Easy Care Native Plants

This congenial guide from the author of The Weekender's Gardening Manual frames a persuasive argument for gardening with low-maintenance native plant material. For centuries, Taylor points out, domestic gardeners have bypassed a wealth of local beauties in favor of high-maintenance prima donna imports. Ironically, the very gardeners they sought to emulate--namely, the British--have long prized many of these neglected American garden gems. Taylor's briskly informative historical background section also charts the growing appreciation of what she calls ""our floral heritage"" (spurred on by such political champions as Lady Bird Johnson and President Clinton, who required, in a 1994 executive memorandum, that regional plants be used in all federally funded landscaping projects). A section on public and private gardens ranging across the country's gardening zones and climates offers a guided tour, with observations from gardeners specializing in native horticulture and lists of their ""top dozen favorites."" The final section, ""The Plants,"" delivers detailed descriptions of recommended native trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials, etc., and is followed by a helpful appendix of suggested nursery sources. Thoroughly researched and written with humor and verve, Taylor's book is both inspiring and practical and should help win converts to the growing native plant movement. (Dec.)