Going Native: Small Steps to a Healthy Garden

by Tammie Painter

Does a garden that requires little work, saves you money and protects the environment sound good? Would you also like a garden that’s healthy and thriving year round? Then Going Native is for you.

Going Native will show you how small changes in the plants you choose can create a healthier garden that’s easy and inexpensive to maintain, benefits the environment, conserves resources and protects your area’s native species.

Going Native will...

* Guide you through the benefits of going native,
* Provide tips on how to plan your native garden,
* Tell you where to obtain native plants, and
* Step you through getting your native garden off to the best start possible.

In addition to this, Going Native will teach you the basics of eco-friendly gardening such as...

* Controlling invasive species,
* Going chemical free,
* Dealing with pests and weeds,
* Understanding soil type,
* Rethinking your lawn,
* Attracting wildlife, and more.

To show off the beauty and variety of native plants, Going Native features over 80 full color photos of native plants across the U.S. and Canada. You'll also get ideas of which native plants will thrive in your area with Going Native's extensive regional plant list.

Although Going Native is written with gardeners from the U.S. and Canada in mind, gardeners around the world can use Going Native’s tips and information to create a healthy, low maintenance garden.

So, if you’re ready for a healthier garden, it’s time to go native.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

To give you an idea of what you'll find in Going Native, please peruse the Table of Contents.

Introduction
A Note on Images
What is a Native Garden?
The Benefits of Going Native
Soil Matters
Going Native
Planting Time
Natives in Containers
Caring for Natives
Re-Thinking Chemicals
Dealing with Pests and Weeds
Wildlife in the Garden
Looking at Lawns
Hawaii: A Special Place

Appendix
Plant List: Native Plants by Region
The Most Invasive of the Invasives - Top Ten List
Gardens to Visit - Gardens that feature native plants
Resources - Additional gardening information
Sources
Image Credits
Index
About the Author

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

104 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2013

About the author

THE RAMBLING BIO AND OFFER OF FREE STUFF
Many moons ago I was a scientist in a neuroscience lab where I got to play with brains and illegal drugs. Now, I take wickedly strong tea and turn it into comic fantasy whodunits full of mythical misfits and magical mishaps that I hope give you a giggle.

My tales run the gamut from the ever-expanding  Cassie Black Trilogy with its wryly humorous paranormal mysteries to the comical fantasy whodunits in The Circus of Unusual Creatures , and from light-hearted novellas celebrating my love of books to short fiction in which I really flex my myth-loving and humor-craving muscles!

When I’m not creating worlds or killing off characters, I can be found gardening, planning my next travel adventure, concocting some sort of mess in the kitchen, or working as an unpaid servant to three cats and a guinea pig.

Want to learn more and get free stuff? Then be sure to pop by TammiePainter.com to see everything I'm up to and to grab your free copy of "Mrs. Morris Meets Death," a humorous tale of mortality, time management, cruise ships, and romance novels.



THE QUICK AS YOU CAN STORY BEHIND MY BOOKS...
My fascination for myths, history, and how they interweave inspired my two historical fantasy series, The Osteria Chronicles and my second series, Domna (you can grab your free series starters for those HERE and HERE).

But all those ancient myths and angst-ridden heroes got a bit too serious for someone with a strange sense of humor and odd way of looking at the world. 

So, while sitting at my grandmother’s funeral, my brain came up with an idea for a contemporary fantasy trilogy that’s filled with magic, mystery, snarky humor, and the dead who just won’t stay dead. That idea turned into The Cassie Black Trilogy, which has turned into a fan favorite.

Then, because writer brains are weird, a simple elephant story I had in mind somehow morphed into a "hilarious" cozy fantasy series featuring a detecting dragon. So, if you like comic fantasy whodunits that mix in laughs with murderous mayhem, mythical beasts, and a staggering variety of omelets, you’ll want to check out my Circus of Unusual Creatures mysteries!


IF ALL THAT WASN"T ENOUGH, YOU CAN...
* Sign up for my monthly newsletter to get free stuff, exclusive bargains, and insights into my writing world,
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Reviews

[Skylar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest: this is the first book I ever read about gardening. I feel like that's a necessary disclosure here. But I loved it. It was short and to the point with great examples. I expected the book to be more narrowly-focused to changing over your garden, but the book addressed the benefits of native species at every stage of the garden and discussed the factors to keep in mind, like soil types. For someone new to the subject, this was a great introduction and will help make sure I start with a native garden rather than having to convert a non-native garden later!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book builds a strong scientific foundation for choosing and nurturing native plants coupled with a reader friendly writing style which makes the information accessible to gardeners with varied levels of expertise. I received e-book copies from the author, Tammie Painter. I lived for several years on a ranch in western Colorado, and was charmed by the wildflowers that grew on the property with such constancy and exuberance. As the author points out, a gardener doesn't need to transform their yard into untouched wilderness to bring some of that carefree, "wild" feeling into their gardens. Small changes can save resources and preserve precious native plants. My goals for re-planting a town property would be to cut down on the space dedicated to grass lawns, which use too much water in drought-prone areas such as Colorado, and to create a welcoming habitat for birds and pollinators. Painter offers useful tips for accomplishing both those objectives. I will continue to refer to Going Native: Small Steps to a Healthy Garden for information on any future landscaping projects.

[Carla Peele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Painter sent me a free e-book (my FIRST!) of this and it was absolutely amazing. There are tips for every stage of gardening-- including the preparation, killing/deterring weeds, planting, ect. It's wonderfully detailed and helpful, and I'm so grateful to have it. Hopefully, as she says, it will turn my brown thumb into a green one, as I have many grand gardening plans! Thank you, Ms. Painter.

[Robert Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is chock-full of information on how to incorporate native plants in the garden. It would be a great help to any new gardener who wishes to achieve the obvious benefits of going native: lower maintenance, lower impact on the environment, and to me most important, the beauty of the natural look.