“Gardening is a medicine without any side effects. I hope those who want to grow flowers will come across this book.”

★A Beautiful and Practical Hybrid "Handbook" That Combines Gardening, Life, and Watercolor!
★Ink and Wash Notebook × Gardening Knowledge × Lifestyle × Healing Mood
★Observe the weather and seasons carefully, befriend plants, and learn how to easily choose and grow the most representative and easy-to-start flowers and plants for each season.
★Suitable for readers who love flowers and plants and enjoy art. Perfect for beginners.

Hello! I’m so glad this book has found you!

In this book, you will find beautiful and soothing ink wash illustrations, as well as practical gardening knowledge.

The author has carefully summarized a decade of planting experience, highlighting the inseparable relationship between gardening and seasonal weather. For each season, she explains the basic care of a particular flower or plant. The methods are interesting and easy to follow, making it very helpful for those who are about to start caring for flowers and plants or are new to gardening.

The book is divided into three chapters, with a total of 200 full-color pages. From small planting icons to every single page, you will find the author’s hand-drawn illustrations.

In Chapter One, “The Secret to Creating a Garden,” the author provides a universal basic care method for plant beginners. She covers everything from tools and planters to plant habits and seasons, and even space planning, all explained in an interesting and illustrated way.

In Chapter Two, “A Seasonal Encounter,” the author uses the seasons as a guide to show you how to live the life you dream of. All the detailed operations for planting flowers and plants are based on her own experiences, making the narration intimate and the methods effective.

In Chapter Three, the author demonstrates easy-to-follow garden decoration ideas, such as making a garden sign, creating cement planters, and building bug houses. For example, bamboo tubes or logs can be homes for solitary bees and ants; dry grass attracts lacewings; dead wood and bark can draw beetles and spiders; and pine cones are prepared for ladybugs, which are good at controlling aphids...

In addition to the beautiful illustrations and practical methods, you will also meet the author, a free-spirited new friend, and learn about or adopt a natural and beautiful attitude towards life.

“Whenever I feel unhappy or get stuck in my painting, I go to the garden. I breathe in the scent of the soil and plants, weed, trim the withered flowers, and think about which plants need to be moved to make them bloom better... They grow hard and reward me with a garden full of vitality, relaxation, and joy.”

“Looking back at my old paintings, I may find some imperfections. But the joy of sharing them is always there.”

The author’s childhood was mostly filled with plants. The perilla and peach blossoms in her grandmother’s yard, the honeysuckle her mother planted that spread from the balcony to the neighbors, and the apricot tree in the neighbor’s backyard that broke through the wall... From a few pots on the balcony to dozens, and then to a rooftop garden, growing and painting flowers have become an essential part of her life.

So, she says, “Gardening is a medicine without any side effects. I hope those who want to grow flowers will come across this book.”

The author Hua Nongnu (pseudonymous) graduated from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, majoring in fashion design. She is a fashion designer, a freelance illustrator, and a gardener and handcraft expert. She is keen to use her brush to record the growing of flowers and the details of life.
Her published books include: Diary of Succulent Sketches, The Flower Woman's Watercolor Feast.
Her creative works include: Hand-painted Map of Chongqing, Hand-painted Map of Yuzhong District, Beibei Hand-painted Map, Hand-drawn Map of Wulong Fairy Mountain, Hand-drawn Map of Chongqing Ciqikou, Chinese Zodiac New Year Picture series.

Chapter One Gardening Secrets
1.1 A Universal Foundation Maintenance
1.1.1 Adapt to local conditions
1.1.2 Soil and fertilizer
1.1.3 Buying
1.2 A handy tool
1.2.1The use of different tools
1.3 The Choice of Three Flowers
1.3.1Flower features and suitable collocation,
1.4 Know How to Plan
1.4.1 The relationship between flowers and seasons and solar terms
1.4.2 Plant habits
1.4.3 Plant color and shape
1.4.4 Space requirements
1.4.5 Questions for Beginners
Chapter Two Perfect Encounter
2.1 Spring
Beginning of spring: Angle of jin
Rainwater: grapes hyacinth
Insects Awaken: saffron crocus
spring equinox: hoya
Qingming: garden columbine
Grain Rain: barbadoslily
2.2 Summer
Beginning of Summer: clematis
Grain Full: Chinese rose
Grain in ear: digitalis
The Summer Solstice: hydrangea
Slight Heat: plumbago auriculata
Great Heat: eustoma grandiflorum
2.3 Autumn
Beginning of Autumn: the autumn chrysanthemum
the Limit of Heat: mint
White Dew: snapdragon
Autumn Equinox: trumpet creeper
Cold Dew: anisodontea capensis
First Frost: lyrata
2.4 Winter
Beginning of Winter: Ficus carica
Light Snow: geranium
Great Snow: heuchera brizoides
Winter Solstice Festival: bougainvillea speetabilis
Slight Cold: cyclamen
Great Cold: arcissi
Chapter three Garden Decoration
3.1 Make a Sign for the Garden
3.2 Build a Nice Tool Wall
3.3 Make a Unique Cement Flowerpot
3.4 Beneficial Insects House
3.5 garden guardian elves
3.6 A Combination Of Hand-Painted Walls And Gardening
Postscript