We carry a small selection of books in the nursery. Below are some of the books we find most useful. If you can’t find what you want locally, use these links to order from Amazon, we will get a small percentage of your purchase. Thank you for supporting local booksellers everywhere, and Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery.
Reading Books
The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest. by Rick Darke Entries on various plants highlighting their ornamental value and their natural habitats. Outstanding photographs.
Landscaping Revolution: Garden With Mother Nature, Not Against Her
by Andy Wasowski Everything from alternative lawns and weed laws, to invasive plants, and information on specific plant species. Photos and cartoons, and enticing chapter titles such as “Homogenize Milk, Not Landscapes,” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Creeper?”
Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens
by Doug Tallamy Easy to read explanation of ecological interactions between plants and wildlife, from insects on up. Defines native plants as they relate to the biodiversity and the sustainability of the environment.
Planting in the Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West, Presents a powerful alternative to traditional horticulture—designed plantings that function like naturally occurring plant communities. Timber Press, 2015
Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat By The Xerces Society; ISBN: 9781603426954 (1603426957) Published by Storey Publishing
Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants by Heather Holms, Pollination Press, 2014
Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yard by Sara Stein. Stein’s efforts to build a garden that welcomes all creatures with her explorations into the ecology of a garden. Houghton Mifflin 1993, ISBN 0-395-65373-8
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv. Studies that point to direct exposure to nature as essential for a child’s healthy physical and emotional development and the evidence linking the lack of nature in children’s lives. Algonquin Paperbacks ISBN- 13:978-1-56512-605-3
A Native Plants Reader: Brooklyn Botanic Garden Guide for a Greener Planet Offers a set of engaging narratives on the importance of native plants. 2015.
The American Woodland Garden by Rick Darke. Timber Press, Incorporated Outstanding photographs. ISBN 0-88192-545-4
The New American Landscape: Leading voices on the future of sustainable Gardening, Edited by Thomas Christopher, The authors of The New American Landscape have studied key garden techniques and practices to give homeowners a roadmap to a garden in harmony with nature — and human nature. Timber Press 2011.
The Once and Future Forest: A guide to forest restoration strategies, By Leslie Jones Sauer, Island Press, A guidebook for restoring and managing natural landscapes, ISBN 1-55963-553-3
Reference Books
Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation
by Donald J. Leopold
Color photos and entries on a good selection of ferns, grasses, perennials, trees and shrubs. A nice overall guide to native plants.
Trees Of Pennsylvania: A Complete Reference Guide
by Ann F. Rhoads and Timothy A. Block
A field guide and natural history of all the native and naturalized trees that grow in Pennsylvania. Maps of their geographic distribution; Information on native American uses of trees as well as wildlife value.
Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants
by William Cullina
Full color photographs of many woody plants; text includes cultural information as well as editorial comments.
Wildflowers: A Guide to Growing and Propagating Native Flowers of North America (The New England Wild Flower Society)
by William Cullina
Full color photographs of many perennial plants; text includes cultural information as well as editorial comments.
Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses: From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave, Serene and Sensuous Plants for the Garden
by William Cullina
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants
by Michael Dirr
The ‘bible’ of woody plants. Line drawings, no color photos. Information on culture, cultivars, diseases and insects, landscape value, and Dirr’s inimitable editorial comments.
Landscaping With Native Trees
by Guy Sternberg and Jim Wilson
Color photographs and information on seasons of interest, problems, related species and culture. The front of the book contains an index with tree silhouettes, so if you have a general idea what shape of tree you want, you can zero right in on it.
A Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of Northeastern Pennsylvania
by Geoffrey Mehl of the Pennystone Project
A comprehensive guide to the species native to the northeastern counties of PA.
Pennsylvania Native Plants / Perennials: Habitat and Culture
by Geoffrey Mehl of the Pennystone Project
The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual
by Ann Rhoads and Timothy A. Block
A thorough listing of all the plant species known to grow in PA. Indicates endangered and threatened species, typical habitat, with some line drawing to aid in species identification.
Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guide)
Color photos, description of invasive plant and the problems it creates, and suggested native alternatives.
Native Plants for North American Gardens Alphabetic listing of native perennials for garden use, with cultural information. Allan M. Armitage Timber Press, Incorporated ISBN13 978-0881927603
Aquatic Plants of Pennsylvania: A Complete Reference Guide by Timothy A. Block and Ann F Rhoads, University of Pennsylvania Press 2011.
Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants C. Colston Burrell A guide to common invasive plants and native substitutes. Brooklyn Botanic Garden ISBN13 978-1889538747
Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History by Carol Gracie. An in-depth look at spring blooming wildflowers. Princeton. 2012, ISBN 978-0-691-14466-3
How To Books
Urban and Suburban Meadows: Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces
by Catherine Zimmerman Practical, step by step info on creating a meadow in an urban or suburban setting.
The Naturescaping Workbook: A step by step guide for bringing nature to your backyard by Beth O’Donnell Young Timber Press 2011.
Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife by David Mizejewski, National Wildlife Federation 2004.
Field Guides
Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide by Heather Holms, Pollination Press, 2017
Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb. An ingenious key system for quick, positive field identification of wildflowers, flowering shrubs and vines in Northeastern and North-central North America.
The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity for the Home Garden by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy Learn the strategies for making and maintaining a diverse, layered landscape, Timber Press, 2014.
The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies by Storey Publishing, LLC
Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States by Steven Clemants and Carol Gracie Oxford 2006.
Design Ideas
The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to create and enhance natural areas around your home by Jonathan Kays, Joy Drohan, Adam Downing, Jim Finley, Cooperative Extension 2006.
Garden Revolution: How our Landscape can be a Services of Environmental Change, by Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher. Shows how an ecological approach to planting can lead to beautiful gardens that buck much of conventional gardening’s counter-productive, time-consuming practices. Timber Press. 2016
The Wild Lawn Handbook: Alternatives to the Traditional Front Lawn by Stevie Daniels MacMillan, Contains hundreds of interesting plant alternatives to high-maintenance lawn grass, ISBN: 0-02-529445-8
Field and Forest: A Guide to Native Landscapes for Gardeners and Naturalists by Jane Scott, Walker, How to recreate native plant communities in your own garden and how to look to nature for garden design ideas, down to earth advice on maintaining a natural garden. ISBN 0-8027-7379-6
Principles of Ecological Landscape Design by Travis Beck. Explains key ecological concepts and their application to the design and management of sustainable landscapes. Island Press 2013.
