“A plant that has fed nothing has not done its job.” - Douglass Tallamy
Resources
Books on Plants and Nature
Bringing Nature Home - Doug Tallamy
This incredible book has served as my inspiration to research, propagate and plant native plants. With his background in Entomology, Dr. Doug Tallamy lays out a very compelling illustration of the impact gardeners, homeowners and landscapers can have on local biodiversity. Our combined efforts and advocacy can bring healthy habitats back into the urban and suburban landscape, ensuring the continued existence of many species whose populations have been consistently declining due to habitat destruction.
The Living Landscape - Doug Tallamy & Rick Darke
This collaboration by entomologist Dr. Doug Tallamy and designer Rick Darke expands on the information in Bringing Nature Home to show how we can create beautiful, multifunctional landscapes that draw in humans and wildlife. Darke includes ideas about how to effectively create a layered landscape, “that offers beauty on many levels, provides outdoor rooms and turf areas for children and pets, incorporates fragrance and edible plants, provides cover, shelter, and sustenance for wildlife.”
Mycelium Running - Paul Stamets
In this book, Paul Stamets provides insights into how the fungus kingdom can be used to heal ourselves and the environment. Stamets is on the front lines of researching uses of native mushrooms in soil remediation. Stamets explains because “the bonds that hold plant material together are similar to the bonds found in petroleum products, including, diesel, oil, and many herbicides and pesticides”, certain mycelium species are well adapted to decompose “a wide spectrum of durable toxic chemicals”.
Garden Revolution - Larry Weaner
With over 30 years of hands on experience creating and maintaining large meadow restoration projects, Larry Weaner provides valuable insight into low cost methods of meadow restoration in a landscape setting. Weaner details how to analyse a site, and work with the natural forces of succession and change to create beautiful meadows with few labor and resource inputs.
Plant Lists, Libraries, and Databases
Native Plant CenterSearch tool to to sort through plants native to the chesapeake bay watershed
Chesapeake Native Plant List PDF
Pdf of “Native plants for wildlife habitat and conservation landscaping” for the chesapeake bay watershed published by the US Fish and Wildlife Service
Plants for a Future
PFAF.org hosts a database with information on over 7000 edible and medicinal plants
Montgomery County Rainscapes
Recommended native plant lists that Montgomery County Rainscapes Program has put together for a variety of conditions and purposes.
Contact: victor@edibleearthdesign.com