Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design
Landscaping with native plants has encouraged gardeners from the Midwest and beyond to embark on a profound scientific, ecological, and emotional partnership with nature. Benjamin Vogt shares his expertise with prairie plants in a richly photographed guide aimed at gardeners and homeowners, making big ideas about design approachable and actionable. Step-by-step blueprints point readers to plant communities that not only support wildlife and please the eye but that rethink traditional planting and maintenance. Additionally, Vogt provides insider information on plant sourcing, garden tools, and working with city ordinances. This book will be an invaluable reference in sustainable garden design for those wanting both beautiful and functional landscapes.
Easy to use and illustrated with over 150 color photos, Prairie Up is a practical guide to artfully reviving diversity and wildness in our communities.
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"Gives gardeners the tools they need to confidently 'prairie up' their landscape, whether its a garden bed or an entire yard. " --My Northern Garden
"From his work under the telling moniker Monarch Gardens, to his first book, A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future, to his newest manifesto Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design, Benjamin Vogt has been a consistent voice for the importance of our native plant gardens. A staunch advocate for our built landscapes allocating land and resources back to and reintegrating with the natural ecosystems out of which they have been unrelentingly carved these past 150 years. Vogt's is a voice that asks us to remember, rethink, and replant our world with a greater integrity and meaning. This can often seem a daunting task, but with Prairie Up, Vogt has also given us an essential map, through detailed plant lists and condition requirements, to do this necessary work. He not only invites us, but leads gardeners home-garden managers, and other land managers to successfully and beautifully 'embark on a profound scientific, ecological, and emotional partnership with nature.' This directive and direction could not come to us at a better time." --Jennifer Jewell, host of Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History & The Human Impulse to Garden
"Many gardening books attempt to take the mystery out of growing plants, providing cookie-cutter recommendations that are ultimately unattainable and unsustainable. Prairie Up does the opposite, celebrating the mysteries and unpredictability of ecological gardens while providing heaps of down-to-earth advice for nurturing these ever-evolving landscapes. Readers following Benjamin Vogt's tips won't have to choose between beautiful design and rich habitat. Covering everything from preparing seed mixes to avoiding weed citations, Vogt shows that we can have both. Underlying his generously shared insider knowledge and practical experience is a central message that I wish every gardener could hear: be patient and take your cues from nature, our greatest teacher. If only I had read this book when I first started gardening, I could have saved myself years of trouble!" --Nancy Lawson, The Humane Gardener
"Gardeners serious about ditching tidy landscaping have a great starting point here." --Publishers Weekly
"Vogt's book is a cookbook for prairie restoration featuring unparalleled lists of which plants to use, in what combinations, and under what conditions. This how-to knowledge draws from Vogt's own experience designing and maintaining suburban gardens. This type of experience is priceless!"--Douglas Tallamy, author of Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard
