Give the Gift of Nature Based Gardening

Author - Doug Tallamy (Hardcover)

Nature’s Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. Because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is immune from the whims of government policy. Even more important, it’s practical, effective, and easy—you will walk away with specific suggestions you can incorporate into your own yard. If you’re concerned about doing something good for the environment, Nature’s Best Hope is the blueprint you need. 

Author - Benjamin Vogt (Softcover)

Plenty of books tell home gardeners and professional landscape designers how to garden sustainably, what plants to use, and what resources to explore. Yet few examine why our urban wildlife gardens matter, and not just for ourselves, but for the larger human and animal communities. Author Benjamin Vogt addresses why we need a new garden ethic, and why we urgently need wildness in our daily lives ― lives sequestered in buildings surrounded by monocultures of lawn and concrete that significantly harm our physical and mental health. He examines the psychological issues around climate change and mass extinction as a way to understand how we are short circuiting our response to global crises, especially by not growing native plants in our gardens.

Author - Uli Lorimer (Softcover)

 Do you want a garden that makes a real difference? Choose plants native to our Northeast 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 Uli Lorimer of the Native Plant Trust makes adding these superstar plants easier than ever before, with proven advice that every home gardener can follow. This incomparable sourcebook includes 235 recommended native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, wildflowers, grasses, sedges, and annuals. It’s everything you need to know to create a beautiful and beneficial garden. 

Author Doug Tallamy (Softcover)

 As development and habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations. In Bringing Nature Home, Douglas W. Tallamy reveals the unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife—native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals.  

But there is an important and simple step we can all take to help reverse this alarming trend: everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity by simply choosing native plants. By acting on Douglas Tallamy's practical and achievable recommendations, we can all make a difference. 

Xerces Society (Softcover) 

Welcome the world’s most exquisite visitors to your garden! Gardening for Butterflies, by the experts at the Xerces Society, introduces you to a variety of butterflies who need our help, and shows you how to design a habitat where they will thrive. This optimistic call to arms is packed with everything you need to create a beautiful, pollinator-friendly garden. You will learn why butterflies matter, why they are in danger, and what simple steps we can take to make a difference. You'll also learn how to choose the right plants and how to create a garden that flutters and flourishes with life. 

Author - Nancy Striniste (Softcover)

 Access to technology has created a generation of children who are more plugged in than ever before—often with negative consequences. But there is a solution. Unrestricted outdoor play helps reduce stress, improve health, and enhance creativity, learning, and attention span. In Nature Play at Home, Nancy Striniste gives you the tools you need to make outdoor adventures possible in your own backyard. With hundreds of inspiring ideas and illustrated, step-by-step projects, this hardworking book details how to create playspaces that use natural materials—like logs, boulders, sand, water, and plants of all kinds. Projects include hillside slides, seating circles, sand pits, and more. 

Author Sue Reed (Hard to find Paperback!)

Predictions about future effects of climate change range from mild to dire - but we're already seeing warmer winters, hotter summers, and more extreme storms. Proposed solutions often seem expensive and complex, and can leave us as individuals at a loss, wondering what, if anything, can be done.

Sue Reed and Ginny Stibolt offer a rallying cry in response - instead of wringing our hands, let's roll up our sleeves. Based on decades of experience, this book is packed with simple, practical steps anyone can take to beautify any landscape or garden, while helping protect the planet and the species that call it home. 

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Author - David Mizejewski NWF (Softcover)

Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife provides 17 inspiring wildlife-friendly projects that the whole family can enjoy, making getting back to nature easy, educational, and fun! Learn how to fill your yard and garden with the sights and sounds of nature with ideas for homemade feeders, birdbaths, ponds, native plants, protective cover, nesting places, and more.

Author David Mizejewski, a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation, presents simple plans for reintroducing native plants that birds, butterflies, and a whole host of critters can't resist. He shows ways to supplement nature to further entice wildlife to your yard and garden, and even provides new information on attracting backyard pollinators—a major issue for environmentalists as bee colonies continue to face challenges.

Authors - Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke (Hardcover)

 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. 

Author - Tony Dove (Hardcover)

Praised by Doug Tallamy as "an important new tool to our native plant libraries," this go-to guide is perfect for gardeners of all skill levels looking to add sustainable native flora to any horticultural project east of the Mississippi River Valley. Gleaned from the authors' 75 years of landscaping experience, this user-friendly reference offers suggestions on species selection based on a plant's performance, aesthetic appeal, and wide range of adaptability. Expert authors Tony Dove and Ginger Woolridge's valuable resource is organized for fast and confident tree and shrub selections for specific landscape applications, and is full of vivid four-color photographs, graphs, and practical tips. A sound and giftable volume for gardeners and landscapers from New England through the Carolinas, from the east coast to the Mississippi River, including Georgia and into northern Florida.