A beautifully illustrated, family-friendly guide to Minnesota's native wildflowers and how to find them Once prairie grasses and flowers bloomed for hundreds of miles in the western part of what we now call Minnesota. Once tiny orchids grew among the roots of giant old pines, and fleeting blossoms sheltered in the shade of great maple and oak forests. These flowers that grew here for hundreds of years, though harder to find now, are still there, and this book shows you how to discover them. Searching for Minnesota's Native Wildflowers chronicles the ten years that Phyllis Root and Kelly Povo spent exploring Minnesota's woods, prairies, hillsides, lakes, and bogs for wildflowers, taking pictures and notes, gathering clues, mapping the way for fellow flower hunters. This book is a treasure trove of plant lore and information, the perfect companion for anyone who wants to find--or simply to find out more about--shooting stars and kitten tails, prairie smoke and Dutchman's breeches, blazing star and butterfly weed, and more native flowers than most Minnesotans imagine are blooming nearby. Readers of Searching for Minnesota's Native Wildflowers will learn where to look for wildflowers and how to identify them, whether in the woods, wetlands, peatlands, or the prairie in spring, summer, or fall; around the state's 10,000 (or so) lakes; on the North Shore; or, especially, in Minnesota's many great state parks. Featuring helpful tips, exquisite photographs, and the story of their own search as your guide, Phyllis and Kelly place the waiting wonder of Minnesota's wildflowers within easy reach.

Learn to identify wildflowers in Minnesota with this handy field guide, organized by color. With this famous field guide by award-winning author and naturalist Stan Tekiela, you can make wildflower identification simple, informative, and productive. There’s no need to look through dozens of photos of wildflowers that don’t grow in Minnesota. Learn about 200 of the most common and important species found in the state. They’re organized by color and then by size for ease of use. Fact-filled information contains the particulars that you want to know, while full-page photographs provide the visual detail needed for accurate identification. Book Features 200 species: Only Minnesota wildflowers! Simple color guide: See a purple flower? Go to the purple section Fact-filled information and stunning professional photographs Icons that make visual identification quick and easy Stan’s Notes, including naturalist tidbits and facts This new edition includes updated photographs, expanded information, and even more of Stan’s expert insights. Grab Wildflowers of Minnesota Field Guide for your next outing—to help you positively identify the wildflowers that you see.

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

This new and updated edition of Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota combines the practicality of a field guide with all the basic information homeowners need to create an effective landscape design. The plant profiles section includes comprehensive descriptions of approximately 150 flowers, trees, shrubs, vines, evergreens, grasses, and ferns that grew in Minnesota before European settlement, as well as complete information on planting, maintenance, and landscape uses for each plant. The book also includes complete information on how to garden successfully in Minnesota’s harsh climate and how to install and maintain an attractive, low-maintenance home landscape suitable for any lifestyle.

Author Phyllis Root and illustrator Betsy Bowen last explored the vast, boggy peatlands of northern Minnesota in their book Big Belching Bog. Now, in Plant a Pocket of Prairie, Root and Bowen take young readers on a trip to another of Minnesota’s important ecosystems: the prairie. Once covering almost 40 percent of the United States, native prairie is today one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. Plant a Pocket of Prairie teaches children how changes in one part of the system affect every other part: when prairie plants are destroyed, the animals who eat those plants and live on or around them are harmed as well. Root shows what happens when we work to restore the prairies, encouraging readers to “plant a pocket of prairie” in their own backyards. By growing native prairie plants, children can help re-create food and habitat for the many birds, butterflies, and other animals that depend on them. “Plant cup plants,” Root suggests. “A thirsty chickadee might come to drink from a tiny leaf pool. Plant goldenrod. A Great Plains toad might flick its tongue at goldenrod soldier beetles.” An easy explanation of the history of the prairie, its endangered status, and how to go about growing prairie plants follows, as well as brief descriptions of all the plants and animals mentioned in the story. With Betsy Bowen’s beautiful, airy illustrations capturing the feel of an open prairie and all its inhabitants, readers of all ages will be inspired to start planting seeds and watching for the many fascinating animals their plants attract. What a marvelous transformation could take place if we all planted a pocket of prairie!

Revision of: Orchids of Minnesota / Welby R. Smith; illustrated by Vera Ming Wong. -- Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, c1993.

Line drawings face each description of the plant's basic structural features in this guide for the amateur wildflower sleuth