Stewardship Garden

Learn more by reading about backyard habitats

You can learn more about creating a backyard habitat as well as other environmental issues. There are many resources on the web as well as many excellent books on a variety of subjects.

Appelhof, Mary
Worms Eat My Garbage
A classic - the worm composting bible! Everything you need to know to get started and maintain your worm composting system.

Bormann, F. Herbert, Diana Balmori, and G. Geballe
Redesigning the American Lawn: A Search for Environmental Harmony
This book describes the history of the American lawn and the environmental problems associated with it. Best of all, it provides practical ideas about how to create what the authors call a "Freedom Lawn." This book has especially clear and complete diagrams not just about growing lawns, but also about their relationship to environmental issues such as global warming.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Charles Colston Burrell (Ed.)
The Natural Water Garden: Pools, Ponds, Marshes and Bogs for Backyards Everywhere
The ecological gardener's guide to water gardens. This book includes tips for creating backyard pools, ponds, marshes and bogs, plus plant recommendations for every region.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Karan Davis Cutler (Editor)
Starting from Seed: The Natural Gardener's Guide to Propagating Plants
Starting from seed is the only way to get access to the world's vast storehouse of edible, ornamental, and wild plants. Growing seeds is also a great way to preserve the planet's botanical riches, from disappearing heirloom vegetables to beleaguered wildflowers. Everything you need to know to collect, store, and grow seeds successfully.

Buchmann, Stephen and Gary Paul Nabhan
The Forgotten Pollinators
Did you know that the services of pollinators are required for one of every three mouthfuls of food and the beverages we drink? And yet the populations of many of these pollinators - insects, bats, and birds - are in decline. This is a good book to read to learn more about this important issue. You'll never look at those little insects in your garden the same way again! As habitat gardeners, we can play an important role in helping these pollinators survive and in educating other people. SEE ALSO, the Xerces book below, which I think is more readable than this one. The Grissell book is also a good book about insects.

Campbell, Stu
Let It Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting
Composting is a form of recycling: the natural breakdown of organic material that will substantially enrich any garden. It helps to prevent soil erosion and contributes to soil fertility, pH balance, and the healthy development of plant roots. User-friendly guide about what and how to compost.

Cullina, William
Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses: From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave, Serene and Sensuous Plants for the Garden
A beautiful book, like all Cullina's book, and enjoyable to read. This completes his series on native plants. He discusses what plant hardiness means in the light of global warming. For each species, he also gives the natural range, type of soil, and habitat in which the plant thrives. In the back he provides complete information on where to buy these plants and list of the best species for various uses.

Cullina, William
The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada
Very well-organized and complete information on wildflowers. I like that pronunciations are given for the botanical names! The only thing I'd change would be to have the range explained by using little maps rather than a verbal description. Gives good information on propagation - especially important for wildflowers.

Cullina, William
The New England Wild Flower Society Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing and Propagating North American Woody Plants
Very well-organized and complete information on woody plants, including wildlife value. I use these two Cullina books are my authoritative references. The pictures and the books themselves are beautiful and a joy to use.

Daniels, Stevie
Wild Lawn Handbook: Alternatives to the Traditional Front Lawn
Contains hundreds of interesting plant alternatives to high-maintenance lawn grass - both native and non-native. We prefer the native, of course! But native or non-native, these altenatives are more environmentally-friendly, visually more interesting, and more habitat-friendly than the traditional lawn.

DeGraaf, Richard
Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Attracting Birds
This is a wonderful book! It gives detailed information about which birds favor which trees, shrubs, and vines. It even indicates why they use the plant: for food, cover, raising young. AND indicates which part of the plant provides food - sap, fruit, etc. BUT BE CAUTIOUS! For some odd reason, it lists non-native invasive plants - even the worst, such as Norway maple. Although it does indicate they're invasive, why are they and their "habitat attributes" listed at all when their presence contributes to the long-term decline of habitats?

Grissell, Eric
Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology
This book really opened my eyes to a different way of thinking about insects and their important role in a healthy garden. It also seemed to validate my own inclinations in gardening - plant lots of different kinds of plants (especially native ones), allow to be a little "messy," and don't use pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers. This book explained for me why I seldom have had insect damage. It seems that my naturally "relaxed" style of gardening made my yard hospitable for insects. (I hope there are equally beneficial results with my "relaxed" style of housekeeping!)

Elpel, Thomas
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
Looking for a faster, easier, and fun way to identify plants? Botany in a Day teaches you the patterns method of plant identification, so that you can discover the wonderful world of plants around you, wherever you go. Instead of trying to identify plants one-at-a-time, Botany in a Day give you a way to learn them by the hundreds, based on the principle that related plants have similar patterns for indentification, and they often have similar uses. Despite the title, you'll probably need to spend much more than a day to absorb all this!

Holmes, Hannah
Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn
A very enjoyable description of the author's experience exploring her own yard. But it's more than just entertainment. As Bill McKibben says, "It's a graceful and forceful reminder that the natural world is everywhere all around us, to be savored and to be protected."

Kaufman, Sylvan and Wallace Kaufman
Invasive Plants: A Guide to Identification, Impacts, and Control of Common North American Species
Unlike most books that compile descriptions of plants you want, this one has descriptions of plants you don't want. This is important because you need to know your enemy! Very well-organized, well-illustrated with photos, and information on control. A wonderful resource!

Leopold, Donald
Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation
This is one of those basic books every native plant gardener in the Northeast should have. It lists nearly 700 species of native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, and wildflowers. Illustrated with 500 color photographs, his guide provides detailed information on each plant's cultivation and propagation, height, color, natural range, and hardiness. An appendix recommends particular plants that tolerate wet and dry soil and attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and mammals such as deer, opossums, and raccoons. Unlike the North American focus of the Cullina books, this book focuses on our part of the country!

Louv, Richard
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
Gathering thoughts from parents, teachers, researchers, environmentalists and other concerned parties, Louv argues for a return to an awareness of and appreciation for the natural world. Not only can nature teach kids science and nurture their creativity, he says, nature needs its children: where else will its future stewards come from? Louv's book is a call to action, full of warnings—but also full of ideas for change.

Mizejewski, David
Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife
A great summary of all the Backyard Wildlife Habitat concepts and tips. It's very easy to read, and there are lots of beautiful photographs. It's affordable, too! Full of good information.

Shapiro, Howard-Yana and John Harrisson
Gardening for the Future of the Earth
This is a very interesting book about organic gardening, permaculture, saving our seeds, and other gardening practices. I'm can’t say that I'm doing all these things, but this book definitely gave me a new perspective on the importance of our gardening practices.

Stein, Sara Bonnett
My Weeds: A Gardener's Botany
About more than just weeds! A user-friendly guide to botany blended with philosophy. This book preceded the author's more famous books (which follow), so you can track the evolution of her ideas toward more habitat-friendly gardening if you read them sequentially.

Stein, Sara Bonnett
Noah's Children: Restoring the Ecology of Childhood
Stein makes a convincing case for the crucial role nature should play in children's lives. "We no longer give children freedom, privacy, place, or time" to explore nature, says Stein, though Young children are always more interested in going outdoors than playing inside with child-safe toys. She explores factors like the physical isolation of the suburbs from plant and animal life, overconcern with child safety and too much adult supervision, which have combined to distance children from the natural environment.

Stein, Sara Bonnett
Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards
This book shows us how our landscape style of neat yards and gardens has devastated suburban ecology, wiping out entire communities of plants and animals. When Stein realized what her intensive efforts at making a garden had done, she set out to "ungarden." It interweaves an account of her efforts with an explanation of the ecology of gardens.

Stein, Sara Bonnett
Planting Noah's Garden: Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology
One of my favorite books! This is the how-to-do-it complement to Noah's Garden. Lots of practical ideas and practical philosophy. I finally understood the importance of designing plant communities after reading this book - not just planting individual plants that were on the habitat lists.

Stokes, Donald and Lillian
Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies
As with all the Stokes books, this book is very well-organized, clearly written, and educational. Even though it's listed as a beginners book, it covers a large number of dragonflies, and I think it will be more than sufficient for my needs.

Stokes, Donald, Ernest Williams, and Lillian Stokes
The Butterfly Book: The Complete Guide to Butterfly Gardening, Identification, and Behavior
Everything you want to know about butterfly gardening, identification of butterflies and caterpillars, and behavior. I think it's an especially good resource for beginners. I didn't know much about butterflies when I first got this book, but I always could easily find what I wanted to know.

Stokes, Donald
Guide to Bird Behavior, Volumes 1, 2, 3
A bird book with a difference - instead of focusing on bird identification, it describes the behaviors of commonly-seen birds. If you've ever wondered why a bird is doing what it's doing, these are the books for you!

Stokes, Donald, and Lillian Stokes
Stokes Bird Gardening Book: The Complete Guide to Creating a Bird-Friendly Habitat in Your Backyard
I really like the Stokes books. Although these short guides might not satisfy the expert, for my backyard purposes, I've found all their books to be very clear and comprehensive. Trees, bushes, and plants are classified according to their value as food or cover by region. There are a few plant recommendations that I don't agree with, but for the most part, an excellent resource.

Tallamy, Douglas
Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens
The pressures on wildlife populations today are greater than they have ever been and many gardeners assume they can remedy this situation by simply planting a variety of flowering perennials, trees, and shrubs. As Douglas Tallamy points out in this revelatory book, that assumption is largely mistaken. Wild creatures exist in a complex web of interrelationships, and often require different kinds of food at different stages of their development.
  There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. When native plant species disappear, the insects disappear, thus impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. Fortunately, there is still time to reverse this alarming trend, and gardeners have the power to make a significant contribution toward sustainable biodiversity. By favoring native plants, gardeners can provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds.
  Healthy local ecosystems are not only beautiful and fascinating, they are also essential to human well-being. By heeding Douglas Tallamy's eloquent arguments and acting upon his recommendations, gardeners everywhere can make a difference.

Terres, John
Songbirds in Your Garden
A wonderful little book packed full of anecdotes and practical information. There are directions for building roost boxes, for "Miracle Mix," for building a brush pile, and many lists of valuable information, such as which plants produce useful seed for birds after flowering. I never cease to be amazed at how much is packed into this little book!

Wasowski, Andy with Wasowski, Sally
The Landscaping Revolution: Garden with Mother Nature, Not Against Her
Covers all the basic ideas of natural and naturalistic landscaping, restoring habitat, invasive plants, etc. etc. - and with a sense of humor. For example, one my favorite quotes that he uses at the beginning of the book is from Dave Barry: “The average American homeowner would rather live next to a pervert, heroin-addict, communist pornographer than someone with an unkempt lawn.” Best of all, there are lots of photographs so you really understand the issues. Very readable, enjoyable, but also inspiring as he profiles some of our country's landscaping "revolutionaries!"

Wasowski, Sally
Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes
Before the Leopold book and the Cullina book, there weren't many places to get information about native grasses. Although Central New York is not a prairie, many of the grasses native to the prairie are also native here, so this was a useful resource. The book also includes many plants other than grasses, though, and many of these plants are likewise native here. Even with the more recent books mentioned, I find this book offers additional information and perspectives on creating native landscapes.

Wasowski, Sally and Wasowski, Andy
Requiem for a Lawnmower: Gardening in a Warmer, Drier World
Today, more than ever before, people are realizing that water is a finite and endangered resource. This is why homeowners and professional landscapers alike are turning to drought-tolerant and hardy native plants. A timely manifesto for taking a more environment-friendly approach to gardening. Providing practical advice as well as inspiration!

Xerces Society
The Pollinator Conservation Handbook
I love this book! I've become very concerned about pollinators and this book gives me very good information about what I can do in my own yard to protect pollinators. The Handbook guides the reader through the steps needed to create and enhance habitat for insect pollinators and contains information on selecting and planting forage flowers, providing nesting and egg-laying sites for bees, butterflies, and other insects, and caring for your pollinator habitat over time. You can read more about this handbook and order it directly from Xerces.

Last updated 01/28/2009