Prairie Lands Gardener S Guide

Gardening is now the favorite leisure pastime in America. Homeowners are realizing the health benefits derived from gardening and the increase in their home's property value. This book contains easy-to-use advice on the top landscape plant choices. It also recommends specific varieties, and provides advice on how to plant, how to grow and how to care for the best plants.

A comprehensive and beautifully illustrated reference for all gardeners passionate about native plants and prairie restoration. The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants is the one-stop compendium for all gardeners aspiring to use native prairie plants in their gardens. Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox—two renowned prairie gardeners—compile more than four decades’ worth of research to offer a wide-ranging and definitive reference for starting and maintaining prairie and meadow gardens and restorations. Alongside detailed synopses of plant life cycles, meticulous range maps, and sweeping overviews of natural history, Diboll and Cox also include photographs of 148 prairie plants in every stage of development, from seedling to seedhead. North America’s grasslands once stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Rocky Mountains, and from Texas to Manitoba, blanketing the mid-continent with ecologically important, garden-worthy, native species. This book provides all the inspiration and information necessary for eager native planters from across the country to welcome these plants back to their landscapes. The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants is a must-have reference for gardeners, restorationists, and every flora fan with a passion for native plants, prairies and meadows.

Beginner gardeners all across the great plains of the Midwest will be informed on the best plants for their regional gardens. Get planting today!

Explains how to cultivate thirty-four species native to the Midwest and Great Plains.

The Month-By-Month series is the perfect companion to take the guesswork out of gardening. With this book, you'll know what to do each month to have gardening success all year. Written by authors in your state, the information is tailored to the issues that affect your garden the most. When is the best time to plant trees and shrubs? Should I fertilize my lawn now? Is it time to prune my roses? What should I be doing in my garden this month? You'll find the answers to these questions and much more inside. This easy-to-use book highlights each of the ten major plant categories using a monthly format. It guides you through each month of the year, telling you exactly what your garden needs. It is like having an expert in the garden with you all year long. Valuable hints are located throughout the book, and beautiful photographs will inspire you. Written just for gardeners where you live, you can be confident that the information is right for you-and your garden will show it.

Gardeners living in the wide-open Prairie and Plains states need this guidebook on their bookshelves--it's bound to get smudged with dirt from constant reference! Growing annuals, perennials, and edibles on the great plains or in windy prairie country can yield flat-out beautiful gardens--provided you know the best gardening tricks to tackle each month! Prairie and Plains Month-by-Month Gardening is the ideal guidebook for home landscapers and gardeners living in the Prairie and Plains states (Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa). Falling in step with Cool Springs Press's regional garden series, the book streamlines planting and growing information by grouping timing tips and how-to advice according to months of the year, from the harsh, cold winters to the hot, humid summers. This chronological organization makes the book easy for readers to navigate quickly and offers invaluable troubleshooting tips from gardening expert Cathy Wilkinson Barash. Prairie and Plains Month-by-Month Gardening also includes fully illustrated how-to information via step-by-step gardening instructions, helping home gardeners and landscapers become masters of their garden domains. Throughout the book, gorgeous photography provides inspiration and ideas, and a comprehensive formatted calendar, replete with planting information, urges gardeners to plan ahead. So, roll up your sleeves; it's time to transform that wide-open space into the garden you've always wanted.

In the tenth book in the Guides for the Prairie Gardener series, lifelong gardeners Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau take on the very prairie subject of grasses. Was ever there a prairie-er subject than grass? Important providers of habitat and food for numerous wildlife species, grasses also serve an integral role in erosion control. For the gardener they can open up a bounty of landscaping options, from the lawn to the pond. In the tenth installment of their popular gardening guide series, lifelong gardeners Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau give you the skinny on everything from sod to sedges and raking to rushes. Following a primer on what exactly defines a grass, Sheryl and Janet take your questions on matters like clumpers vs spreaders, mulching and fertilizers, how to tackle problems like chinch bugs and fairy rings. The pair dedicate a chapter to lawns, providing a wide selection of alternatives to the tried and true commercial lawn species and answer questions on raking, aerating, laying sod, mowing, and dealing with dogs and all the damage they seem hardwired to do. Taking your questions on aquatic grasses, as well as edible species (like wheat, rye, and corn), and finishing up with a hall of fame of the best grasses for your every plan and purpose, the authors are sure to expand your knowledge on this truly homegrown topic!

A comprehensive guide to drought-resistant gardening, including a colour-photographic reference of xeriscape plants, and an extensive section of garden design plans. Over the last ten years ‘xeriscape’ has become a watchword for water-conscious gardeners. Extensively revised and updated, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape moves on from the basics to give today’s gardeners a complete guide to planning, designing and maintaining their own xeriscape gardens. Full-colour throughout, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape contains a reference section of ideal plants for the xeriscape garden. These descriptions, with advice on culturing and best growing conditions, enable gardeners to select a range of plants for year-round landscape value. You’ll also find chapters on native plants and vegetables for the xeriscape, as well as extensive tables and a quick reference guide for planting choices.