Inspiration
A garden in Vermont
Noble, B. (2020). Spirit of place: The making of a New England garden. Timber Press.
This is a book to browse for enjoyment and inspiration rather than how-to gardening advice. Garden designer Bill Noble traces his journey creating a garden in Vermont that encompasses orchards, woodlands, meadows, and flower and vegetable gardens with a panoramic view of the White Mountains foothills. Along with stunning photographs, he shares the planning, decision-making, and successes and failures of many seasons. You see how a garden evolves and changes over years, and the principles that guided his work are applicable for any gardener. Find a copy at your library via WorldCat.
From lawn to meadow
Duthie, L. (2022, June 14). Lawn to meadow season three. Ecological Landscape Alliance. https://www.ecolandscaping.org/06/installing-and-maintaining-landscapes/lawn-to-meadow-season-three/
"I haven’t completely ditched the lawn, but we are mowing less, and I am encouraging the spread of everything from violets to goldenrod into our green space that we call 'lawn'," writes Leslie Duthie. This article describes how she transformed her lawn over three seasons into a vibrant meadow buzzing with insect life, beginning with "murdering" (smothering) parts of her lawn. The author is an expert gardener and the article includes names, common and botanical, of an astonishing array of plants that now flourish in her meadow. Pictured is partridge pea, a native groundcover.
Evolving garden
Public Broadcasting Service. (2020). Native plant infused garden. Retrieved July 26, 2023, from https://www.pbs.org/video/native-plant-infused-garden-wknote
In this 10-minute garden tour, gardener Cynthia Wood shows how she gradually transformed a traditional "old house" garden by including native plants -- rudbekia, spring ephemerals, joe pye-weed (pictured), and asters -- "one plant at a time" over years. This garden is in Virginia, but the plants she describes thrive in New England climates as well. It is helpful to see and listen to an experienced gardener in the informal setting of her own garden.
Collecting wild species
Fraser, R. L. (2013, October). Beyond tradition: Scientific benefits of growing wild species. Growing, 11(10), 32+. Gale General OneFile
The nursery production manager for the New England Wild Flower Society's Nasami Farm explains how she collects and germinates seeds from wild species that are native to New England to make them available to home gardeners and commercial farmers. It's a fascinating look at the complexity and diversity of wild species and the painstaking work to ensure their wider propagation. At just 800 words, this article will deepen appreciation of native plants and the efforts to ensure their survival. (Photo by Rebekah L. Fraser. Spotted geranium (geranium maculatum) has a unique seed dispersal system that acts like a catapult.)
A vision of sustainability
Tallamy, D. W. (2019). Nature's best hope: A new approach to conservation that starts in your yard. Timber Press.
This book is a call to action. Citing dire statistics on the state of our overbuilt, overpopulated country, University of Delaware Prof. Douglas Tallamy proposes that American citizens create a "homegrown national park" system where homeowners convert half their lawns to productive native plant communities. He traces the history of conservation in the U.S. and the visionaries and scientists who led the way: Theodore Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, E.O. Wilson, and, surprisingly, Richard Nixon, who articulated the limits of our overuse of natural resources in 1970. This is a book you can read to understand the big picture, and learn how your pollinator garden is linked to a web of ecological relationships. Some readers might want to go right to the 15 pages of frequently asked questions that conclude the book. Find a copy at the library via WorldCat.