The Humane Gardener

The Humane Gardener
Author: Nancy Lawson
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2017-04-18
Genre:
ISBN: 1616896175

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Wildflowers and Grasses of Virginia's Coastal Plain

Wildflowers and Grasses of Virginia's Coastal Plain
Author: Helen L. Hamilton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2013
Genre: Grasses
ISBN: 9781889878416

The plants are arranged in the book by flower color (white, yellow, orange, red, pink, blue, violet, green, brown), indicated by a colored rectangle on the upper edge of the page. The grasses and grass-like plants (tan rectangle) are in the last section of the book. Within each color group the plants are arranged alphabetically by families. Photographs on each page show the most prominent feature of each plant, usually the flower. --Amazon.

The Living Landscape

The Living Landscape
Author: Rick Darke
Publisher: Timber Press
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2016-02-04
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 1604697393

“This thoughtful, intelligent book is all about connectivity, addressing a natural world in which we are the primary influence.” —The New York Times Books Review Many gardeners today want a home landscape that nourishes and fosters wildlife, but they also want beauty, a space for the kids to play, privacy, and maybe even a vegetable patch. Sure, it’s a tall order, but The Living Landscape shows you how to do it. You’ll learn the strategies for making and maintaining a diverse, layered landscape—one that offers beauty on many levels, provides outdoor rooms and turf areas for children and pets, incorporates fragrance and edible plants, and provides cover, shelter, and sustenance for wildlife. Richly illustrated and informed by both a keen eye for design and an understanding of how healthy ecologies work, The Living Landscape will enable you to create a garden that fulfills both human needs and the needs of wildlife communities.

Chesapeake Gardening and Landscaping

Chesapeake Gardening and Landscaping
Author: Barbara W. Ellis
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2015-03-30
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 1469620987

What if, one step at a time, we could make our gardens and landscapes more eco-friendly? Barbara W. Ellis's colorful, comprehensive guide shows homeowners, gardeners, garden designers, and landscapers how to do just that for the large and beautiful Chesapeake Bay watershed region. This area includes Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and part of West Virginia (translating to portions of USDA Zones 6, 7, and 8). Here, mid-Atlantic gardeners, from beginners to advanced, will find the essential tools for taking steps to make their gardens part of the solution through long-term planning and planting. The guide is built from the ground up around six simple but powerful principles that anyone can use: * Reduce lawn * Build plant diversity * Grow native plants * Manage water runoff * Welcome wildlife * Garden wisely Included are detailed instructions for assessing and designing your particular garden or landscape site; choosing and caring for trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, and flowers; and succeeding with such conditions as shade or poor soil. From rain gardens to woodland gardens, meadow gardens to wildlife gardens, and much more, this indispensable guide features more than 300 color photographs.

The Midwest Native Plant Primer

The Midwest Native Plant Primer
Author: Alan Branhagen
Publisher: Timber Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020-07-21
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 1604699922

Bring your garden to life—and life to your garden! Do you want a garden that makes a real difference? Choose plants native to our Midwest region. The rewards will benefit you, your yard, and the environment—from reducing maintenance tasks to attracting earth-friendly pollinators such as native birds, butterflies, and bees. Native plant expert Alan Branhagen makes adding these superstar plants easier than ever before, with proven advice that every home gardener can follow. This incomparable sourcebook includes 225 recommended native ferns, grasses, wildflowers, perennials, vines, shrubs, and trees. It’s everything you need to know to create a beautiful and beneficial garden. This must-have handbook is for gardeners in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont

Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont
Author: Timothy P. Spira
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 541
Release: 2011-05-16
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0807877654

This richly illustrated field guide serves as an introduction to the wildflowers and plant communities of the southern Appalachians and the rolling hills of the adjoining piedmont. Rather than organizing plants, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, by flower color or family characteristics, as is done in most guidebooks, botanist Tim Spira takes a holistic, ecological approach that enables the reader to identify and learn about plants in their natural communities. This approach, says Spira, better reflects the natural world, as plants, like other organisms, don't live in isolation; they coexist and interact in myriad ways. Full-color photo keys allow the reader to rapidly preview plants found within each of the 21 major plant communities described, and the illustrated species description for each of the 340 featured plants includes fascinating information about the ecology and natural history of each plant in its larger environment. With this new format, readers can see how the mountain and piedmont landscapes form a mosaic of plant communities that harbor particular groups of plants. The volume also includes a glossary, illustrations of plant structures, and descriptions of sites to visit. Whether you're a beginning naturalist or an expert botanist, this guidebook is a useful companion on field excursions and wildflower walks, as well as a valuable reference. Southern Gateways Guide is a registered trademark of the University of North Carolina Press

Virginia Native Plants

Virginia Native Plants
Author: Harold Wiggins
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2005
Genre: Endemic plants
ISBN: 1411687892

"VIRGINIA NATIVE PLANTS is a helpful introduction to the diverse flora of Virginia. It is unique in its approach of including families rather than a menu of usually attractive plants. If the user of Wiggin's [sic] small volume learns the characteristics of the families, they will be introduced to the vast majority of our native plants. Perhaps as many as 75% of our native plants belong to about ten families."--The introduction (page 7) by Lytton John Musselman

New Naturalism

New Naturalism
Author: Kelly D. Norris
Publisher: Cool Springs Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2021-02-16
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 0760368201

Recreate the wild beauty and thriving ecology of meadows, prairies, woodlands, and streamsides in your own garden. In New Naturalism, horticulturist and modern plantsman Kelly D. Norris shares his inspiring, ecologically sound vision for home gardens created with stylish yet naturalistic plantings that mimic the wild spaces we covet—far from the contrived, formal, high-maintenance plantings of the past. Through a basic introduction to plant biology and ecology, you’ll learn how to design and grow a lush, thriving home garden by harnessing the power of plant layers and palettes defined by nature, not humans. The next generation of home landscapes don’t consist of plants in a row, pruned to perfection and reliant on pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides to survive. Instead, today’s stunning landscapes convey nature’s inherent beauty. These gardens are imbued with romance and emotion, yet they have so much more to offer than their gorgeous aesthetics. Naturalistic garden designs, such as those featured in this groundbreaking new book, contribute to positive environmental change by increasing biodiversity, providing a refuge for wildlife, and reconnecting humans to nature. In the pages of New Naturalism you’ll find: Planting recipes for building meadows, prairies, and other grassland-inspired open plantings even in compact, urban settings Nature-inspired ways to upgrade existing foundation plantings, shrub beds, and flower borders to a wilder aesthetic while still managing the space Inspiration for taking sidewalk and driveway plantings and turning them into visually soft, welcoming spaces for humans and wildlife alike Ideas for turning shady landscapes into canopied retreats that celebrate nature Creative ways to make an ecologically vibrant garden in even the smallest of spaces New Naturalism approaches the planting beds around our homes as ecological systems. If properly designed and planted, these areas can support positive environmental change, increase plant and animal diversity, and create a more resilient space that’s less reliant on artificial inputs. And they do it all while looking beautiful and improving property values.

Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants

Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants
Author: C. Colston Burrell
Publisher: Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2006
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 9781889538747

Na s. tyt.: "This book is dedicated to Judith D. Zuk, president emeritus of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, whose leadership made the Garden's pioneering books on invasive plants possible".

Trees and Shrubs of Virginia

Trees and Shrubs of Virginia
Author: Oscar W. Gupton
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2002
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 9780813921143

This non-technical guide provides a description, habitat picture and close-up of flower and fruit for each of the selected species. The text outlines characteristic features, frequency and region of occurrence in the state, and often compares similar species in the same genus.