Average customer rating:
- Great for "regular people" despite a couple of goofs!
- Mostly good for garden formation ideas, but needs help.
- It genuinely does make a few mistakes
- A Real Keeper and Invaluable Source
- Engaging, well written reference... with a few gaps
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Easy Care Native Plants: A Guide to Selecting and Using Beautiful American Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees in Gardens and Landscapes
Patricia A. Taylor
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
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Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation
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Native Plant Primer, The: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers for Natural Gardens
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Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants
ASIN: 0805038612 |
Book Description
North America's magnificent plant life has a peculiar history in that it is generally regarded as weedy material in its native meadows and woodlands and viewed as a horticultural treasure trove abroad. In Easy Care Native Plants, Patricia A. Taylor seeks to change this situation by emphasizing the elegant beauty, rather than the common naturalness, of American flora and by urging gardeners to capture the exquisite essence of its blossoms and foliage in artistic compositions.The book is divided into three sections, each filled with color photographs and containing special lists of plant recommendations from horticultural experits in the United States, Canada, and Europe. These suggestions include natives for city patios and decks, shrubs for winter interest, colorful flowers for drought situations, and prairie plants for a formal front yard display.The first section reviews the history and current use of native American plants and includes a brief primer on garden design. The second presents profiles of eighteen public and private gardens in Canada and the United States and highlights the crucial role of horticultural organizations and garden clubs in spreading the good news about native flora.The last section is devoted to detailed descriptions of over 500 plants, chosen not only for their handsone appearance but also for their ability to flourish without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. With them, gardeners everywhere will have yearlong beauty requiring minimal maintenance.While many of the plants cited in the book are little known, all are commercially propagated and available. The Appendix lists sources for each plant category and describes a select number of mail-order firms, including ordering information.Easy Care Native Plants has been written and designed to be a usable, definitive resource for the full specturm of those who love and appreciate beautiful plants, from weekend gardeners to landscape designers and architects.
Customer Reviews:
Great for "regular people" despite a couple of goofs! .......2006-08-24
The outstanding characteristic of this book is that it is USABLE by regular, non-professional busy people who love gardening and nature and especially want to respect native plant communities and plant with sensitivity to their own region.
The Bittersweet confusion is terrible, but it is offset by good organization, good photos, and short descriptions on the outside of pages.
Another outstanding feature is that the author includes trees, shrubs, and vines, as well as flowers. This increases the value of this book significantly.
Flowers are wonderful, but people need to get a bit beyond flowers--flowers--flowers. For example, many butterfly species depend upon TREES as host plants and then use flowers for nectar. The distinctive Red Admiral uses trees at all stages of life and leaves the flowers for others.
Thanks to the author for a good down-to-earth reference that answers practical "ordinary" questions. I have recommended this book to a number of people in "wildlife/habitat gardening" classes and have given several as gifts . . . inserting a note about the Bittersweet :-)!
P.S. Yeah, I really should change that ridiculous name. I was under the influence of busy visiting grandchildren when I first reviewed a book here. . . and we do have a great goofy time!
Mostly good for garden formation ideas, but needs help........2005-04-03
I bought this older used book (1996) and find it remains quite relevant. One of the reasons we gardeners end up planting invasive species is because they are easy to grow. In EASY CARE NATIVE PLANTS Patricia Taylor addresses one of the biggest issues for gardeners... "I would grow native species, but I don't have time."
Well, Taylor suggests low maintenance creatures that will be no more work than the invasive plants you intended to install. With Taylor, we visit public and private gardens where individuals are making a difference one plant at a time. From these gardeners, we learn how to construct various gardens including a woodlands garden, a drought tolerant native garden, and a front yard native garden. Taylor provides lists of plants for each of these gardens. For a complementary book, you might consider buying both Taylor's book and 100 EASY-TO-GROW NATIVE PLANTS by Lorraine Johnson which is a kind of annotated plant directory (although it focuses mainly on non-woody plants, whereas Taylor includes trees, shrubs and plants). Alternatively, you can contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service for a free monograph on plant invaders and substitutes at www.nfwf.org. Do that and you are sure to find 'Celastrus orbiculatus' or Oriental Bittersweet on the "No-no" list. Also the latter monograph suggests several native alternatives to bittersweet, such as 'Campsis radicans' (trumpet vine) and 'Passiflora incarnata' or Passion Vine.
It genuinely does make a few mistakes.......2001-06-26
Not to belabor a nitpicker's criticism, but this book does include a few gaffes that compromise its use as a reference. I do very much enjoy the book, and my review below reflects that. But it just gets some things wrong.
For example, the species of Bittersweet southern gardeners have trouble with is Celastrus Orbiculatus -- oriental bittersweet. Yep, it's highly invasive, and yes, it can "consume entire forests" as this author says "bittersweet" does. The native American Species is Celastrus Scandens. The two differ in the position of the berries on the vine, partly... and they also differ in that the native one isn't swallowing entire forests. They're hard for an intelligent amateur to tell apart when looking at an individual plant... which is exactly the problem that this book has, too.
There's a HUGE difference between American chestnuts -- enormous trees now nearly gone from their native range due to blight -- and the shrubby asiatic Chestnuts that were brought in by nurseries and that carried the blight into this country in the first place. That's exactly the sort of distinction a gardener interested in native plants wants to know about, and it's basically the one this book misses with the two Bittersweets. In a lot of cases it's that sort of thing that got us into native gardening in the first place. So, see, it's bad to make this kind of error in a book on native plants.
Again, this is a decent book that just slips up in a few spots.
A Real Keeper and Invaluable Source.......2001-03-05
This is a top-notch gardening book, one that all gardeners can use to enrich their properties. While some may find recommendations by plant experts to be a disadvantage, I like knowing that top horticulturists have carefully selected the plants in this book (southern gardeners tell me that Taylor is right on the mark in describing the American bittersweet). The garden profiles, particularly, for me, the California one, are not only good reads but also packed with useful information. The book is designed to be useful - very easy to look for a yellow flower that blooms all summer or a small shrub with white spring flowers. I turn to it again and again to learn about and find beautiful, interesting and low maintenance plants. I have bought and given 14 of these books as gifts to friends and have received unanimous 5 star reviews from the recipients!
Engaging, well written reference... with a few gaps.......2000-02-26
This is a good choice for the beginning native gardener who needs a sense of the range of native plants available. It's a pleasant browse, and provides a representative sample of the choices you might make with natives. I appreciated the straightforward tone of the writer, who studiously avoided the pretensions of some of the more unctious coffeetable books. Let's just say she's gardening in urban New Jersey, not in northern California, and leave it at that.
On the other hand, there are some gaps in Ms. Taylor's knowledge that make this a less than definitive reference. The short version is that she's often recommending a plant based on the sendup of an arboretum or public garden with which she's corresponded, and that sometimes she hasn't done the research to back that recommendation up. For an egregious example, she describes the American form of Bittersweet (Celastrus Scandens) in a way that clearly demonstrates that she doesn't know the difference between it and the invasive asian form. That sort of slip is a real problem, both philosophically and practically, for someone who's into native plants. Oops.
All in all, I'd say this is a useful book that gets you interested in the plants, but that you should do a healthy amount of leg work elsewhere before you plant. The research is half the fun anyway...
For another native plant reference, with less species but more reliable context and detail, try C. Colston Burrell's A Gardener's Encyclopedia of Wildflowers.
Book Description
Essential reading for those who desire a beautiful garden without the back-breaking work,
The Low-Maintenance Garden is the guide to enjoying your garden rather than spending hours toiling in it. This book shows how to minimize and simplify gardening tasks, and over time create a virtually maintenance-free garden.
Packed with planting plans, charts, ideas and step-by-step techniques for minimizing work,
The Low-Maintenance Garden is beautifully laid out with easy-to-access information for every type and size of garden. In addition to many full-color photographs and illustrations, the book features:
- Easy Surfaces and Structures - creating an easy-care surface in the garden
- Easy Planting Solutions - low-maintenance plants for a wide range of situations
- Transforming Gardens to Lower Maintenance - how to turn any size garden into a low-maintenance garden
- Low-Maintenance Techniques - essential tips on reducing time spent on basic gardening chores
- Directory of Easy-Care Plants - from trouble-free trees to easy grasses and water plants
With real-life case studies and many tips and suggestions, gardeners can now recapture leisure time.
Customer Reviews:
Low-Maintenance... helpful to the amateur.......2000-05-23
If you want to work in the yard or garden, but don't have time... OR even if you don't want to work in the yard or garden and enjoy the simply pleasures of a well landscaped yard... this book is for you. There are ideas and designs for walkways, small ponds, fountains, rasied beds, and seating areas. Picking the right plants is most important and this book helps to narrow the choices. There is also a section on how to minimize your chores. And of course there are some photos that help you get the creative juices going for ideas on everything from Japanese Gardens to Urban Jungles... Good Resource!
Product Description
Easy Care Guide To Houseplants Book, Featuring More Than 200 Plants, This Book Explains How To Place Plants & Care For Them Like An Expert, Also How To Decorate With Plants & Propagate Them, Over 400 Color Photos.
Customer Reviews:
Trust my review not the others!!.......2004-12-29
Too simplistic. Too many pictures and not enough information. Even the info given is not detailed enough. Many common household plants mot even listed ex.the snake plant. I purchased this book on the great reviews and this is the first time I'm very disappointed. Trust me and save your money.
A beautiful book for beginners........2003-12-09
Easy-Care Guide to Houseplants is a beautiful book to look at, but it is for the beginner. The "how to" section does go into detail with beautiful pictures showing you each step of the way. The decorating ideas look nice, but it would be more practical if they were silk plants. The placement of the plants is very impractical, either the plants don't get enough light or watering the plants would be a hugh chore.
The Plant Profiles is just an introduction to houseplants. This book is definitely not for the experienced houseplant person who is looking for real information on individual plants. Experienced houseplant people keep looking this book isn't for you.
Must Have Reference Book!.......2003-09-11
I have yet to met someone who wouldn't appreciate a healthy indoor plant. This book is excellent - it's concise, informative and written in a way even the most inexperienced plant owner can understand. It's worth buying just for the pictures alone! Come on, bring nature indoors!
a picture for every plant.......2003-04-08
This was a very informative book. I have never been a able to keep a plant alive before. Now people say I have a green thumb.
My home and deck are full of healthy beautiful plants. Every plant,in the book, has a great photo and full discription of light needs and exact fertilizer times and needs. I have had a hard time finding a few of the fertilizers needed, so I may start tring some of the great fertilizer recipes given. Every thing needed is here. How to propigate, transplant, divide. A full list of discriptions of possible plant problems and the solutions. I would suggest this book to anyone as a great resource. As a matter of fact, I've lent it out a few times.(But I make sure to get it bact soon)
Need A Hobby, Get This Book.......2002-09-25
Most of us have time for only one thing nowadays, simplicity. This book simplifies caring for house plants. I still cannot find 20-10-10 plant food it recommends [for my aloe plant], but that's a small thing. I'll probably find it online.
Book Description
-In-depth information on what "easy-care" really means.
-Landscape wizardry without the work.
-Full color renderings show what the final product will look like.
-Designs that are perfect for virtually every style of home.
-Complete construction blueprints and regional plant list available separately.
Customer Reviews:
A good book for ideas and guidance.......2007-03-08
Hmm. The previous reviews baffle me a little as one can tell from the title this is not a one-size-fits-all book as each region in the country has different requirements and the title doesn't point to any one in particular. This book has great sketches with general plant categories, quantity needed, and placement guides to help you achieve a similar look in your yard. I'm not an expert gardener by any means, but I would consider myself a bit more savvy than a novice. Not one of these plans in its entirety was what I was looking for but I took bits and pieces of several and drew up my own sketch for my yard. Then by looking around my city for things I like and talking with my local nursery personnel, I was able to select the perfect plants to fit my sketch -- all for free (well, the plants cost me money of course!). So if you are looking for someone to do it all for you, this is not the book and you are probably better off hiring someone. If you want guidance and inspiration, this is a great book and if you find a particular plan you love, you can order it and get all of the information handed to you at a reasonable cost.
Not what it looked like.......2004-05-12
I thought this book would come with the plans inside, based on the title and subtitle. But it is just a book of plans to order. There are no plant keys, just sketches of various landscaping plans that you can send away for. I am completely dissatisfied and would like to return this item.
This is a marketing book.......2003-06-12
This book has a bunch of very specific plans for designs that you must BUY. While you can get a few ideas from it, it is very vague and general, and yet, geared to a specific-lot plan. Browse it if you like, but don't bother to buy it.
A good book -- but a little misleading........1999-10-20
The book is good -- for an advertising piece for landscaping plans. It is well illustrated and does include a lot of information on landscaping. It helped me. HOWEVER, each landscaping plan has an 800 number with a plan code. For $45 plus the company will send you a detailed plan that is adapted to your zone. Frankly I would have preferred to know this up front. I should have been more suspicious when I saw the low book price. Would I recommend the book? Yes - if you want some ideas about achieving different looks in a suburban garden. But unless you are willing to pay more, don't look to this guide for plant recommendations.
Book Description
It is a myth that roses demand chemicals and special care to grow, as Barbara Wilde demonstrates in her beautiful, groundbreaking book Growing Roses Organically. It contains an identification guide for more than 100 roses that are the best choices for organic gardening techniques, a month-by-month rose care calendar, and gardening information applicable to all U.S. climates.By choosing healthy varieties and those best suited to the organic garden, gently intervening when it comes to pest and disease problems, and using proper pruning and planting techniques, a lush garden filled with roses is within the reach of everyone from beginner to veteran gardener. For any gardener who has ever tried and failed to grow roses, for those intimidated by the care and feeding of these unique blooms, and for those committed to the organic way, Growing Roses Organically was written just for them. Including garden designs that pair roses with perennials, wildflowers, trees, and shrubs, it is a one-of-a-kind exploration of how the simple makes the spectacular.
Customer Reviews:
Not the greatest how-to book for roses.......2007-01-29
I am a big fan of organic gardening, but I just can't agree with the other posters here who've raved about this book. I'm glad it's not the first one I've read on organic gardening or on roses. If it had been, I think I would have given up! Wilde makes it sound entirely too complicated, especially for the typical home gardener. Also, not that many roses are featured, and information on them (fragrance,etc differs from what I've read elsewhere and/or experienced in my own garden. An OK book, but be sure you read others and go to the excellent site help me find dot com to get some perspective. Visit local gardens to see what does well. And don't be afraid to experiment in your own garden, keeping it simple as much as possible. If you 1.) choose roses known to do well in your area, 2.) plant them properly making sure they have plenty of sun, food and water, and 3.) cultivate them cleanly, keeping their bases free of fallen leaves and debris - the job is mostly done. ENJOY YOUR ROSES!
Growing Roses Organically.......2005-02-10
This book is an outstanding resource not only for rose gardeners, but also for gardeners in general. I learned all sorts of useful facts about growing plants organically. The book is beautifully written and easy to understand. The illustrations are excellent.
This book is attractive enough to be given as a gift.
Wilde has given us a treasure:
her vast experience and great love of gardening.
Great instructions and info, plus beautiful pictures.......2003-02-22
This is a practical, pretty, and highly useful book for anyone who wants to smell the roses, especially in climates less temperate than the west coast.
The number of roses included is far from encyclopaedic, but for the roses Ms Wilde does include, she reports thoroughly on on their disease susceptibility, growth habit, hardiness, fragrance, and more. In nearly all cases, a gorgeous color photo accompanies. In fact, stripped of its useful information, this book would still be a fine buy for its large color photos. Before the gallery of roses, you'll find clear and helpful instructions about how to prepare for planting and how to accomplish the actual planting. Although the emphasis obviously centers on organic methods, this is a fine general reference on growing roses.
The book itself seems reasonably well put together. I haven't spent months poring over it yet, but I do not have the early feeling of dread when a poorly glued book seems ready to fall apart in my hands. Probably part of the reason is that the book is large enough to be helpful, but not so large that its very size works to break it apart. The format, in other words, allows for some large and luscious eye candy, but it is not as big as many modern illustrated gardening books which should really come with their own stands.
Photographs, clear drawings, and lucid instructions and descriptions make this book a pleasure to own and and treasure to use.
Direct, simple instructions and details.......2002-07-14
Growing Roses Organically: Your Guide To Creating An Easy-Care Garden Full Of Fragrance And Beauty by garden designer and horticulturalist expert Barbara Wilde is a fabulous, full-color guide to creating a beautiful organic garden tailored to the rose-lover's tastes. Direct, simple instructions and details on a wide variety of roses enhance this superb reference which is ideal for gardeners of all skill levels. From the basics of getting started; through issues such as watering, fertilizing, pruning, disease and insect infestation; to the details of designing rose gardens (included the Mixed Border; Wild Gardens, Hedging, and Wildlife Gardens), Barbara Wilde writes with an accessibility that is as informative as it is easy-to-apply. Of special note is chapter ten, "A Gallery of Roses". If you aspiring to growing a garden of roses, begin your preparations by giving Barbara Wilde's Growing Roses Organically a careful reading!
Book Description
From the original TAYLOR'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDENING, published in 1936, to the current best-selling Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening, the Taylor name has stood for the very best information available to American gardeners. Now this all-new series extends the market to new gardeners (and new garden-book buyers). Like the other best-selling members of the Taylor's Guide family, Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides including: Safe and Easy Lawn Care; Window Boxes; Organic Pest and Disease Control; and Birds and Butterflies; offer the exceptionally high standards of excellence that gardeners have come to rely on. The Weekend Gardening Guides are designed for gardeners who are looking for practical information on specific topics from a source they can trust. Attractively priced and beautifully illustrated with more than 50 full-color photos and helpful color drawings, each Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide is written by a popular, respected, and nationally known gardening expert.
Book Description
Barbara Wilde demystifies organic rose-growing for everyone who has ever fallen under the spell of the beauty of the rose. She challenges the myth that growing roses has to be a time-consuming task that cannot be done effectively without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides and shares time-tested advice and wisdom, such as: -Tips for buying the best bareroot and container plants -How to carefully prepare the soil -How to gently intervene when it comes to pests and diseases -A Gallery of Roses-a useful identification guide to more than 100 roses best suited to organic gardening -Step-by-step explanation of various pruning techniques -Ratings for fragrance, disease susceptibility, and shade tolerance Beautifully illustrated in color throughout, Wilde also includes four garden designs that show how naturally roses can fit into any landscape.
Customer Reviews:
Very Helpful.......2007-05-17
Growing Beautiful Roses: Your Guide to Creating an Easy-Care Garden Full of Fragrance and Color This is an easy to follow book with good suggestions about taking care of your roses. Liked its easy to follow style
Customer Reviews:
Great help for a gardener with a black thumb........2000-07-17
I have a black thumb when it comes to gardening. The minute that I stray from proven plants everything dies. Peter's book in plain english makes it simple for even the challenged to have a beautiful garden. Landscape plans are given along with plant lists with common and latin names. In the back is a reference for the plants with information on caring for them. Good book for beginners and a great book for referencing.
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