101 Best Plants for the Prairies

101 Best Plants for the Prairies

Author: Liesbeth Leatherbarrow

Publisher: Calgary : Fifth House Publishers

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13:

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This collection of the very best annuals, perennials, bulbs, vines, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees for the prairie region of Canada and the northern plains of the United States is a must-have for all prairie gardeners. Included are color photographs and detailed descriptions of 101 plants, as well as essential information about where and how to grow the plants, tips on companion plantings, bloom and color charts, and "collectors' choice" sections describing many related and exceptional plants to tempt even the more experienced gardener. 101 Best Plants for the Prairies offers sound advice on how to make the most of your time and money when creating a beautiful garden. Gardeners from the U.S. and Canada shared their expertise and inspiration with authors and avid gardeners Liesbeth Leatherbarrow and Lesley Reynolds. The result is a well-researched, lively gardening guide that will allow you to plant with confidence in a challenging climate.


The Prairie Gardener's Go-To Guide for Perennials

The Prairie Gardener's Go-To Guide for Perennials

Author: Janet Melrose

Publisher: TouchWood Editions

Published: 2023-04-05

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1771513934

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The eighth book in the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series is all about those reliable, grounded plants you can count on: perennials. Perennials are those species whose stems and leaves die back to their crowns each fall, but whose roots remain alive throughout the non-growing months. They include showy flowers like peonies, poppies, lilies, clematis, and lupine, but also edibles like asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, sunchokes, and rhubarb. In this guide prairie gardening experts Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau answer questions like What are the best perennials for building biodiversity in my garden? What’s the difference between species, variety, cultivar, and nativar? What kinds of perennials can I grow in containers? When and how do I divide plants once they’re well established? How do I keep enthusiastic re-seeders from taking over? Which of my perennial babies need to be brought inside for the winter? The pair dedicate a chapter to perennial vegetables and another to mitigating common pests and diseases. The final chapter is a perennial hall of fame, an extended list of recommended plantings for colour, native species, rock gardens, ground cover, fragrance, spring champions, and all-season displays. Janet and Sheryl give you the information you need to make your perennial garden as successful as you can while promoting biodiversity and creating a healthy habitat for pollinators and wildlife.


Gardening in Summer-Dry Climates

Gardening in Summer-Dry Climates

Author: Nora Harlow

Publisher: Timber Press

Published: 2021-01-05

Total Pages: 710

ISBN-13: 1643260294

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Dry summer, wet winter climate? This is your must have plant guide. Selecting plants suited to your climate is the first step toward a thriving, largely self-sustaining garden that connects with and supports the natural world. With gentle and compelling text and stunning photographs of plants in garden settings, Gardening in Summer-Dry Climates by Nora Harlow and Saxon Holt is a guide to native and climate-adapted plants for summer-dry, winter-wet climates of North America's Pacific coast. Knowing what these climates share and how and why they differ, you can choose to make gardens that maintain and expand local and regional biodiversity, take little from the earth that is not returned, and welcome and accommodate the presence of wildlife. With global warming, it is now even more critical that we garden in tune with climate.


A New Garden Ethic

A New Garden Ethic

Author: Benjamin Vogt

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2017-09-01

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1771422459

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In a time of climate change and mass extinction, how we garden matters more than ever: “An outstanding and deeply passionate book.” —Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals 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 so much—not just for ourselves, but for the larger human and animal communities. Our landscapes push aside wildlife and in turn diminish our genetically programmed love for wildness. How can we get ourselves back into balance through gardens, to speak life's language and learn from other species? 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. Simply put, environmentalism is not political; it's social justice for all species marginalized today and for those facing extinction tomorrow. By thinking deeply and honestly about our built landscapes, we can create a compassionate activism that connects us more profoundly to nature and to one another.


Prairie & Plains States Getting Started Garden Guide

Prairie & Plains States Getting Started Garden Guide

Author: Cathy Wilkinson-Barash

Publisher: Cool Springs Press

Published: 2015-07-01

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 1627887849

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Prairie & Plains States Getting Started Garden Guide contains all of the information you need to choose the best plants in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Novice gardeners, new homeowners, and those new to the area will find it invaluable, but more experienced gardeners and home landscapers will also fall in love with this book. Prairie & Plains States Getting Started Garden Guide features the region-specific plant palette unique to this area, including plants that can withstand cold winters and drying winds. Gardeners in this wide geographic space share many problems and concerns. Annuals, bulbs, groundcovers, lawns, ornamental grasses, perennials, roses, shrubs, trees, and vines are profiled, in detail, with four-color photos showing each plant's attributes. Basic gardening chapters cover the information beginning to intermediate gardeners need to know to garden with confidence.


The Prairie Gardener’s Go-To for Grasses

The Prairie Gardener’s Go-To for Grasses

Author: Janet Melrose

Publisher: TouchWood Editions

Published: 2024-04-19

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 1771514310

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In the tenth book in the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series, lifelong gardeners Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau take on the very prairie subject of grasses. Was ever there a prairie-er subject than grass? Important providers of habitat and food for numerous wildlife species, grasses also serve an integral role in erosion control. For the gardener they can open up a bounty of landscaping options, from the lawn to the pond. In the tenth installment of their popular gardening guide series, lifelong gardeners Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau give you the skinny on everything from sod to sedges and raking to rushes. Following a primer on what exactly defines a grass, Sheryl and Janet take your questions on matters like clumpers vs spreaders, mulching and fertilizers, how to tackle problems like chinch bugs and fairy rings. The pair dedicate a chapter to lawns, providing a wide selection of alternatives to the tried and true commercial lawn species and answer questions on raking, aerating, laying sod, mowing, and dealing with dogs and all the damage they seem hardwired to do. Taking your questions on aquatic grasses, as well as edible species (like wheat, rye, and corn), and finishing up with a hall of fame of the best grasses for your every plan and purpose, the authors are sure to expand your knowledge on this truly homegrown topic!


The Prairie Gardener's Go-To Guide for Trees and Shrubs

The Prairie Gardener's Go-To Guide for Trees and Shrubs

Author: Janet Melrose

Publisher: TouchWood Editions

Published: 2022-03-22

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 1771513691

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Book six in the Guides for the Prairie Gardeners series demystifies planting and caring for trees and shrubs on the prairies, with tips on stock size, fruit production, pests, and winter protection. Trees and shrubs together make up the bulk of Earth’s biomass. They are responsible for carbon dioxide storage, oxygen production, movement of water, and a host of other functions. In our gardens, trees and shrubs provide numerous benefits, including reducing air, light, and noise pollution, protecting our homes from wind, cold, and heat, and providing habitat for birds, insects, and other animals. In the sixth book in the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series, lifelong gardeners Janet and Sheryl offer advice and recommendations to help you successfully grow trees and shrubs from the ground up. They answer your questions on Whether to choose small or large trees and shrubs to match your needs The fine art of digging holes Care and feeding (and mulching and watering and fertilizing) When and how to train and prune for your plant’s health and appearance How to protect young trees and shrubs through a bitter winter When to call your local arborist Janet and Sheryl help you trouble shoot on common issues like a tree’s failure to produce fruit, girdling, and weather-related challenges, as well as an introduction to pests and diseases like leaf miners, leaf rollers, leafhoppers, and their friends. They also provide prairie-specific lists of recommended trees and shrubs for flower displays, autumn colour, beautiful bark, smaller yards, hedges, and shade.


Plant the Tiny Seed

Plant the Tiny Seed

Author: Christie Matheson

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Published: 2017-01-24

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780062393395

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How do you make a garden grow? In this playful companion to the popular Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star, you will see how tiny seeds bloom into beautiful flowers. And by tapping, clapping, waving, and more, young readers can join in the action! Christie Matheson masterfully combines the wonder of the natural world with the interactivity of reading. Beautiful collage-and-watercolor art follows the seed through its entire life cycle, as it grows into a zinnia in a garden full of buzzing bees, curious hummingbirds, and colorful butterflies. Children engage with the book as they wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, clap to make the sun shine after rain, and shoo away a hungry snail. Appropriate for even the youngest child, Plant the Tiny Seed is never the same book twice—no matter how many times you read it! And for curious young nature lovers, a page of facts about seeds, flowers, and the insects and animals featured in the book is included at the end. Fans of Press Here, Eric Carle, and Lois Ehlert will find their next favorite book in Plant the Tiny Seed.