Gardening With Natives

Books on Gardening with Natives

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GETTING STARTED ...
	THE HABITAT GARDEN BOOK. Nancy Bauer. Coyote Ridge Press, P.O. Box 192, Sebastopol, CA 95473. 56 pp, softback. This little gem makes for a great beginning to gardening for birds, bees, and butterflies, with written and pictorial vignettes of habitat and food plants in bloom. Native plants are well-represented, although the book includes some non-natives as well. If you are just getting interested in bringing natives into your garden, this book puts it all into context.
GARDENING WITH A WILD HEART. Judith Larner Lowry. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 252 pp, softback. A compelling investigation into the whys and hows of gardening with native plants. Its engaging style mixes personal history, botany, anthropology, and ecology, and brings it all to bear on what you could be doing in your yard. This book has inspired many to practice restoration gardening.
	WILDFLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA. Larry Ulrich, Susan Lamb. Companion Press, Santa Barbara, CA. 136 pp, softback. While not about gardening, this book will leave you marveling at the beauty and diversity of California native wildflowers, and wishing you could grow them in your garden. Detailed captions accompany each photograph, with the plant name and location, allowing you to plan field trips, or visit your local native nursery for seeds.
THE CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE GARDEN: ECOLOGY, CULTURE, AND DESIGN. Mark Francis, Andreas Reimann. University of California Press. 1999. 234 pp, hardback. Written by landscape architects, this book focuses on integrating native plants in the home garden.
	BUTTERFLY GARDENING. Xerces Society, Smithsonian Institution. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. 1998. 208 pp, softback. Essays by experts on gardening for butterflies, with many exquisite color closeups, master plant list, life cycle, photography, and resource list.
CLASSIC REFERENCES ...
	GROWING CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS. Marjorie Schmidt. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 366 pages, softback. First published in 1981, this book is still at the top of the heap when it comes to books on native plant gardening. Written for the gardener, the book covers a wide variety of native plants, their characteristics, culture information, and estimate of garden value. This is a must-have book for beginners and experts alike.
NATIVE PERENNIALS OF CALIFORNIA. Glenn Keator. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. 303 pp, softback. This out-of-print book is worth hunting for in used bookstores for its encyclopedic content.
	NATIVE SHRUBS OF CALIFORNIA. Glenn Keator. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. 314 pp, softback. A handy reference on woody native plants. A particularly useful section is the appendix on commonly available cultivars.
GARDENERS' GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA WILDFLOWERS. Kevin Connelly. Theodore Payne Foundation, 10459 Tuxford Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352.
	NATIVE PLANTS FOR CALIFORNIA GARDENS. Lee Lenz. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. 1956. 166 pp, hardback. Out of print, but may be available through used book sellers.
AN ISLAND CALLED CALIFORNIA. Elna Bakker. University of California Press. 400 pp, softback. A classic reference which connects the native flora, fauna, climate, and geography of each biotic community in the state.
	CONIFERS OF CALIFORNIA. Ronald M. Lanner. Cachuma Press, P.O. Box 560, Los Olivos, CA 93441. 288 pp, softback. Award-winning book on all 52 majestic evergreen trees of the state. A superb mix of writing style, botanical knowlege, and appealing presentation. It may be the only book you need on the subject.
OAKS OF CALIFORNIA. Bruce Pavlik et al. Cachuma Press, P.O. Box 560, Los Olivos, CA 93441. 184 pp, softback. An engagingly written and produced work on California's native oaks. Browse the beautiful pictures and captions, or read a chapter at leisure. A great first reference for identifying common oaks.
	SUNSET WESTERN GARDEN BOOK. Kathleen Norris Brenzel, Ed. Sunset Publishing, Menlo Park, CA. 2001. 768 pp. The mother of Western gardening references. Its Plants Selection Guide has a section on native plants, including California natives, with color photos. The Encyclopedia section contains more California natives.
WHEN YOU GET SERIOUS ...
SEED PROPAGATION OF NATIVE CALIFORNIA PLANTS. Dara Emery. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara, CA. 115 pp, softback. An extensive table lists germination and propagation requirements of hundreds of native species.
	COMPATIBLE PLANTS UNDER AND AROUND OAKS. Bruce Hagen et al. California Oak Foundation, 1212 Broadway, Suite 810, Oakland, CA 94612. 69 pp, softback.
THE JEPSON MANUAL: HIGHER PLANTS OF CALIFORNIA. James Hickman, ed. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. The final word on California native plants.
	A CALIFORNIA FLORA. Philip Munz. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 1681 + 224 pp, hardback. Obsoleted by Jepson, this reference is still a favorite of many botanists.
FLORA OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS OF CALIFORNIA. John Hunter Thomas. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. 434 pp, softback.
	FLORA OF THE MOUNT HAMILTON RANGE. Helen Sharsmith. CNPS, Berkeley. 94 pp, softback. Out of print but worth hunting for at used bookstores.
FLORA OF THE SAN BRUNO MOUNTAINS. Elizbeth McClintock et al. CNPS, 909 12th Street, Suite 116, Sacramento, CA 95814. 223 pp, softback.
	FLOWERING SHRUBS OF CALIFORNIA AND THEIR VALUE TO THE GARDENER. Lester Rowntree. Stanford University Press. 1939. One of the earliest and best written books on native plants. Worth looking for in used book stores.
CALIFORNIA NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS. Lee Lenz, John Dourley. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Out of print.
	RELIABLE RAIN: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION. Howarfd Hendrix, Stuart Straw. Taunton. 140 pp, softback.
DRIP IRRIGATION FOR EVERY LANDSCAPE AND ALL CLIMATES. Robert Kourik. Metamorphic Press. 118 pp, softback.
	OUT OF THE WILD AND INTO THE GARDEN. Bart O'Brien, Lorrae Fuentes, Lydia Newcombe, Eds. Symposium proceedings. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Occasional Publications. Part I, 1992, 212 pp. Part II, 1995, 262 pp. Part III, 1997, 134 pp.
CALIFORNIA'S WILD GARDENS: A Living Legacy. Phyllis M. Faber, ed. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 235 pp, hardback. The breathtaking beauty of California's native plants is captured in over 500 photographs and engaging commentary in an all-color, coffee table book format.