Forget makeover culture and all your gardening preconceptions, this is a witty, wise and practical take on to how to create a garden that suits you. The Thrifty Gardener is about creating the garden of your dreams, regardless of resources or limited space. It will eliminate the intimidation factor and reveal the ins-and-outs of soil, seeds, sowing and growing. At the heart of this book is a DIY ethic that says you don't always have to buy what you need, you can make it, take it or swap it ...

'Fowler's moving memoir charts her experience of coming out as a gay woman, alongside her journey through Birmingham's canal networks, mapping both the waterways and the travails of her heart.' Observer'An emotional and compelling memoir, that left me inspired, both by her bravery in transforming her life, and by the unexpected beauty she finds along the way' Countryfile Magazine'Fowler beautifully exposes her emot...

Houseplants are more than just decorations. They turn a room into a living space and breathe life into our interiors. Not all of us can have a garden or even a window box, but everyone can own a houseplant - and everyone should. Not only are they an affordable and attractive way to add a decorative and personal touch to a space, indoor plants also have unique air purifying properties and their presence is good for our health and wellbeing. In this practical yet inspiring guide, gardening e...

There's no denying that growing your own food is good for the pocket, good for the environment and hugely rewarding for the soul. In The Edible Garden, Gardeners' World's Alys Fowler will take you one step closer to self-sufficiency by showing how to grow edible crops and flowers in any garden - even a small suburban back garden!'Quirky is the word that springs to mind when leafing through this book ... it is for anyone who has dreamt of the Good L...

THE BEST GARDENING BOOKS OF THE YEAR - GARDENS ILLUSTRATED'Informative and enthusiastic' i PaperPLANT-BASED MEDICINE FOR A CALMER, HEALTHIER LIFEIt's easy to turn to the pharmacy when we're stressed, sick or feeling under the weather, but what if you turned to your garden instead?In this accessible and easy to use manual, horticultural expert, former Gardener's Wor...

'Why do I like bogs so much? I think it is because I feel very at home with them, I think this has something to do with my queerness and their queer nature as a space.'The value of peat bogs as a natural resource and haven of biodiversity is undisputed, yet few of us have been lucky enough to experience their beauty and richness. In Peatlands, Wainwright Prize-shortlisted author Alys Fowler calls for us to sink deep into the dark, black soils of these rugg...

Fresh produce is a joy: crunchy lettuce, sun-warmed tomatoes, juicy berries - their flavours are immediate - but a winter of those summer flavours preserved, now that's a feeling of satisfaction. If you are going to truly try and attain a little more self-sufficiency (and save some money at the same time), think about what you can store to get you through the leaner months. Alys takes you through all the different ways of preserving - bottling, drying, fermenting, freezing, pickling, using...

With over 30 fun, easy to follow and rewarding growing projects, foraging activities, experiments and arts and crafts activities, you'll never be bored again!From growing your own air plants to foraging for edible flowers, gardener, TV presenter and forager Alys Fowler will take you through a range of indoor and outdoor activities that are sure to ignite a lifelong passion for plants! You don't need a garden or any fancy equipment - a homemade pot and watering can, seeds from the k...

Imagine a garden that is as beautiful as it is productive, that gives you fresh, wholesome, chemical-free food with flavours that go way beyond anything the shops can offer.In Eat What You Grow, Alys shows you how to create a rich, biodiverse garden that feeds not only you, but supports a wide range of pollinators, bees and butterflies, as well as other wildlife. From perennial vegetables that come back year after year, to easy-to-grow delights, she has se...

A beautiful, urgent and personal exploration of bogs and the role they must play in saving our planet - for fans of Otherlands and The Last Rainforests of BritainLonglisted for the Wainwright Prize 2025'A fascinating, impassioned invitation into the hidden mystery of bogs' - OLIVIA LAING, author of The Garden Against Time'Enchanting . . . If you've ever looked at a wetland and wanted to know it better, Fowler is an ideal guide: knowled...

'Fierce and sensuous.' Guardian'Exquisitely crafted.' Sunday Telegraph'Astonishing . . . A writer of rare vision and talent.' Sunday TimesFrom the speed and heat of summer London, to the heathered fells and lowlands of Cumbria with their history of smouldering violence, to an eerily still lake in the Finnish wilderness, Sarah Hall evokes landscapes with extraordinary precision and grace....

After two months on board a Russian container ship sailing 15,000 miles across the world, Josie finally arrives in New Zealand with her bike. Over the next nine months she cycles 10,000 kilometres all over North and South Islands while experiencing the wettest, windiest and stormiest year on record. During this time Josie was spat at, shouted at, honked at, and both run off and blown off the road. She got soaked, sunburnt, hailed on and snowed on and was alternately starved and over-fed, o...