Across the country, gardeners are talking about sustainable urban landscapes – landscapes that mimic or support natural ecosystems. Maybe you’ve caught some of that excitement too, and you’re ready to join or further grow the conversation. If so, we invite you to check out some of these inspiring reads – it’s a list we’ve put together with the help of local naturalists, conservation advocates, and plant experts.
Learn about our local ecosystems. Discover new insight on the role our gardens can play. And get practical tips for creating your own sustainable landscape at home.
Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains by Jon Farrar
In any project, it helps to know who your partners are, what makes them tick, and what they bring to the table – and it’s no different with the native plants on your sustainable landscape team. Field guides are an essential resource for getting to know a natural community, and Chris Helzer, Director of Science at the Nature Conservancy in Nebraska, says that Farrar’s classic guide – now in its second edition – is “…the best and easiest-to-use wildflower guide for Nebraska and surrounding areas.”
Organized by bloom color for easy identification, this guide contains lots of helpful information about each of 274 Great Plains wildflowers. It’s a must-have for any adventure into Nebraska’s many natural areas and a guide for your nature-inspired landscape too. And if you’d like your own copy, be sure to pick one up at our store the next time you visit.
Native Plants of the Midwest: A Comprehensive Guide to the Best 500 Species for the Garden by Alan Branhagen
It’s one thing to know your native plants – it’s another to landscape an urban backyard with them. In his book, Branhagen not only introduces you to some amazing plants of the Great Plains, but also offers clear ways to successfully and beautifully incorporate them into an attractive, curated landscape.
And it’s an enjoyable read too. Scott Evans, Horticulture Coordinator for Nebraska Extension in Douglas-Sarpy Counties, says Branhagan has an engaging way with words. Scott’s favorite quote from the book is “They grew without irrigation, they grew without hoes, they grew without fertilization, pesticides, or Lowe’s.”
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Doug Tallamy
This book has had a big influence on many of our own team members. In it, Tallamy argues that no matter how tiny, urban, or concrete-heavy your patch of the world may be, everyone can do their part to support the biodiversity that our native ecosystems depend on – just by choosing native plants.
Naturalist Michelle Biodrowski of Pottawattamie County Conservation enjoys this book’s easy, conversational style. She appreciates the fascinating connections that Tallamy presents between native plants and the insects and wildlife that depend on their presence in the community. Michelle says the book helps readers understand these connections and enforces the importance of “transforming our sterile suburban areas into working, productive gardens.” This is one we hope to soon have in the store as well.
A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future by Benjamin Vogt
We talk a lot about the role native plants play in a healthy ecosystem, but what about the people in this picture? In this profound and thought-provoking book, Vogt explores how our gardens are a call-to-action – an invitation to become better than we are – to develop compassion for other people and cultures, including the unique, non-human cultures found throughout the natural world. Or even in our own backyards.
Heather Byers – horticulturist, native plant advocate, and owner of Great Plains Nursery in Weston, Nebraska – says it’s one of her favorites. She’s had the opportunity to hear Vogt speak about his book as well and says he’s an entertaining speaker with a very important message to share. If you’d like to pick up a copy, we’re excited to have A New Garden Ethic in our store now.
Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer & Claudia West
This book comes recommended by both Heather Byers and Justin Evertson, Assistant Director of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Its discussions and beautiful photos inspire us to challenge the traditional urban landscape in favor of a more ecologically connected design, one that’s resilient, beautiful, and diverse. Rainer and West provide the important reasons why we should – and the practical ways that we can – incorporate native plants and natural processes into our built environments.
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Chris Helzer makes his thoughts on this environmental classic quite clear: “Every naturalist and ecologist should read this. Repeatedly.” Few books come close to the genuine and urgent expression of a compassionate land and conservation that Aldo Leopold expresses in A Sand County Almanac. In this collection of profound essays, Leopold shares the intricate web of natural interactions he observes on his farm in Wisconsin and shows us how human activities so easily – and many times unwittingly – tear it apart before we even know it’s there.
Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild by Michael Forsberg
In his collection of impactful photographs, Michael Forsberg celebrates the uniquely beautiful and intricately woven natural ecosystems that still survive here in Nebraska – however fragmented they might be.
As Chris Helzer puts it, “Forsberg’s incredible photographs showcase the Great Plains landscapes, flora, and fauna and show the world why it is a special and valuable place. [Poet laureate] Ted Kooser and [wildlife biologist] Dan O’Brien add their wonderful writing which takes the book from ‘great’ to ‘sublime.’” If you love Nebraska, this is a book you’ll want to own.
Other Great Books to Consider
These are just a few of the favorite resources our experts wanted to share with you. Other books they suggest include:
- The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States by Chris Helzer
- Wildflowers of Iowa Woodlands by by Sylvan Runkel and Alvin Bull
- Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest by Sylvan Runkel and Dean Roosa
- Native Trees for North American Landscapes by Guy Sternberg , James W. Wilson, et al.
- Pollinators of Native Plants by Heather Holm
- The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants by Charlotte Adelman and Bernard L. Schwartz
- Birds of Nebraska Field Guide by Stan Tekiela
- The Seed, an annual publication by Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
- Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Help Us Grow the Conversation
Next time you’re in the store, we hope you’ll take a look at our collection of books. Two of these titles – Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and A New Garden Ethic – are on the shelves now. So grab your own copy and join these authors and other local enthusiasts in sharing this passion for native plant communities and the beauty they bring to our built world.
