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Offers information on growing and propagating over 1,000 different species of wildflower, and includes an encyclopedia of plants native to the United States and Canada.
As recent years have seen alarming declines of insect and bird populations in many states, more gardeners have discovered the importance of including native plants in order to nurture these pollinators and sustain local ecosystems. But when so many popular landscaping designs involve exotic cultivars and invasive plant species, how can you create a garden that is both aesthetically pleasing and ecologically responsible? In this fully revised second edition of the classic guide Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East, gardening expert Carolyn Summers draws on the most recent research on sustainable landscaping. She is joined in this edition by her daughter, landscape designer Kate Brittenham, offering an intergenerational dialogue about the importance of using indigenous plants that preserve insect and bird habitats. The practical information they provide is equally useful for home gardeners and professionals, including detailed descriptions of keystone trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, and grasses that are native to the eastern United States. Accompanied by entirely new illustrations and updated plant lists, they offer chic yet eco-friendly landscape designs fully customized for different settings, from suburban yards to corporate office parks. The states covered in this book are CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WI, and WV, as well as southern Quebec and Ontario.
With Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, acclaimed horticulturalist and bestselling author William Cullina continues his authoritative three-part series on the native species of North America. This user-friendly guide encourages the concept of ecological gardening by working with strictly native flora, and presents a trove of helpful information with lively, easily accessible prose. This encyclopedic guide to temperate North American woody plants covers nearly one thousand native varieties, arranged alphabetically by genus and species. Writing with enjoyable, easy-to-read language and drawing from a deep wellspring of personal experience, Cullina discusses all of the important details you need to select and cultivate each species, including their taxonomic and genetic data, Latin name pronunciations, optimal geographic ranges, soil needs, light and habitat requirements, information about pruning and diseases, and propagation difficulty ratings. It also notes the value of each species for attracting wildlife and highlights the threat of invasive species. Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines is also beautifully illustrated with over 400 color photographs of each genus, and includes recommendations detailing conditions under which various species thrive. Cullina is also passionate about environmentally-responsible native plant landscaping and gives valuable advice with the larger environment in mind. This book is an indispensable resource for any landscape designer or home gardener's library.
Midwestern gardeners and landscapers are becoming increasingly attracted to noninvasive regional native wildflowers and plants over popular nonnative species. The Midwestern Native Garden offers viable alternatives to both amateurs and professionals, whether they are considering adding a few native plants or intending to go native all the way. Native plants improve air and water quality, reduce use of pesticides, and provide vital food and reproductive sites to birds and butterflies, that nonnative plants cannot offer, helping bring back a healthy ecosystem. The authors provide a comprehensive selection of native alternatives that look similar or even identical to a range of nonnative ornamentals. These are native plants that are suitable for all garden styles, bloom during the same season, and have the same cultivation requirements as their nonnative counterparts. Plant entries are accompanied by nature notes setting out the specific birds and butterflies the native plants attract. The Midwestern Native Garden will be a welcome guide to gardeners whose styles range from formal to naturalistic but who want to create an authentic sense of place, with regional natives. The beauty, hardiness, and easy maintenance of native Midwestern plants will soon make them the new favorites.
An updated guide to Minnesota’s hardy native plants and how to incorporate them into your home landscape—with profiles of flowers, trees, shrubs, and more. Gardeners enjoy Minnesota’s native plants for more than their beauty. They are low maintenance, can survive difficult soil and weather conditions, provide unique landscape options, and celebrate the state’s natural heritage. In this second photo-filled edition of Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota, you’ll learn how to identify native plants, keep them healthy and thriving in the state’s harsh climate, and design and install an attractive home landscape perfect for your lifestyle. Also included in this new edition are comprehensive plant profiles and gardening essentials for approximately 350 native flowers, trees, shrubs, vines, evergreens, grasses, and ferns that grew in Minnesota before European settlement, as well as complete information on planting, maintenance, and landscape uses for each plant.
Growing native wildflowers is the most beautiful and carefree way to bring the natural landscape into your backyard. In this handbook, discover the beautiful wildflowers and foliage plants that best suit your natural garden, from woodland beds to prairie meadows to alpine rockeries to wetlands.
There are several good reasons why savvy gardeners cherish native plants in their landscapes. In this book, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens executive director Maureen Heffernan provides information and inspiration for gardeners about how to choose the best plants for a variety of locations and provides tips on how to cope with challenging conditions. Heffernan discusses flowering perennials, foliage plants, grasses, ground covers, shrubs, and trees, and she provides sample garden plans designed by experts.
What makes a true garden out of a collection of flowering plants are the ferns, mosses, and grasses that are the verdant canvas on which nature paints its portraits. With this new volume, award-winning author Cullina completes the set of stunning books on native North American plants for the garden, 320 pp.
The author of Got Shade? and Go Native! turns out “an ideal primer for gardeners who want to have lovely, sustainable and hospitable plantings” (Moya Andrews, author of Perennials Short and Tall). Are you looking for more butterflies and birds in your yard? Do you enjoy seasonal color and beauty? Are you concerned about environmental issues such as water conservation and pollution control? Do you yearn for simple, maintenance-free gardening? Arranged in a question-and-answer format, Got Sun? showcases native trees, shrubs, ground covers, ferns, vines, grasses, and over 100 sun-friendly perennials for your home garden. Illustrated with detailed drawings and beautiful color photographs, this is a book to keep close at hand as you plan and plant your garden. “Carolyn Harstad’s passion for growing native plants is contagious. Her hands-on advice about plantings that attract butterflies will benefit experienced as well as novice (budding) gardeners. It is as if Carolyn takes the reader’s hand and leads us through planning to preparation to selection of the best plants for each site. She is honest about any idiosyncratic behaviors as well as the charms of each plant so that we feel we know each of them, warts and all, before inviting them into our garden.”—Moya Andrews, author of Perennials Short and Tall
