As life gets busier and backyards get smaller, it is a challenge to grow food and live more sustainably. Janet Luke shows that it can be done. She calls it Gurbing or Green Urban Living - a way of working with nature to create a productive urban garden. There are no hard and fast rules, and it might just be a worm-farm on an apartment balcony or some herbs in pots but the basic principles are the same. This book evokes some of the methods used in traditional Kiwi backyards, with modern concepts like recycling, organics and using water sustainably to grow food and keep chickens and bees in an urban environment. Janet recommends re-using low-cost materials over heading off to the store to buy new products. The book includes top tips, handy hints from green community forums and heaps of brilliant, easy and original ideas. Step-by-step projects range from planting a tree to building a chicken tractor, with seed bombs (guerrilla gardening), a garden bug Hilton hotel and lolly flowers for the kids to enjoy.

Author Biography

Janet Luke BLA, MRP (Hons) is a qualified landscape architect with a Masters degree in Environmental and Resource Planning from Massey University. She has a passion for sustainable design and eco-living and she has written articles for Woman's Day magazine about growing organic vegetables. Her garden in Havelock North has been featured in Next magazine and she is a regular exhibitor with her business Green Urban Living at the Auckland Home Show.