Literature

The Wild Lawn Handbook includes information and observations gathered by Daniels in one year of travel around the country, during which she visited thousands of homeowners who have created ‘wild lawns’.  The homeowners shared experiences in establishing their wild lawns and offer advice to those wishing to make the change with respect to water use, chemical fertilizer and pesticide application, and habitat creation for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.  Daniels has written specific chapters regarding four main lawn alternatives, including:  prairies and native grasses, meadows, moss lawns, woodlands, and ground cover and front-yard gardens.  The appendices of this book contain information on sources for seeds, plants, and equipment, local organizations, and sample natural landscape ordinances—all three of which are useful information for neighborhoods efforts in natural landscaping.

The Natural Habitat Garden focuses on 35 gardens around the United States that demonstrate a natural balance of plant communities and local wildlife.  The regions of focus are divided into four main categories: grasslands and prairie, drylands, wetlands, and woodlands.  Druse states, “it’s no longer good enough to simply make it pretty, …it has to work, too,” thus stressing the importance of keeping the local wildlife in mind when producing a garden at home.  He aims to teach gardeners how to recreate habitat in their own backyard for native birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.  Planting advisories, suggested readings, and a source guide are also included at the end of this book.

(available at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum)

This volume focuses on ways to create a more sustainable built environment, and includes the thinking of leading academics and professionals in planning, civil engineering, economics, ecology, architecture, landscape architecture, construction, and related fields.  It suggests methods to establish a reshaped built environment that would improve human living conditions and also protect and respect the earth's essential natural life-support systems and resources.  Of particular relevance to natural landscaping is Chapter 9: Landscape: Source of Life or Liability, which discusses humans’ relationship with the natural land and how we have constructed our surroundings accordingly.  Chapter 14: Creating Greener Communities also has some interesting and useful information on creating natural habitat corridors within our local neighborhoods.

(available at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum)

(available at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum)

The Wasowski’s Landscaping Revolution (often quite humorously) calls for the replacement of America’s traditional cropped-cut lawns with a more sustainable and lower cost natural lawn. The authors use economic terms to help rationalize the move, citing that we spend ten times more on lawn care than on school textbooks on average.  The authors address concerns such as neighbor disapproval and local zoning regulations and give recommendations for making gradual changes in landscaping.  Native plants are suggested for specific regions and micro-climates of the U.S., and advocated for their ability to survive with less maintenance than the popular cropped-cut grassy lawns.  The Wasowskis also comment on the use of groundcovers (native grasses and perennials adapted to a specific locale) in reducing the need for fertilizer and lowering the risk of diseases and insect invasions.  The processes of renovation are also documented in the back of the book through photographs of landscapes, taken before and after renovation and a comprehensive list of native plant societies.