Noah's Garden

Hello,

I just finished reading NOAH'S GARDEN: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards by Sara Stein. What a lovely, well-written and inspiring book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in gardening for wildlife and improving their personal environment. I got my copy on Amazon for just a few bucks. Amazon also offers excerpts from the book if you're interested in reading a few pages to see if it's something you'd like to read.

Does anyone else have any book suggestions?

Not only was she an accomplished author, she was quite the orator. She will be missed.

-A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
-Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
-Reinventing Nature by Michael Soulé and Gary Lease
-Miracle Under the Oaks by William K. Stevens
-The Wild Lawn Handbook by Stevie Daniels
-The Abstract Wild by Jack Turner
-My Weeds : A Gardener's Botany by Sara Stein
-The Singing Wilderness by Sigurd Olson
-Temperate North America 1500-Present by Gordon G. Whitney
-The End of Nature by Bill McKibben
-An illustrated guide to the numerous inner workings of plants and animals and how they struggle to survive on earth by Steve Parker

Yes, I read that she passed away. Did you hear her speak?

Silent Spring is an excellent suggestion! I read it years ago in my 20s, but think I might benefit from a re-read in my 50s. I work at Rutgers University in New Jersey and think I might hit the library for some of your other recommendations.

You know, I think I might just pick up a few Peterson's guides, too. The more I read, the less I know!

Yes, I did.

Silent Spring was ahead of its time. If you liked Carson's book, try this-
-The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants by Charles S. Elton

If you are interested in Field Guides of Plants, consider adding these-
-Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants by William Cullina
- Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities by John Diekelmann
-Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening & Conservation by Donald J. Leopold.

The more I read, the less I know too.

I'm going to toss another one in for you-
-Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

Here are two that are on my pesonal list to read-
-A Plague Of Rats And Rubbervines : The Growing Threat Of Species Invasions by Yvonne Baskin
-Nature Out of Place : Biological Invasions in the Global Age by Jason Van Driesche

Have you per chance read either of those?

I've got Leopold's Native Plants of the Northeast and find myself going to it all the time. I also like his humor. However, even he admits it's short on grasses, so I'd like to get a guide on grasses. Any suggestions there? On my quarter acre there's not much room for a prairie, but I'd like to grow some native grasses.

I also have Kurlansky's Cod but haven't read it yet. My mother's from Newfoundland and my maternal ancestors left England to fish cod from the Grand Banks. I look forward to reading it

I'm lucky to have access to Rutgers' library system. They have every book you listed earlier except Parker's Illustrated Guide. I think I forgot to thank you for the great suggestions!

I haven't read either Rats and Rubbervines or Nature Out of Place but they both sound like something I'd be interested in reading, as do the others you mentioned. You must be a voracious reader!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful suggestions. You've been so helpful to me in identifying my mulberry and suggesting a water feature. I hope you find as much help on this site as I have.

Sherry

The book that I rely upon the most is Plants of The Chicago Region by Swink and Wilhelm however that wouldn't work for you. I have all three editions of that. Each one is actually a little bit different and there is an update coming out that I will be ordering. I haven't done much reading this year. Gosh, I haven't even ordered the two books I want to read. I forgot I have another book that I did buy that I haven't read which may or may not be of interest to you, The Once and Future Forest by Leslie Jones Sauer.

Good luck on finding Steve Parker's publication. I don't own a copy or I'd send it to you and ask you to just send it back. It's up at a Research Station I visited of all places. I frantically read as much as I could while they were open while my kids were running amok and my husband was ready to strangle me. I felt bad but they weren't open the next day. That's one book I'd like to own but I can't find the darn thing and it's not for lack of trying. I did find where it is required reading for a college course somewhere so it has to be out there to be had and I'm just not finding it.

Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes I am not too good with. I have a few books and most recently I purchased volumes I and II of the Manual of the Grasses of the Untied States by A. S. Hitchcock. I can't say that I'd recommend it. Actually, the only book I can recommend on grasses would be Field Guide to the Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes of the United States by Edward Knobel and I have no idea where I got that. It might have been given to me as a gift from a Land Steward. At the end of the volunteer season, they try to give each volunteer a token gift. Come to think of it, there's another book out there simply titled Grasses by Lauren Brown. Grasses frustrate me. What I do is I purchase my grasses and grass seed from reputable native plant nurseries and hope there wasn't a mix up. For introduced species, I rely upon a publication from the University of Illinois. You can order it by calling them or going to their web site and requesting Bulletin 772. It's about 300 pages long and I find it to be invaluable. There's also a little Golden Guide titled Weeds but it only covers the commonest of common. Another one I just picked up is Weeds of the Northern U.S. and Canada by France Royer and Richard Dickinson. I found it to be interesting and I'd recommend that.

Have fun. I guess I'll see you around in a few years.

I started reading the Natural History of the Chicago Region by Joel Greenburg. But reading for me is a winter sport and I just got the book a few weeks ago. (He signed it for me after I watched his slide show...)

I never got to hear Sarah Stein speak, but I do enjoy her books.

I've been to some of the prairie's that Aldo Leopold started.

That Greenburg book sounds like one I should pick up.

I'd love to get my hands on a copy of The Plants of Northern Lake County from Chicago Botanic Garden. I can't find that anywhere and I've been looking for it.

Here are two more really neat books-
-Sex in your Garden by Angela Overy
-The Forgotten Pollinators by Stephen L. Buchmann & Gary Paul Nabhan

Here are two more that I would be interested in knowing if anyone read:
-The Land of the Blue Poppies by Frank Kindgdon Ward
-Plants of the Lewis & Clark Expedition by H Wayne Phillips

These are less for inspiration (which is what I found Noah's Garden best for) and more for some interesting information.

"American Wildlife & Plants" by Martin, Zim and Nelson. It tells which plants are eaten by which birds and mammals in the US, with listingsboth by plant, and by bird or mammal. It's not something I read cover to cover, but it was interesting to read the sections on the plants and animals that I see in my area, and a great reference for when I'm trying to attract a particular bird or mammal.

After I became interested in wildlife gardening, I also became interested in native plants. Even if you're not interested in native plants the 2 following books may be useful to people in the Eastern U.S. since they give information about the interactions with wildlife:


"The Book of Swamp and Bog: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of the Eastern Freshwater Wetlands" by John Eastman and Amelia Hansen


"The Book of Forest and Thicket: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America" by John Eastman and Amelia Hansen.

Lori

Lori
those sound like my kind of books. I have Rodale's Birdscaping Your Garden which is 2/3 a bird guide that tells which plants to attract each bird. the last 1/3 are of native plants that attract birds w/ sample listings. i love the book, but it could be so much more comprehensive than it is.

do you think Am wildlife and plants would be good for someone in western central TX? does it cover a little more than just common backyard birds?

typing w/ just one hand

I love that little bog book. Great suggestion. I don't have the other one but if it is written in the same style, that would be a great suggestion also.

I think we lost Sherry, bet she's lost with her nose in a good book.

indirt, I totally think it would be great for someone in western central Texas to combine NA plants with NA animals. Look up a member by the name of MitchF. You two have a lot in common and I suspect he is mounting a massive information gathering campaign for him to get going on his property. I bet he'll have the names of a few nurseries and other resources for you.

Glad to hear my suggestions sounded interesting to some of you.

indirt,

"American Wildlife & Plants" covers the entire USA (I just double checked), so it should be useful for your area also.

Equilibrium,

"The Book of Forest and Thicket: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America" is a similar style as "The Book of Swamp and Bog: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of the Eastern Freshwater Wetlands".

Lori

Fireweed,
have you read the sequel to Noah's Garden?
"Planting Noah's Garden" Further adventures in backyard ecology

I received both as a gift from my sister in law a few years ago.
It was the best gift that I got that year!

There are so many wonderful books! Thank you all for the suggestions. The Rutgers library just sent me Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America by Gary L. Hightshoe. At the end of Noah's Garden, Sara Stein suggests it as a good reference book. Each species is given a full two pages--black and while illustration showing mature size and habit, detail of leaf, fruit and flower. The cultural information is extensive--type of soil, food value to wildlife, what native species it is associated with in its natural habitat. It's a pricey book but after looking at it, I think I gotta have it.

Lori, I will definitely pick up your two suggestions. I plan to start a bog garden next spring, so it will be great winter reading.

Branches, I saw Planting Noah's Garden and think I might enjoy that as well. I'm always looking for good ideas for my little plot of land.

My list is getting longer and longer and longer . . .

Sherry

Farthingale:

Hightshoe's book is a fine one, though I wish he/they would update and expand it. It needs a lot more of the native flora added. I really like it for the listing of "plant associates" at the bottom of the page, so that you get an idea of which plants hang out with each other.

It was one of the first heavy tomes I purchased; it doubles as a bug crusher and sample presser, second only to Hortus 3rd.

Ken Druse has a series of books out (not solely native plants), including The Natural Garden, The Natural Shade Garden, and The Natural Habitat Garden, for when you start branching out into design issues.

One other text I'm surprised didn't jump from EQ: Native Trees for North American Landscapes. You'll often find the author residing over on the Trees and Shrubs forum doing battle with the fairer gender.

Ah ha ha, Fireweed got renamed again! Join the club Fireweed, I've been renamed so many times I've lost count. Yay for you that you've been renamed!

Say V V, you are 100% correct. Amazing how we take for granted the things we love the most. I completely forgot to mention "Native Trees for North American Landscapes".
http://davesgarden.com/gbw/c/1080/

I think I have one of Druse's books but I don't recall which one off hand without walking upstairs to go look. My guess is I have "The Natural Garden". Until recently, I've been exclusively a stick gardener. I stick plants here and I stick plants there and I stick plants every where and any where I can stick them. I need to get more focused on design otherwise this place is going to look like exactly what I have been doing which is sticking everything anywhere. Design is not one of my strong points and trying to combine function with form is going to be a major hurdle for me.

Any Design 101 books our there or Designing For Dummies for me?

Equi - I don't think you need a book to help you design. I think you have everything you need already in your head. Just need to put it all together w/ an open mind.
(these are for you to answer to yourself)
What do you have already in your yard as far as permanent structure/trees/fences/etc? In your mind or on your paper, everything else is a blank canvas and can be changed.

Is there anything that needs to be hid from view? Which views? Look out your windows, from your favorite lounging seat in your yard, from the walk/drive by.
Are there any places you hate to mow or trim? Any hills/topography that is difficult to walk? These are places that need creative landscaping. It will come to you when you look at it from all the angles - or else make a post.

Then, what kind of birds/animals do you have already? Open field or woodsy? We want to accentuate this, not busy it up.

Then think about the different levels of food/water - you have critters that live under ground, on the ground, in the shrubs, trees, open sky - what are their needs in the space that you have? Do you need more open space to the sky? Do you need more "edge of woods"?

What kind of "feeling" do you want to the guest entrance to your house? What kind of "feeling" do you want for your relaxing spot? These "feelings" turn into "themes" like decorating a room. I.E. I want my garden to "feel" rich and lush - I am going to plant lots of things close together - big blooms and big leaves that overlap, moving water feature necessary. I want my entrance to be warm/welcoming, yet neat and tidy - I am going to plant shrubs that don't need trimming, but keep a shape/size, frame the walkway or door w/ matching plants, have a light colored single specie line the walk to draw the eye to the step/door - perhaps I want to soften the formalness of this with something that trails and "colors outside the lines" - I will keep it simple w/ just a surprise or two in the middle that says "wow". It is nice to match "feel" w/ architecture.

Think of your yard in chunks, then put the chunks together like a puzzle and ask if the big picture makes sense or if you might want to adjust anything first. Sometimes just re-arranging the plants already there...

I cannot draw even on a gridded piece of paper. Some people can map their yards this way - I, sadly, cannot. I do better w/ a sketch of blobs - blobs that are tall, skinny, fat, etc. I also have a computer program that I can "draw" the map on and then view it 3-D walk through (not too expensive as programs like this go) by Punch. This is awesome. The drawbacks are most of the plants listed are non-native (so I just use the closest blobby shape/color), there are no hardscaping like arbors and rocks, and it takes time.
Design books, I find, are simply inspirational if they have good pics, and are good right from the library.

Now, Farthingale has a nice ring to it. Tried to make one once when I was costuming a community theater production and failed miserably.

Hightshoe's book IS limited. I tried to find info on the Shellbark Hickory (Carya laciniosa) and it wasn't listed. But, what's there is really well done and easy to navigate. I hear Hortus is a bear. Druse's books sound like they're right up my alley and I'll add them to my list along with "Native Trees." Looks like my Christmas list is going to be a long one this year.

Design? The one or two spots in my yard that look passable were freak accidents!

Sherry