About the Book
A go-to guide for gardeners of all skill levels planting east of the Mississippi looking to add sustainable native flora to any horticultural project.
Praised by Doug Tallamy as "an important new tool to our native plant libraries," this go-to guide is perfect for gardeners of all skill levels looking to add sustainable native flora to any horticultural project east of the Mississippi River Valley.
Gleaned from the authors' 75 years of landscaping experience, this user-friendly reference offers suggestions on species selection based on a plant's performance, aesthetic appeal, and wide range of adaptability. Expert authors Tony Dove and Ginger Woolridge's valuable resource is organized for fast and confident tree and shrub selections for specific landscape applications, and is full of vivid four-color photographs, graphs, and practical tips. A sound and giftable volume for gardeners and landscapers from New England through the Carolinas, from the east coast to the Mississippi River, including Georgia and into northern Florida.
"This is an authoritative catalog, organized by a range of categories: those that have attractive bark or are evergreen, those that have showy flowers or are wind, salt or drought tolerant."
-New York Times Summer Reading List for The Great Outdoors
"An important new tool to our native plant libraries. . . Beautifully illustrated, even the well-informed gardener will find this a valuable reference."
-Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, co-author of The Living Landscape, and Chair and Professor of the department of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware
"Few books give such well-researched detail...This book should be a required reference for nurserymen and landscape designers."
-Mark Weathington, Director, JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University
"FINALLY! In a thoughtful, organized and simple format, this book illustrates how to build better landscapes, gardens, and environmentally sensitive ecologies. This is a long overdue book and it has my absolute endorsement."
-Eric D. Groft, Principal/Vice President, Oehme van Sweden, Landscape Architecture
"Essential Native Trees and Shrubs for the Eastern United States makes a great addition to the library of every serious gardener, landscape designer/architect, land manager and other plant-related professional."
-Margaret Shillingford, Education Programs Specialist, Mt. Cuba Center
Table of Contents:
• Preface
• Introduction
• How to Use This Book
• Part 1
Site Conditions and Plant Attributes
Trees
Shrubs
• Part II
Primary Trees and Shrubs
Select plant profiles. Each entry has aesthetic and cultural information, companion plants, wildlife interest and, where appropriate, selected varieties.
• Part III
Secondary Plants
A list of native plants with desirable landscape features but limitations that may outweigh their desirable traits.
• About the Authors
• Glossary
• Acknowledgments
• Sources
• Photography and Illustration Credits
• Index
About the Author :
Tony Dove is the horticulturist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD, with 40 years of professional experience managing and consulting with public and private gardens from New York to South Carolina. Dove has served as the director of the Clark Botanic Garden in Albertson, NY, horticultural director at Tryon Palace Historical Sites and Garden in New Bern, NC, and chief horticulturist and chief of environmental facilities and programs for Anne Arundel County, MD. Dove is a frequent public speaker and has written many articles for the American Horticultural Society and Smithsonian Associates Magazine.
Ginger Woolridge's professional experience has included garden design, design instruction at the USDA, commercial real estate acquisitions, commercial and residential development and construction, as well as landscape design education and experience. Woolridge serves on the Board of Trustees of 1000 Friends of Maryland.
Review :
Plant the proper trees and shrubs to nurture your local bees, butterflies, moths and birds with help from ESSENTIAL NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS FOR THE EASTERN UNITED STATES: The Guide to Creating a Sustainable Landscape (Imagine, $35), by Tony Dove, who has managed public gardens on the East Coast for 50 years, and Ginger Woolridge, a Maryland-based garden designer. This is an authoritative catalog, organized by a range of categories: those that have attractive bark or are evergreen, those that have showy flowers or are wind, salt or drought tolerant.
—The New York Times Book Review
From its drawings demonstrating each primary plant's height compared to a human, to up-close photos of bark and foliage, the book is designed to quickly communicate the key landscape properties of Eastern trees and shrubs. Texture, form, color, and use are all addressed efficiently. A good guide must be knowledgeable and easy to use; this book is both. The authors do a great job of incorporating key elements of landscaping with natives, and it is conveyed in a way that is effortless for the reader.
—Native Plants Journal
Overall, this is a very good book to have, a good read. It belongs in your collection.
—Washington Gardener
