Gardening With The Native Plants Of Tenn: The Spirit Of Place [Paperback]

Margie Hunter (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press; 1 edition (October 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572331550
• ISBN-13: 978-1572331556
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #343,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent handbook on Tennessee natives, December 2, 2002

By 

Mickey Newman (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gardening With The Native Plants Of Tenn: The Spirit Of Place (Paperback)

On my first gardening day after purchasing Margie Hunter's book, I used it at least three times to make sure I had the right plant in the right growing conditions. Margie has managed to squeeze an amazing amount of information in a small space, using a very pleasing format. Her book, while providing excellent details, presents the information with a chatty, casual voice, as though one was getting advice from a neighbor with a very green thumb. The section on the geology of Tennessee was a delightful surprise for me with its explanation of the origin of the variety of soils within our state. My only criticism of the book is the size of the excellent photographs. While the handbook size of the book makes it easy to take to the garden for reference, these middle-aged eyes of mine find the small pictures a little disappointing. For Tennessee gardeners in particular, and mid-south gardeners in general, anyone interested in gardening with native plants will find this book to be a thorough, well-researched and enjoyable aid to their efforts.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hunter deftly blends ecology, conservation, & horticulture, December 6, 2004

By 

Mary P. Tucker (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gardening With The Native Plants Of Tenn: The Spirit Of Place (Paperback)

Margie Hunter was moved to write the book Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee: The Spirit of Place when she had a difficult time finding an easy, single source of information about her state's native plants.

Browsing through the book, you will see that, though it is written from the perspective of a Tennessee native, most of the plants featured are found throughout the Southeast. As Hunter notes in her introduction, "native plants recognize no such boundaries" as state lines.

I'll give you a brief tour of Hunter's book, and you will likely find, as I did, that it offers a wide and thorough mix of information that is organized in a logical and sensible manner. You will also see that it differs in some respects from many books in its class, and it is, in essence, a blend of ecology, conservation, and horticulture.

I found the first chapter unique for a book on plants. It is entitled "The Geography, Geology, and Soil of Tennessee." Here Hunter gives an overview of the physiographic regions of the state, including their geology, climate, and soils. It makes perfect sense to have such an introduction in a native plant book and makes me wonder why more authors have not thought of this. At the end of this and every chapter, Hunter provides a list of sources for further reading, which is quite useful if you want to continue your studies of a topic.

Hunter's second chapter logically follows by describing the plant communities of Tennessee. She begins by explaining that plant communities are the result of the five factors of climate, geologic history, topography, hydrology, and soil type. She also explains the different layers of the forest and the process of succession. Hunter then lists plants that will be found in the various plant communities of Tennessee (such as mesic forest, xeric forest, etc.). For the large part, this mirrors communities found throughout much of the Southeast.

As Hunter begins Chapter 3, she says, "All living things are interconnected," which is an appropriate start to this chapter on Tennessee wildlife. She gives a brief introduction on general ways to attract wildlife to the garden. Then she lists some of the fauna of Tennessee, including butterflies, moths, other insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.

Chapter 4 covers the rare and endangered plants of Tennessee and the pest plants that threaten our native plant diversity, with a good explanation of why these invasive plants are such a menace. Hunter helpfully includes a section describing what gardeners as consumers can do to protect endangered plants. Her advice includes how to avoid purchasing wild-collected specimens by looking for suspicious signs at the nursery. Some of the "red flags" she warns us to look for: large quantities of a species for sale; very low prices; bare-root plants; plants in real soil rather than potting soil; tree roots or rocks in the pot with the plant; large specimens for a low price; and plants that are difficult to propagate or slow growing.

The next chapter, "Native Plant Gardening," begins with brief tips on gardening with different categories of natives, such as ferns, grasses, and woody plants. Hunter includes a useful list of native plants that have performed well in trial gardens, which will surely be an aid to gardeners just beginning to employ natives. This chapter also includes some basic botany, such as an explanation of soil pH, the plant life cycle, and light requirements. Line drawings are used to illustrate basic flower parts, inflorescence types, and leaf structure.

Our tour of Hunter's book has thus far taken us about a quarter of the way into the book. The remainder (except for a few appendices) is a compendium of some 450 species of Tennessee's native plants, grouped by plant type: wildflowers; ferns; grasses, sedges, and rushes; vines; shrubs; and trees. Each plant is succinctly described and illustrated with a small color photo. Beyond the basic plant description that you would expect, Hunter also includes propagation methods, cultivation requirements, distribution patterns within Tennessee, and use by wildlife if applicable. Another plus is that she gives the pronunciation for each plant.

Hunter closes the book with several useful appendices, including nurseries that specialize in native plants, agencies and organizations of interest, botanical gardens, and native plant conferences.

For more information about this book, visit Hunter's website: www.gardeningwithnativeplants.com.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for native planting, May 11, 2006

By 

C. L. D. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gardening With The Native Plants Of Tenn: The Spirit Of Place (Paperback)

This is one of the most helpful books I've picked up recently. The beginning of the book lays out the geography, geology, and ecology of Tennessee, as well as the reasons behind using native plants in your landscape. The way the author described the state's heritage made me want to return things to natural in my own space.
She also points out a few of the invasive plants in the area and reasons to avoid them. I thought this section could have had more information though.
The remaining 2/3 of the book is lists of all the native wildflowers, shrubs, trees, and vines in Tennessee. It lists which sections of the state they are native to, there preferred growing conditions, whether they are easy to grow and transplant. Also included with each is a good color photograph, although many of the are kind of small and up close, so it's hard to decipher the full plant or its growing habit. I think I'll be doing a lot of research on the internet to find better pictures of the candidates for my garden.
The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 are 1) the pictures, as mentioned, and 2) I thought the cost of the book is a little high for what it is. Although if I had it to do over again, I would still pay the 23 bucks, because no other source that I know of has such a concise and complete list of this kind. Other states should be envious!