Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives By Evelyn J. Hadden
While not all of the gardens are native or Michigan-specific, there are practical tips on transforming turf into gardens, maintaining different types of gardens, and photographs for design inspiration.
Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy
If you’ve ever wondered what the big deal is about native plants, this book is an essential introduction. Tallamy gives real-world examples of the role native plants play in natural and landscaped settings. Once you read this book, you’ll never plant another Burning Bush again.
Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change By Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher
Garden Revolution shows how an ecological approach to planting can lead to beautiful gardens that buck much of conventional gardening’s counter-productive, time-consuming practices. Instead of picking the wrong plant and then constantly tilling, weeding, irrigating, and fertilizing, Weaner advocates for choosing plants that are adapted to the soil and climate of a specific site and letting them naturally evolve over time.
Hellstrip Gardening: Create a Paradise between the Sidewalk and the Curb By Evelyn J. Hadden
While there isn’t an emphasis on Michigan plants or even on native plants, there are practical tips on gardening in the spaces between sidewalks and curbs, including information on navigating city ordinances and other unexpected pitfalls.
Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan by Lynn M. Steiner
What many consider a must-have for native gardeners, Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan answers a wide range of practical gardening questions, gives species lists for every growing condition, and provides a full appendix of plant species accounts complete with beautiful photographs sure to inspire.
The Living Landscape by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy
Many gardeners today want a home landscape that nourishes and fosters wildlife. But they also want beauty, a space for the kids to play, privacy, and maybe even a vegetable patch. Sure, it’s a tall order, but The Living Landscape shows how to do it.
Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes By Thomas Rainer and Claudia West
An inspiring call to action dedicated to the idea of a new nature—a hybrid of both the wild and the cultivated—that can flourish in our cities and suburbs.