Go Native!: Gardening with Native Plants and Wildflowers in the Lower Midwest

by Carolyn Harstad

a guide to gardening with plants native to the lower Midwest! Using a simple Q & A format, this informative and user-friendly book offers advice on planning, site and soil preparation, garden design, plant selection, and propagation. Includes 125 illustrations and 100 color photos. A must-have for Midwestern gardeners.

Genres: Gardening, Nature

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 1999

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read Go Native! by Carolyn Harstad about twenty years ago, but I read so much nonfiction I rarely enter the books on Goodreads. I ended up buying the book (another thing I rarely do) because it was so useful and practical as I moved from renting to owning. This book has helped me move from lawn heavy yards to even a 100% native front and back yard. It aided me in getting a town to plant trees in a “tree lawn” area in my neighborhood. It helped me discover which native plants would work in sun or shade, hillsides or wet areas, and so much more. In the twenty years since this was written, of course some things have changed, but most of what the author has written has not.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I do disagree with some of the suggestions (some flowers were listed as REALLY short compared to how I have seen them growing in the wild), but this was really an excellent resource for planting a native garden.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a one-time read, but a regular reference to build a sustainable garden.

[Jennifer]

I actually had the honor meeting the author when she and I were both speakers at a donference on native plants. I bought the book from her then and she signed it for me. This is a great reference if you live in the "midwest". It is a great book if you are looking to "go native" and stop putting those invasive exotic plants in your garden that can jump out of your garden in to the native areas. These kinds of plants are a huge ecological problem and are displacing and causing the loss of native plant species. There are some great pictures and drawings of plants and gardens as well.

[Jeremy H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great starter book for native gardening. Lots of good plant recommendations and some "how-to".

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover says cute and shallow. The contents say one of the very best books on native plants. Don't let the 'Midwest' throw you; I live in the northeast and find this book invaluable.

[Wilma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was read for my Master Gardener's Book Club this month. Good resource for native plants, trees and shrubs.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art lovely and info interesting. nice for beginners. Wish there were more species.