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Convincing people that native flora are ideal for their home landscape should be easy. Colorful native plants flower as early as late February and continue to bloom until late June. After a respite during the intense heat and withering drought of summer, a riot of blossoms emerge again from September until the first frost of late autumn. Few gardens comprised of commercially popular non-native plants can compete with the duration of such a showy display. And few can match the low maintenance, the reduced water requirements, and the environmental benefits of native-flora horticulture.
Sally Wasowski's latest book, Gardening with Prairie Plants, is aimed at converting skeptics who doubt that native-plant landscapes can make any difference in the world. These are people who argue the futility of trying to reverse the course of things in any given region. In reply, Wasowski points to native-plant landscaping as one way to preserve biodiversity. Biodiversity is like the human auto-immune system; it provides an eco-system with the means for successfully adjusting to disruptive new conditions.
Wasowski has a good chance of succeeding against the skeptics because her volume-reasonably-priced and readily available in Texas bookstores-is excellently produced. Not only is her well-informed commentary accessible to the average reader, but Andy Wasowski's accompanying color photographs are spectacular. The publisher wisely opted to print large illustrations, and the 241 that appear in Gardening with Prairie Plants prove the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Since Texas is a prairie state, there are attractive photos of Brown County, Quitaque, Gruene, Fort Worth and Lubbock, among other Lone Star State locales.
Gardening with Prairie Plants commences with several instructive definitions, such as the difference between short-grass prairies, which tend to be found in dry regions subject to very hot weather, and long-grass prairies, which tend to be found in wet regions subject to very cold weather. But such distinctions can become somewhat more complex, and Wasowski negotiates various qualifications in an easy-to-understand way. Her book then proceeds to consider the design, installation and maintenance of prairie gardens. This section is highlighted by photographs of homes, schools and museums exemplifying successful transitions to native landscaping. The impressive experiment at Selah Ranch in Johnson City is also featured.
Most of Wasowski's book is devoted to plant profiles, which comprise a richly illustrated section of the volume and are accompanied by helpful horticultural data and numerous floral distribution maps. The flowers populating this portion of the book are so appealingly presented that it will be hard for some readers to resist wanting to adopt all of them. Consider, for example, the allure of the beautiful photograph of needle-and-thread (Hesperostipa comata), accompanied by this description: "Needle-and-thread sways in the slightest wind with a motion like water, and the awns have a silvery cast. ... Wind blows the `needle' onto the soil. The threadlike 5-to-8-inch awn is twisted behind the needle, and as it unwinds, the seed is literally drilled into the soil."
Gardening with Prairie Plants is an admirable work. It will be cherished by anyone devoted to native flora, but it will appeal equally to those who have as yet made only a modest foray into native-plant landscaping. Gardening with Prairie Plants is not only extraordinarily useful, it is also exceptionally beautiful-a lavishly designed book for enthusiast and dreamer alike.
William J. Scheick, a former NPSOT vice-president, is also a member of the Central Texas Horticulture Council and a frequent contributor to Texas Gardener.
Part how-to, part field guide, and part history lesson; the Wasowski's have quite effectively authored a book about a large topic that can be enjoyed by experienced professionals and newcomers alike. Just by reading a few pages one can tell Sally Wasowskis' passion for the prairie, this is obviously a person who loves what they are doing. There is a lot to learn from her experience.
Refreshing and unlike other books, is the mix of science into common place language. Plants are listed by scientific family--not the color of their flower. Then by common name with the scientific name following. As a departure from every other prairie book, the scientific names are given their pronunciation in parenthesis (YEA!). Then a description of habitat range, unique features, and often reference the medicinal uses by Native Americans or a little science of leaf structure, for example.
Gardening With Prairie Plants is not written from the perspective of let's say Illinois, where the prairie goes full throttle. It includes native plants that extend into the South, the West, and notably Canada. So if you don't live in the Midwest the reader certainly won't feel left out. The Wasowski's have traveled to all these areas and the plants are discussed on the basis of prairie plants being part of a hemisphere.
Much of the success of this book, and this may go unnoticed by other reviews, is the wonderful photography. All photos are in color. Andy Wasowski has done a superb job whether its the detail of a complex flower or a wide sweeping vista of the American West. The pictures are well placed and compliment the the text well. This book also makes for an interesting coffee table book too.
The best of the prairie gardening books, this is a well spent $30, you won't be disappointed!
