The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants

by Charlotte Adelman, Bernard L. Schwartz, Charlotte,Bernard L. Adelman,Schwartz

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821419373
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	09/21/2011
Edition description:	1
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,029,527
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Charlotte Adelman and Bernard L. Schwartz are the authors of Prairie Directory of North America – The United States, Canada, and Mexico and The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants, winner of the 2012 Helen Hull Award from the National Garden Clubs. In 2014, Adelman was awarded an Audubon Chicago Region Habitat Project Conservation Leadership Award.

Editorial Reviews

At last, an idea whose time has come! This is the only book I know of, for the Midwest, that systematically suggests native plants of similar appearance and growing requirements, to replace nonnatives we might otherwise plant in our landscapes. Importantly, The Midwestern Native Garden alerts the reader to the natives’ unique roles in attracting and sustaining increased biodiversity in our gardens.”—Maryann Whitman, Editor, Wild Ones Journal


“This book helps you transform your existing ornamental gardens to native ones by providing lists of native plants with similar form, color, and growing conditions to the ornamentals you may have now. Five years ago, my gardens were approximately one-third native. Now they are more than four-fifths native. This book helped me do this.”—GoNativesNow


“For Midwestern gardeners this is an excellent reference book to have on your native plants, and some of them look nicer than their city cousins.”—The National Gardener


“Midwestern gardeners who aim to create native landscapes that provide important habitat to birds and other wildlife have a valuable new resource.—Audubon Magazine


“Although this book was written for the Midwest, many of the natives it recommends are found in other parts of the continent, or have closely related counterparts. As a result, (The Midwestern Native Garden) is useful to gardeners well beyond the Midwest.”—Bluebird: Journal of the North American Bluebird Society

“This lovely and inspired book will turn your mind to the future, to gardening, and to creation, of whatever divine, authorial, or arboreal inspiration. Get your green fingers at the ready.”
— ReadWorthy Books

“Adelman and Schwartz have written an informative, beautifully illustrated book. . . . Every Midwestern gardener interested in the reintroduction of native plants will want to own this book. Applicable to gardens in adjacent states as well.”
— Library Journal

From the Publisher

Native plants are not only beautiful, they also provide for the needs of animals. Adelman and Schwartz (coauthors, Prairie Directory of North America) have written an informative, beautifully illustrated book suggesting native species Midwestern gardeners can use in place of common garden plants (they define the Midwest as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada). Arranged first by season then alphabetically by common name of nonnative plants, the entries list and describe the plants' native alternatives. In addition to listing common descriptors (height, etc.), entries note whether the nonnative plants are invasive. The native alternatives presented are species that resemble the nonnative plants in, for example, flower color and leaf shape, and that also have the same cultural requirements. "Nature Notes" include information on animals that use the plants for food, habitat, or reproduction purposes. While the authors unfortunately do not include USDA hardiness zones, they point to the USDA website as a source for such information and for determining whether a plant is native to a specific state. VERDICT Every Midwestern gardener interested in the reintroduction of native plants will want to own this book. Applicable to gardens in adjacent states as well.—Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., IL

Library Journal