Guest Author - Diana Pederson

I was surfing the internet looking for books on a completely different subject when I came across this gem of a book! Usually I wait until the end of my reviews to make my recommendations about a book. I am so impressed by this book that I am recommending every Michigan gardener purchase it and study it carefully. It’s the most useful, Michigan specific, book I’ve seen on using native plants in the garden.

Part One consists of 4 chapters. The first chapter, Understanding Native Plants, explains how they are classified, their benefits, how to use them in the landscape, and important conservation notes about the species mentioned. I was pleased that Steiner takes the time to explain how plants (and animals) are named. She discusses using Latin for the genus and species and even tells us that these names are usually in italic letters. She further explains about subspecies, and cultivars. This chapter has several charts listing invasive plants, misconceptions about using native plants, and even one on how to distinguish propagated native plants from wild collected native plants.

Chapter two, Michigan’s Natural Plant Life, discusses the various trees, shrubs, grasses, and other plants that were present in Michigan before the Europeans moved across this continent. Here is just a sampling of Steiner’s writing style:

The Michigan Natural Features Inventory recognizes 74 natural communities in the state. These communities developed along a continuum, and differences are generally determined by soil moisture, temperature extremes, and wildfire frequency. Michigan has more than 1,000 species of native plants; some of them evolved in only one or two of the communities, while some are native throughout the state. Obviously, plants do not recognize political boundaries such as state lines, and these plant communities spill over into neighboring states and provinces. [Page 16]

The following chapter discusses Gardening with Native Plants. The reader is walked through the process of beginning a garden dedicated to these plants. She even squeezes in a bit about composting as part of the gardening experience. Even a new gardener could follow the directions provided here.

The final chapter in Part One is Landscaping With Native Plants. Here the author talks about assessing your garden site and determining which gardening style would be best for your situation. Then she provides information on everything from mixed borders, butterfly gardens, and rock gardens to using hardscaping.

The remainder of the book provides an in-depth discussion of a select number of Michigan’s native plants. The pages in this section are color coded so it will be easy to turn to descriptions of native flowers/groundcovers, grasses and sedges, ferns, conifers, deciduous shrubs and small trees, trees, and vines.

Her descriptions are better than I’ve found in most gardening books or nature field guides. She includes their native habitat, height, description, landscape use, good companions. She even reminds you not to let smaller plants be overtaken by larger plants (native or not).

Recommendation

You’ll be pleased with the writing quality, wonderful photographs, plant lists, and landscaping information. I suspect this book will rapidly become one of your favorites and will be frequently referred to during your gardening experiences.

Lynn M. Steiner. Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan. Voyageur Press. 2006.