The Rurbanite - New Gardening Book

The Rurbanite

How to live in the country without leaving the city, By Alex Mitchell

 Do you live in the city but dream of keeping chickens? Do you look at derelict patches of ground on your way to work and see their potential as vegetable patches?

If you do then you’re a rurbanite. You have a passion for the countryside but no intention of leaving the city. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. You’re part of a growing band of people who want the best of both worlds. From Brooklyn to Berlin, city dwellers are connecting with the local community and redefining urban living; sharing gardens, sprucing up bus stops and derelict areas, transforming balconies and creating rooftop paradises.

In The Rurbanite Alex Mitchell shares her passion, practical projects and incredible stories from seed bombers, rooftop beekeepers, guerrilla gardeners and urban farmers to inspire you to get you in touch with your green side and change the cityscape for the better. Split into three chapters, ‘Grow’ shows you how to turn your back garden into a homestead, put a green roof on your garden shed and cultivate fruit and veg in containers as well as reclaim your street with communal projects in public spaces. ‘Find’ will demonstrate the importance of wildlife in urban areas, how to identify and forage for wild food and how to encourage more flora and fauna into your environment. And finally in ‘Keep’ there is an introduction in keeping bees, hens, quails and ducks so that in one way or another, everyone can fulfil their good life passions regardless of limited means.

The Rurbanite will inspire you to join the rurban revolution and demonstrates just how easy it is to get creative with your space, whatever shape or size, whichever city you live in.

Alex Mitchell is a writer and gardener who has grown her own fruit, salad, herbs and vegetables for over ten years. She studied at the Chelsea Physic Garden and her columns in the Sunday Telegraph have entertained readers with her experiences of turning her garden into an edible Eden. Alex’s previous book The Edible Balcony (Kyle Books) showed readers how to cram their outdoor nooks and ledges with home-grown fruit and vegetables and this book takes it one step further, proving that the sky’s the limit.  Alex also runs MyGardenSchool's Vegetable Gardening Course - Edible Gardening Made Easy.