Books

For You

"For You" Is the brand name of a series of books to help the student, householder and general public with a range skills, resources, and opportunities to improve individual lives and outdoor living areas,  support wildlife and  conservation, assist with many aspects of gardening, and bring greater harmony with Nature.

All the books are being released individually in Ebook format from Germany. They are a unique resource for individuals regardless of their skills or level of knowledge since they have been written by Stepben Ben Cox based on his experience and discoveries over many years as a gardener, teacher, designer, artist and philosopher.

Net proceeds from sales will exclusively help support the charitable work of the Trust.

Introduction

The purpose of the Trust is to advance education in horticulture and conservation  As part of its mission of public education and welfare it will now be instituting this programme of book publishing.

The books will be produced, marketed and sold via our publisher in Germany. Details of this and their website will be announced by the publisher in due course with full details of the Trust's books and how to buy them. Exclusive publishing rights have been assigned to the German publisher and promoter.

The books are being written by the founder Stephen Ben Cox on behalf of the Trust and for which the Trust now holds copyright.

The books to be produced will initially fall into 3 main categories:
Conservation. Gardening. Well-being.

The Water Gardener

There is something primordial about being near water and we feel better and happier when we feel and hear it. With our lives being so stressful and very often cut off from Nature and natural cycles and balance. We need that something in our daily lives which water can bring to re-harmonise and invigorate us. In this unusual book about gardening Stephen Ben Cox offers a way to have all the benefits that water can bring to our mental, physical, social life whilst simultaneously helping to heal the planet and support conservation and wildlife. 

 Effectively we live on a water planet water: water comprises 70% of the Earth's surface and as living creatures’ we humans are x percent water, and many aspects of our physiological and psychological rhythms are influenced and balanced by the moon and tides. Without it, life would stop. And it is now recognized that nearness to moving water releases positively charged ions which are good for human mental health. We all feel good when we are on holiday and near the water: it revitalizes and makes us happy. Therefore, doesn’t makes sense to have water in our gardens?

This book gives you a full understanding to all aspects of having water in your garden including such things as: Pond Building, Pond Landscaping, Bogs and Wetlands, Natural dipping & Swimming Pools, Fountains, Waterfalls, Bird baths & Water Stations, Rills, and much more. He also tells you something about suitable water plants to introduce and the range of wildlife you can attract to you garden.

Overall, what the author does is give you a complete guide to all aspects of how to create and install and design a garden which has lots of different water features for you to enjoy and bring wildlife and good times to your garden life. A garden with water suddenly become a magical, thriving, enriched an exciting space all the year round.

He takes us on a journey through the Mythology of Water and how our great, myths legends and religions teach us about it; surveys great Water Gardens of History and how they can inform and inspire us. He also explains the many Advantages of Water Gardening to all aspects of our life and lessons to enrich our lives. And gives you an introduction to some of the finest Water Gardens to Visit all over the world.  Finally, he offers his personal choices of suitable tools and methods and design elements to enrich and help your life.

The Appendices include: (i) Glossary;   (ii) Water Facts;   (iii) List & brief details of water gardens you can visit.  (iv) Details of the Trust.  (v) Links

[to be published in 2024 by SK Marketing365, Germany]

The Well Being Gardener

Our life has become one of stress, noise, pressure and demand. All around we now seek healing: for the planet and for ourselves. Well-being is now a buzz word as a passport to help us through it. In this dynamic and unique approach Stephen Ben Cox argues there is something missing: our loss of connection now also includes our actual search for healing: we cannot be healed if we are disconnected from home, heritage, nature, tradition.

Our disconnected and discarnate lives need help: the popular expression of well-being is touted as a means to restore balance, harmony, healing, and self-mastery. Surrounded by a plethora of noise stress pressure influences and much more well-being is a valuable concept to help rebalance us and give us certain peace of mind and freedom. and there is an immense amount of material out there from books to courses.

 However, the author takes a different approach and postulates that to truly engage with well-being we need to disengage from the centuries-old concept of humanity as being separate from and superior to nature and the rest of existence. This book is a dynamic new approach to the essence of well-being since it places the individual as part of tradition of heritage of spirituality and of an arcadian understanding of man in harmony with nature and the environment.

 Into this equation he brings a range of important understanding from years of personal exploration, study, and experience the important lesson to restore the lost values for true healing: the insights to be gathered from the Mythology; the wisdom of ancestral traditions in ‘Middle Earth’; the benefits of ‘Being In Nature’ ; the solace and empowerment of ‘Sacred Space’; he explores ‘Water Healing’;  the lessons of working with ‘The Seasons’ and intimates the symbolism  of ‘Creatures’; and helps us  understand the ‘Life-Debt, destiny and Archetypes’. 

He concludes with chapters on Advantages, Exercises, and Items of meditation/focus/help for your life and garden.

[to be published in 2024 by SK Marketing365, Germany]

The Happy Gardener

Becoming a ‘Happy Gardener’ or indeed being happy in life is a process of awakening, learning and transformation. In many ways, we are all sleepwalkers cut off from nature and ourselves. But there are so many things to do in the garden which not only makes the world a better place, enriches nature, adds to the beauty of one’s local community, creates habitat for other animals, and provides a place of welcome, beauty and relaxation for yourself your family and friends but also enriches one’s life in many other ways.

Gardening in the UK and other countries is now one of the biggest social activities and one of the biggest industries. And it has become one of the most important forms of exercise and well-being. Gardening is a key to physical health and mental health and provides opportunities for connection to nature, well-being, healthy living, as well as support for wildlife and contributing to conservation and the fight back against climate change.

This book is called The Happy Gardener because of  the methods and strategies in gardening employed in this book which have been developed by Stephen Cox. He is gardener of over 55 years’ experience who has converted a half-acre field into a unique garden comprising rooms of different themes and pant collections together with pond, beach, waterfalls, statues, and much else, whuch is usef for a conservation charity.

Herein will be found methods and activities for gardening to become something else in one's life and open up an invaluable opportunities for the development and improvement of this life's journey. From his own experience he offers a range of insights and guides to become a Happy Gardener. The chapters include:   ●Water,    ●Eat and Living Outdoors,   ●Secret and Sacred Spaces,   ●Animal Friends,   ●Life With The Seasons,   ●Colour and Composition,   ●Sun and Shade,   ●Dipping,   ●The Wild Side,   ●Celebration and Sacraments,  ●Flexibility and Curiosity,   ●Embracing Nature,   and ●Health Aspects.

Each chapter has a table at the end of essential lesion and exercises which can be incorporated into one’s garden, gardening and way of life, and a second table lists various items which can be introduced into the garden to assist in the process of well-being. He concludes with various appendices and exercises of things he has learnt about mental health, nature empathy, well-being, conservation, and meditation/focus/help for your life and garden.

[to be published in 2024 by SK Marketing365, Germany]

 

Other "For You" Books

Several more subjects for EBook publications have so far been decided upon and initial research and notes undertaken. These include:

(iii) Attracting Wildlife
(iv) Sacred Spaces
(v) Wild Spaces
(vi) Mythology
(vii) Arcadia
(viii) Sustainable Gardening
(ix) Creation
(x) Mystery
(xi) Garden Landscaping
(xii) Gardening Tools
(xiii) Guerrilla Gardening
(xiv) Garden Wildlife Crusade
(xv) Wildlife Corridors
(xvi) Garden Nature Music

(xvii)The Healthy Gardener

Other Media

To further enhance its work for public education and welfare the Trust will also be engaging in other media namely:

Videos. (see our YouTube channel)

Webinars.

Seminars.

Workshops.

Study holidays.