not feel left out — Chapters 9, 10, and 11 take on building rooftop and balcony gardens and demonstrate some vertical growing strategies. Chapter 12 helps you find ways to green up city buildings and transform vacant lots into unique urban green spaces.
Part IV: Growing Plants in the City
Whether you’re gardening in a container on an apartment balcony or in a community garden, or even in your own backyard, you need to know the basics of growing all your favorite plants. Part IV gives you the how-to information on growing edibles, flowers, trees, shrubs, and lawns. In Chapter 13, we get into the nitty-gritty of how to plant your own vegetable garden. Flowers are up next in Chapters 14 and 15, where we discuss annual and perennial flower gardens. In Chapter 16, you see how to select and plant the right tree or shrub for your yard. Chapter 17 covers (ahem) how to keep your urban lawn and ground covers growing strong.
Part V: Growing to Perfection
All your gardens are planted and your flowers and veggies are starting to bloom; it’s time to find out how to care for your new green babies. Chapter 18 describes how to weed your gardens and the advantages of using various mulches to keep weeds at bay and retain soil moisture. Water is a critical element to any garden, so in Chapter 19 we show you the best ways to water your plants, as well as save money and time. Even the best garden can have trouble with insects, diseases, and animals. Chapter 20 identifies some of the worst offenders and gives you organic solutions for stopping them in their tracks.
Part VI: The Part of Tens
No For Dummies book is complete without a “Part of Tens,” and this one includes some great gardening tips. From the top ten essential garden tools to ten kid-friendly ways to garden in the city, Part VI offers an assortment of helpful and creative urban gardening solutions. We even include a chapter on ten ways to develop a sustainable urban garden, including how to involve your community and collaborate with others.
Icons Used in This Book
Like all For Dummies books, this one has icons that highlight tips, warnings, technical stuff, and things to remember. Here are the ones we use in this book.
This icon highlights important information that makes you a better gardener. It’s stuff you don’t want to forget.
This stuff is for the gardener that wants to understand more and go a little deeper. It’s not essential, but it’s certainly cool information.
This icon highlights tips that help you save time, money, and resources. Everyone can use those kinds of tips!
This icon keeps you alert to possible problems that may arise, even in the garden. We try to help you avoid mistakes by pointing out possible gardening pitfalls.
Where to Go from Here
You are one of a growing herd of people gardening in the city. Feel proud. Not only are you creating beauty and food for yourself and your family, you’re helping make cities more livable places and reducing your urban area’s dependence on outside resources for energy and food.
Use this book as a starting place to inspire and inform you on how to get started greening your city. Skip to the chapters that interest you most to get the information you need to grow plants and create gardens. But don’t stop here. Check with local resources, organizations, and other gardeners you meet to share information and ideas so that you can grow a green and prosperous city for all to enjoy.
And if you’re looking for more detailed information about growing specific plants or specific growing methods, check out some of the other For Dummies gardening books, such as Organic Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Ann Whitman, Suzanne DeJohn, and the National Gardening Association; Herb Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Karan Davis Cutler, Kathleen Fisher, Suzanne DeJohn, and the National Gardening Association; Container Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Bill Marken, Suzanne DeJohn, and the Editors of the National Gardening Association; Vegetable Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Charlie Nardozzi; Lawn Care For Dummies, by Lance Walheim and the National Gardening Association; and Roses For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Lance Walheim and the Editors of the National Gardening Association.