Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening & Conservation – Illustrated Author: Donald J. Leopold | Language: English | ISBN:
0881926736 | Format: PDF
Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening & Conservation – Illustrated Description
From Booklist
The Northeast of the title refers to the northeastern quarter of the U.S and all of eastern Canada. Leopold lists nearly 700 species of native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, and wildflowers. Illustrated with 500 color photographs, his guide provides detailed information on each plant's cultivation and propagation, height, color, natural range, and hardiness. An appendix recommends particular plants that tolerate wet and dry soil and attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and mammals such as deer, opossums, and raccoons.
George CohenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedReview
"An encyclopedia of experience."
—Joel M. Lerner, Washington Post, July 23, 2005 (
The Washington Post)
"This book will interest readers who, regardless of their educational background, wish to learn about using native plants for gardening."
—D. A. Lovejoy, Choice, July 2005 (
Choice)
"Provides an invaluable resource for using natives in the landscape and restoration projects."
—Viveka Neveln, American Gardener, May/June 2005 (
American Gardener)
See all Editorial Reviews
- Hardcover: 308 pages
- Publisher: Timber Press (February 8, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0881926736
- ISBN-13: 978-0881926736
- Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 7.6 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Just giving attention to plants with showy flowers is one reason why we don't know enough about natives. Even some experts could use retraining on the subject. For example, one respected source lists as natives tatarian honeysuckle, purple loosestrife, and multiflora rose. In fact, these three non-natives are good at taking over a place and chasing out the real natives.
To know natives better, it's important to start with a good definition. Author Donald J Leopold gives a clear definition. Natives are the plants naturally occurring in the United States before European settlers showed up. It's a good definition, because a record goes with it. Early artists, settlers, scientists and visitors left us with drawings and writings on what they found and what they brought with them.
Then it's important to know the big picture of where we are and what tends to grow there. For natives are part of wider natural communities of green things, bugs, birds, and animals filling up the same space over the same time. NATIVE PLANTS OF THE NORTHEAST is about those natural communities east of the Mississippi River. That part of North America hosts eleven such communities. From south to north, those communities are southeast pine, riverbottom cypress-tupelo-sweet gum, oak-pine, oak-hickory, northeast hardwood, transition pine-aspen, mixed, acadian, boreal, and subarctic forests; and tall grasslands.
As a girl of the oak-hickory forests, I know my native trees. They are American beech; American chestnut; bitternut and shagbark hickory; black, northern red and white oak; eastern hophornbeam; eastern redbud; flowering dogwood; pawpaw; serviceberry; and spicebush.
In addition, wetlands take up about 5-10% of each state.
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