By Anne Rowlands Carol Gracie’s Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast now has a companion volume, Summer Wildflowers of the Northeast, focusing on wildflowers that bloom between early June and late September. She continues with the same winning format of interesting, well-researched and beautifully photographed essays. The book is written in essay form to appeal to all who share an interest in wildflowers and is arranged alphabetically by the most widely used common name (along with the scientific name). Each essay – there are 35 – focuses on a summer-blooming species that can be found in the Northeastern quarter of the United States. There’s a considerable amount of information included on…

By Anne Rowlands Like many of you, I’m a garden book collector, but with limited space in our little house there’s a constant churn – books come in, are read and evaluated, and either make the cut or get passed on. My very first serious gardening book was a thick encyclopedia of perennials that I studied for hours at a time. (I’m hopelessly addicted to field guides and the like.) That first book was eventually passed along, and though we have other books on perennials (why just one?), it seemed high time we get our own copy of Dr. Allan Armitage’s perennial bible. After all, Armitage first published this in…

AN ESSENTIAL READ for those concerned with the fate of planet Earth and its creatures. Some species of wildlife are being extirpated (going extinct locally) or becoming extinct altogether and the typical American yard (all lawn and non-native plants) is a big part of the problem. The author, Doug Tallamy, is a professor in the Dept. of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. His research focuses on the interaction of insects with plants and how they impact the diversity of animal communities. Tallamy has been a hero of conservationists ever since the publication of his first book, Bringing Nature Home, in 2007. His third book, Nature’s Best…

In case you haven’t been paying attention … pollinators are in trouble. Their decline is to due to a number of factors including loss of habitat, widespread use of pesticides, invasive plants, decreasing biodiversity and climate change. So what do you do if you’re a concerned gardener? You create a garden/yard with plants, shrubs and trees that are attractive to pollinators. Eierman’s concept of Pollinator Victory Gardens is similar to the Homegrown National Parks suggested by Doug Tallamy. The basic problem is the same. Most of our leaders and representatives ignore environmental issues so we have to, in true Minuteman style, take up the cause ourselves in our own front,…

DARYL BEYERS has taught a lot of people how to garden. Fortunately, he’s written a new book about it so we can all benefit from his knowledge and experience. If you’re new to gardening and want to get off on the right foot, The New Gardener’s Handbook is an excellent place to start. Beyers knows what he’s talking about. He is the New York Botanical Garden’s gardening program coordinator and teaches their ‘Fundamentals of Gardening’ course. Previously, he was a staff writer, photographer, and editor for Fine Gardening magazine and a contributing gardening editor at Martha Stewart Living. He also has years of first-hand, on-the-ground experience with landscape crews and…