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Landscaping with Native Plants of Wisconsin
Aimed at beginners and veteran gardeners alike, this book is designed to help Wisconsin gardeners find, plant, and maintain the best native species for their specific sites, however modest or lavish. Gardening with native plants is an ever-more popular practice—and for good reason. Naturally suited to a region’s climate and soil, native plants tend to thrive, and to reflect a true “fit” with the environment. The Native Plant Profiles section offers comprehensive descriptions of some 600 species of flowers and groundcovers, trees, shrubs, vines, evergreens, grasses, and ferns native to Wisconsin, as well as information on planting, maintenance, and landscape uses for each plant. With advice on the process of designing a natural garden that fits each lifestyle and family, the book will guide readers to the level of native plant landscaping that is just right for them.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 26, 2020
I liked it. Thorough, easy to use information on a niche topic. The more I hike, the more I don't want a yard as much as a patch of Wisconsin forest.
August 22, 2018
An interesting and practical garden guide. This landscaping catalog includes history andfour hundred profiles of native plants, including trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and flowers.
Glaciers over millennia determined the topography and soils of Wisconsin. Later, Native Americans lived in harmony with the plants and animals, writes Lynn Steiner.
Native plants grew here before the European settlement of two hundred years ago. European settlers, however, cut down large stands of trees and plowed the prairies while introducing plants from their homelands.
Native plants create natural checks and balances by contributing to the web of life as habitats for wildlife, including birds, butterflies and pollinating insects. Nonetheless we do enjoy some introduced plants, such as potatoes, tomatoes and wheat as well as lilacs and hostas, writes Steiner.
As native plants become popular again, cultivars emerge, chosen for color, flower, compact growth and large or double flowers, for example.
This book came on my radar from an article in The Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Micro prairies: No yard is too small to go with earth-friendly native plants https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/h...
Glaciers over millennia determined the topography and soils of Wisconsin. Later, Native Americans lived in harmony with the plants and animals, writes Lynn Steiner.
Native plants grew here before the European settlement of two hundred years ago. European settlers, however, cut down large stands of trees and plowed the prairies while introducing plants from their homelands.
Native plants create natural checks and balances by contributing to the web of life as habitats for wildlife, including birds, butterflies and pollinating insects. Nonetheless we do enjoy some introduced plants, such as potatoes, tomatoes and wheat as well as lilacs and hostas, writes Steiner.
As native plants become popular again, cultivars emerge, chosen for color, flower, compact growth and large or double flowers, for example.
This book came on my radar from an article in The Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Micro prairies: No yard is too small to go with earth-friendly native plants https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/h...
August 10, 2021
This is an outstanding resource for anybody interested in home gardening/landscaping. The section layout is easy to follow and the collection of plants is quite impressive. The book begins with a
description of some of the natural history of Wisconsin, giving the reader an understanding of the various landscapes seen around the state, what may have given rise to each area's particular plant life, and thus what plants grow well together and make sense depending on your specific site. Additionally, the photos are clear and helpful for identification, and the recommendations on what plants to pair together (taking into consideration growth patterns, blooming times, aesthetics, soil type, etc.) are thorough and great for novice landscapers.
This is our go-to resource for landscaping every time we want to tackle another section of garden at our new house!
description of some of the natural history of Wisconsin, giving the reader an understanding of the various landscapes seen around the state, what may have given rise to each area's particular plant life, and thus what plants grow well together and make sense depending on your specific site. Additionally, the photos are clear and helpful for identification, and the recommendations on what plants to pair together (taking into consideration growth patterns, blooming times, aesthetics, soil type, etc.) are thorough and great for novice landscapers.
This is our go-to resource for landscaping every time we want to tackle another section of garden at our new house!
May 31, 2020
Very comprehensive, easy to use. Use it to plan & plant my native garden.
March 19, 2014
The book was about the native plants of Wisconsin that the author, Lynn M. Steiner, believes to be the best for various landscaping conditions and sites in Wisconsin. It is divided into several sections for each group of plant types that one could use in landscaping. The sections are flowers and groundcovers, ferns, grasses, evergreen conifers, deciduous shrubs and small trees, deciduous trees, and vines. Each section would have several plants which would be described in detail as to its native habitat, height, a general description, its landscape use, a good site to put it in, how to grow it best, good companion plants, and different species/cultivars. The book before it went on to discussing the different plants discussed the native plant habitats in Wisconsin and how gardening with native plants is more about choosing plants for your natural site than trying to plant something that won't tolerate the site and trying to have it survive with artificial help, like extensive watering, fertilizing and pesticide use. It also discussed how one could create special landscaping designs by following your natural site conditions, like making a bog garden in a wet part of a garden or forming a rock garden in an old gravel driveway. Then you would choose plants that would survive those conditions.
I liked how the book has numerous pictures of each native plant. It helps make understanding the text description of the plant easier. I also liked that the author made native plants applicable to home landscaping and not some sort of weedy thing that needs to be replaced with European or Asian plants. I disliked how the book doesn't mention certain of my favorite plants, like American Elm, in greater detail.
I recommend this book to any high school student taking a landscaping class, especially those interested in landscaping with native plants.
I liked how the book has numerous pictures of each native plant. It helps make understanding the text description of the plant easier. I also liked that the author made native plants applicable to home landscaping and not some sort of weedy thing that needs to be replaced with European or Asian plants. I disliked how the book doesn't mention certain of my favorite plants, like American Elm, in greater detail.
I recommend this book to any high school student taking a landscaping class, especially those interested in landscaping with native plants.
August 16, 2010
Comprehensive treatment of the subject.
Includes some of my favorites such as anise hyssop, nodding wild onion, jack in the pulpit, wild ginger, butterfly weed, marsh marigold, rattlesnake master, etc.
Includes some of my favorites such as anise hyssop, nodding wild onion, jack in the pulpit, wild ginger, butterfly weed, marsh marigold, rattlesnake master, etc.
October 31, 2009
I borrowed this from the library and liked it so much that I bought it. Another great reference, includes how to control the plants and propagation. Nice photos.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews