Gardening With Prairie Plants: How To Create Beautiful Native Landscapes

by Sally Wasowski Wasowski

Overview

Practical, comprehensive, and packed with information—the indispensable guide and resource for prairie gardening


Why have home gardeners, professional horticulturists, and landscape preservationists increasingly been attracted to prairie plants? The beauty and hardiness of these flowers, grasses, trees, and shrubs, along with their easy maintenance and environmental friendliness, have spurred a surge of interest in prairie gardens. Whether you are considering adding these plants to a more conventional landscape or intending to "go native" all the way, Gardening with Prairie Plants is the most comprehensive resource and guide available.

 

Award-winning gardening author and landscape designer Sally Wasowski provides accessible, practical information on every aspect of prairie gardening:

 

Getting started: how to plan and install small and large landscapes

 

Working with your space: how to adapt prairie landscapes to suburban neighborhoods or modest city lots

 

Planning your plants: how to find the right plants for your yard, with comprehensive listings for more than three hundred species, charts addressing soil and light conditions, range maps, and color photographs

 

Choosing flowers: how to select recommended flowers, listed by season, to ensure continuous bloom and to attract a variety of birds and butterflies

 

Lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs by Andy Wasowski, Gardening with Prairie Plants includes thorough descriptions of plants native to most of North America—from New York to Colorado, and from Texas north to Minnesota and the western provinces of Canada. If you want to create a landscape of maximum beauty with minimum upkeep, Gardening with Prairie Plants tells you everything you need to know to begin and to develop a beautiful, earth-friendly prairie garden.

 

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780816630875
Publisher:	University of Minnesota Press
Publication date:	12/06/2001
Edition description:	First edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	315,326
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Sally Wasowski is one of the country’s leading authorities on landscaping with native plants. A founding member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, Sally has been featured in Southern Living magazine as one of the top ten gardeners in the South. Together, Sally and Andy Wasowski have collaborated on eight books on native landscaping, including Gardening with Native Plants of the South (1994), Native Texas Plants (1997), The Landscaping Revolution (2000), and Native Landscaping from El Paso to L.A. (2000). 

Andy Wasowski is a freelance photographer and writer specializing in gardening and environmental issues. His work has appeared in such publications as Sierra and Fine Gardening, and he has done on-air commentaries for the National Public Radio programs Living on Earth and The Cultivated Gardener. Together, Sally and Andy Wasowski have collaborated on eight books on native landscaping, including Gardening with Native Plants of the South (1994), Native Texas Plants (1997), The Landscaping Revolution (2000), and Native Landscaping from El Paso to L.A. (2000). 

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction to a Prairie Garden	xiii
Part I	Prairies and Prairie Gardens
1.	Getting Acquainted with Prairies	3
2.	A Gallery of Home Prairie Gardens	10
3.	Beyond Home Landscapes	30
4.	Using Preserved and Replicated Prairies as Models	40
5.	Anatomy of a Prairie	67
Part II	Design, Installation, and Maintenance
6.	Designing Prairie Gardens	81
7.	Installing Prairie Gardens	92
8.	Maintaining Prairie Gardens	105
Part III	Plant Profiles
9.	Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes	119
	Bluestem Grasses	120
	Grama Grasses	122
	Needlegrasses	124
	Dropseeds	126
	Single Family Co-dominants	128
	Wild Wheat and Rye	130
	Panicgrasses	132
	Regional Specialties	134
	Savanna Grasses	136
	Lowland Grasses	138
	Sedges	140
	Rushes	142
	Chart: Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes	144
10.	Cool Season Forbs	147
	Bean Family: Spring	148
	Bean Family: Early Summer	150
	Orchid Family	152
	Lily Family	154
	Iris Family	156
	Primrose Family	158
	Evening Primrose Family	160
	Rose Family	162
	Geranium Family	164
	Madder Family	165
	Crowfoot Family	166
	Parsley Family	168
	Borage Family	170
	Saxifrage Family	171
	Bluebell Family	172
	Spiderwort Family	174
	Dogbane Family	175
	Figwort Family	176
	Phlox Family	178
	Flax Family	179
	Mallow Family	180
	Aster Family: Silver Leaves	182
	Aster Family: Spring White Composites	184
	Aster Family: Spring DYCs	186
	Chart: Cool Season Forbs	188
11.	Warm Season Forbs	193
	Mint Family	194
	Acanthus Family	196
	Verbena Family	197
	Bean Family: Midsummer	198
	Bean Family: Prairie Clovers	200
	Bean Family: Late Summer	202
	Spurge Family	204
	Milkweed Family: Short Milkweeds	206
	Milkweed Family: Tall Purple Milkweeds	208
	Aster Family: Coneflowers	210
	Aster Family: Summer DYCs	212
	Aster Family: Silphiums	214
	Aster Family: Curiosities	216
	Aster Family: Sunflowers	218
	Gentian Family	220
	Aster Family: Blazing Stars	222
	Aster Family: Bonesets	224
	Aster Family: Goldenrods	226
	Aster Family: Blue Asters	228
	Aster Family: White Asters	230
	Chart: Warm Season Forbs	232
12.	Savanna Trees and Thicket Shrubs	236
	Beech Family: Oaks	237
	Pine and Cypress Families	240
	Willow Family	241
	Rose Family: Plums and Cherries	242
	Rose Family: Other Rose Trees	244
	Rose Family: Other Rose Shrubs	246
	Honeysuckle Family	248
	Dogwood Family	250
	Cashew Family	252
	Citrus Family	254
	Birch Family	255
	Oleaster Family	256
	Buckthorn Family	257
	Chart: Savanna Trees and Thicket Shrubs	258
	Glossary	260
	Gardeners' Resources	263
	Bibliography	269
	Index	275

Editorial Reviews

"This book will be an anchor for prairie enthusiasts for years to come."—Floyd Swink, Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois 

 

"Excellently produced, Gardening with Prairie Plants is an admirable work. It will be cherished by anyone devoted to native flora, but it will appeal equally to those who have as yet made only a modest foray into native-plant landscaping. Not only extraordinarily useful, it is also exceptionally beautiful—a lavishly designed book for enthusiast and dreamer alike."—Native Plant Society of Texas

 

"Though the word prairie evokes images of vast, windswept plains, Sally Wasowski skillfully demonstrates that no yard is too small for a patch of native wildflowers. This lavish book takes us on a tour of native prairies and prairie gardens to show how easy it is to plant and maintain your own beautiful prairie garden."—C. Colston Burrell, award-winning author of A Gardener’s Encyclopedia of Wildflowers and Perennial Combinations

 

From the Publisher