The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants

by Neil Diboll, Hilary Cox

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. 

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Plants, Science, Horticulture, Reference, Nature

646 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2023

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

How many of us have planted prairie plants and then scratched our heads about which plants are intended and which are weeds? This book answers all of those questions, not by showing the weeds, but by showing the prairie plants in every stage of life, from seedling to dried seed heads. It's amazing!

And the native range of every plant is shown which gives us such a better understanding of what each plant needs. This is a thorough reference with charts and tables and photos and facts-- all the things plant nerds eat up with gusto.

Do you need a chart of Prairie Species for Seeding on Subsoil Clay? Check! Blue Flowers by Soil Moisture? Check! Plants for Dry Soils By Bloom Time? Check! Deer Resistant Prairie Plants? Check! You get the idea.

It's all here including other members of the ecosystems like small mammals, insects, reptiles and the gardeners themselves. This book defines "thorough". My copy will be well worn in no time-- and always within arm's reach.

[Hilary Cox]

I am not a 'contributor' - whatever that may be! Neil and I are co-authors. Please change this in your heading!!!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of how to grow a prairie and helpful pictures of plants at various stages of the life cycle.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really solid resource. I've done a lot of research on my own and compiled some extensive spreadsheets on native plants I'm growing. I could have saved a lot of time just by owning this book. It has charts galore in the back organized by almost every method under the sun: root type. soil conditions, sun preferences, bloom time, height, desirability to deer, color, aggressiveness, what pollinators and other beneficial wildlife are attracted to it, and more.

From beginning to end: the book covers history and ecology of prairies in the US; soil types (and understanding your own); designing, planting, and maintaining prairie gardens; species guide (roughly half the book); establishing prairie meadows; burning prairies safely; seed propagation; propagation by cutting/root division; overview of the prairie food web (all the wild critters who make the prairie their home); extensive charts on seed mixes; and finally, the aforementioned tables on Everything.

Really, outside of a "replace this invasive perennial with this native plant"* chart, it had everything I expected, and most of what I'd want included but wouldn't expect because it would be asking too much.

*(I'd love to know what beautiful native plant can replace daylilies and outcompete the inevitable missed roots in the soil. And choke out field bindweed, with its mile-long taproots that break and grow into new plants. But those are very specific problems to my yard).

[R.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible and indispensable undertaking! Diboll and Cox's dedication to providing the prospective prairie planter with everything they need for success pays off in spades (garden joke? anybody?). From different methods of site preparation, to management at progressive stages of a prairie's life, to examining the many different kinds of wildlife that depend upon them, to recommendations of seed mixes, this book doesn't waste a single glossy page. The two features that really set this beauty apart, however, are 1) the extensive selection of native species profiles, each with detailed photos of its life stages, from seedling to seedhead; and 2) the trove of cross-referential tables at the end which let you look up plants by bloom times, root structures, flower colors, and so much more. An actual dream for the organized gardener.

Can't wait to put this fella into action, and looking forward to referring to it for years to come!

[Cindy Dyson Eitelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reference work that was still entirely readable. Cool! He describes a lot of the flowers and grasses of the American prairie with tips on growing and propagating them. And then has a whole section on how a person can go about creating his own prairie--cool. He has the typical version I've read before, which involves heavy use of specific herbicides. But then a version on how one might prepare the ground without herbicides--exactly what I wanted!

And then a section on how to use fire to maintain the prairie. Very informative, and for people like me who don't have the space or the desire to use fire, information on the timing of mowing to mimic the action of fire.

I'd love to have a copy of my own.

[Abbigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic plant identification section; I wish there was a book that was exactly in this format with information, photos at different stages, and look-alike plants but just native plants and common weeds to identify. The rest of the information was good, but this tome is not something you would want to carry around on a hike.

[Mel Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, easy to use, comprehensive reference for native plant enthusiasts. I like to borrow books from the library, but this is a book I'll be acquiring.

[Jennifer Marcson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful resource. Glad my library had a copy

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've bought a lot of plant books in my life, and this one is on the top of my list for prairie plants here in SW Wisconsin

[Steffi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a gardening book with more practical care and ID info! Would love to find something like this for Eastern North America forests