Keep Learning
Resources on native plants, landscapes and the environment
All the latest wildflower stories
- 9/18/24 Residents seek to restore native plant garden at former lake in Ypsi’s Prospect Park – Second Wave Media
- 5/5/23 Pollinator fans take a break from lawn mowing – Spartan Newsroom
- 5/4/23 Bumblebees, bats, birds and more added to Michigan’s threatened, endangered species list – MLive.com
- 5/1/23 6 ways to feed the bees and butterflies in cities, suburbs – MLive.com
- 4/1/23 Governor Whitmer proclaims April native plant month – Michigan.gov
- 3/30/23 Native plant projects help pollinators across state – Great Lakes Echo
- 3/21/23 Urban gardens, flowerpots help bees and butterflies more than you think – MLive.com
- 3/21/23 Native plant projects help pollinators across state – Cheboygan News
Book recommendations
I. Recommended books by our Keynote Speakers (Past-Present):
- Swink, Floyd & Wilhelm, Gerould. 1979. Plants of the Chicago Region
- Tallamy, Doug. 2020. Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard
- Rainer, Thomas & West, Claudia. 2015. Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes
- Vogt, Benjamin. 2017. A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future
- Steiner, Lynn M. 2006. Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan.
- Weaner, Larry. 2016. Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change
- Darke, Rick. 2002. The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest
- Darke, Rick & Tallamy, Douglas. 2014. The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden
- Buchmann, Stephen. 2016. The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives
- Marinelli, Janet. 2008. The Wildlife Gardener’s Guide (Brooklyn Botanical Garden All-Region Guide)
- Tallamy, Douglas. 2007. Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens.
- Johnson, Lorraine. 2009. 100 Easy-To-Grow Native Plants: For American Gardens in Temperate Zones
II. Recommended books by other WAM conference speakers (A-Z):
- Barton, Barbara J. (Author) & Hunt, Ginny (Editor). 1997. Gardening by Mail: A Source Book
- Barton, Barbara J. 2018. Manoomin: The Story of Wild Rice
- Barton, Barbara J. 1993. Taylor’s Guide to Specialty Nurseries (Taylor’s Weekend Gardening Guides)
- Brandenburg, David M. 2010. National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America
- Buchmann, Stephen & Nabhan, Gary Paul. 1997. The Forgotten Pollinators
- Dziedzic, Brenda. 2011. Raising Butterflies in the Garden
- Haddad, Nick. 2019. The Last Butterflies: A Scientist’s Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature
- Holm, Heather N. 2014. Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
- Kielb, Michael & Swales, John M. & Wolinski, Richard. 1992. The Birds of Washtenaw County, Michigan
- Marinelli, Janet (Editor), Brooklyn Botanical Garden (Publication). 1996. Invasive Plants: Weeds of the Global Garden
- Nowak, Mariette. 2012. Birdscaping in the Midwest: A Guide to Gardening with Native Plants to Attract Birds
- Shepard, Mark. 2013. Restoration Agriculture: Real-World Permaculture For Farmers
- Weatherbee, Ellen Elliott. 2006. Guide to Great Lakes Coastal Plants
- Zimmerman, Catherine. 2010. Urban and Suburban Meadows: Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces
III. WAM Board of Directors’ book recommendations (A-Z):
- Aldeman, Charlotte & Schwartz, Bernard L. 2011. The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants
- Antonio, Thomas M. & Masi, Susanne. 2001. The Sunflower Family in the Upper Midwest: A Photographic Guide to the Asteraceae in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
- Barnes, Burton V. & Dick, Christopher W. & Gunn, Melanie E. 2016. Michigan Shrubs and Vines: A Guide to Species of the Great Lakes Region
- Barnes, Burton V. & Wagner, Warren H. 2004. Michigan Trees: A Guide to the Trees of the Great Lakes Region
- Burrell, C. Colston. 2006. Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guide)
- Chadde, Steve W. 2012. Wetland Plants of Michigan: A Complete Guide to the Wetland and Aquatic Plants of the Great Lakes State. Second edition.
- Cohen, Joshua G., Kost, Michael A., Slaughter, Bradford S. & Albert, Dennis A. 2015. A Field Guide to the Natural Communities of Michigan.
- Daniels, Jaret C. 2005. Butterflies of Michigan Field Guide (Butterfly Identification Guides)
- Harstad, Carolyn. 1999. Go Native!: Gardening with Native Plants and Wildflowers in the Lower Midwest
- Hill, Patricia. 2007. Design Your Natural Midwest Garden
- Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2015. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
- Leopold, Aldo. 1986. A Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)
- Marrone, Teresa. 2009. Wild Berries & Fruits Field Guide of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (Wild Berries & Fruits Identification Guides)
- Palmer, Daniel D. 2018. Michigan Ferns and Lychophytes: A Guide to Species of the Great Lakes Region
- Porter, Frank W. 2013. Back to Eden: Landscaping with Native Plants
- Reznicek, Anton A. & Voss, Edward G. 2012. Field Manual of Michigan Flora
- Sanchez, Anita. 2016. In Praise of Poison Ivy: The Secret Virtues, Astonishing History, and Dangerous Lore of the World’s Most Hated Plant
- Small, Nancy Cutbirth & Small, Tom. 2011. Using Native Plants to Restore Community in Southwest Michigan and Beyond
- Smith, J. Robert & Smith, Beatrice S. 1980. The Prairie Garden: Seventy Native Plants You Can Grow in Town or Country
- Tekiela, Stan. 2000. Wildflowers of Michigan Field Guide (Wildflower Identification Guides)
- The Xerces Society. 2011. Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat
- Voss, Edward G. 1972. Michigan Flora: Part I Gymnosperms and Monocots
- Voss, Edward G. 1985. Michigan Flora: Part II Dicots
- Voss, Edward G. 1996. Michigan Flora: Part III Dicots Concluded
- Wasowski, Sally. 2001. Gardening With Prairie Plants: How To Create Beautiful Native Landscapes
- Wohlleben, Peter. 2016. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from a Secret World
These links are a small sample of what is available online for native plant resources.
- https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter
- https://www.watershedcouncil.org/native-plants.html
- https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants
- https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants
- https://www.audubon.org/native-plants (Enter your zip code and find plants native to your area)
- https://michigannature.org/
- https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/
- https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/huntingwildlifehabitat/Landowners_Guide/Introduction/index.htm
- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/
- https://www.canr.msu.edu/nativeplants/
- https://wildones.org/
Cool Blogs and Podcasts
Podcast: Doug Tallamy’s In Defense of Plants
Blog: Nature in Oakland Township Parks (Southeast Michigan)
Blog: Ohio birds and biodiversity, by Jim McCormac
“Native plants give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours.” Lady Bird Johnson