As gardeners, we can’t wait to dig in this spring! All winter, we have visions of planting perennials, trying new annuals, and seeing which bulbs will pop through the snow first. Many of us have houseplants taking over every sunny window, and we are always looking for more ways to spend time enjoying the outdoors. Our staff has selected a few books of educational inspiration from like-minded nature lovers to keep your hands occupied until they can dig in the soil once again.
Liven Up Your Landscape
New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden, Kelly D. Norris, February 16, 2021 release. Don’t have time for high maintenance home landscaping? Get back to nature creating scenes of woodlands, meadows, and streamsides at your place.
Another good book by Kelly Norris is Plants with Style: A Plantsman’s Choices for a Vibrant, 21st-Century Garden, 2015. Take notes from this gardener and horticulturist in choosing plants that will not only thrive, but bring out your personality as well.
A Year at Brandywine Cottage: Six Seasons of Beauty, Bounty, and Blooms, David L. Culp, 2020. Broken down by seasons with tasks each month, this book is full of wisdom and gorgeous photography on flower gardening, growing veggies and herbs for cooking, and making floral arrangements, all from plants you grow.
The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees, Douglas W. Tallamy, March 30, 2021 release. Learn how to plant and care for oaks in your yard while understanding the seasonal cycles of the mighty oak and animals that live within its branches and leaves.
Doug Tallamy also offers great insight into why to choose native plants with Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants.
Use Green for Indoor Decor
The Unexpected Houseplant: 220 Extraordinary Choices for Every Spot in Your Home, Tovah Martin, 2012. You will want to offer a home to houseplants from A to Z when you witness how Tovah Martin manages to green up every sunny spot in her own home décor.
Like the look of houseplants but don’t have the time for care? Then The Indestructible Houseplant: 200 Beautiful Plants that Everyone Can Grow, 2015, is the book for you! Learn which indoor plants are tough and reliable with tips on easy care maintenance.
Plant Craft: 30 Projects that Add Natural Style to Your Home, Caitlin Atkinson, 2016. Follow simple instructions and beautifully photographed projects to bring nature indoors as part of your home’s decor.
Get the Kids Involved
The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids, Whitney Cohen, John Fisher, 2012. We hear it over and over again from customers that their interest in gardening started as a kid. Include and involve children in growing plants and create enthusiasm for time spent outdoors with nature for generations to come.
Nature Play at Home: Creating Outdoor Spaces That Connect Children with the Outdoor World, Nancy Striniste, 2019. Get your kids plugged into outdoor adventures with step-by-step instructions for play spaces using nature as your guide in your own backyard.
Shop Local
Andersons Bookshop
Naperville & Downers Grove
Prairie Path Books
Wheaton
Town House Books & Cafe
St. Charles
Harvey’s Tales
Geneva
