Favorite references

This page features some references I have found helpful as I attempt to grow more and more plants from seeds or cuttings. If applicable, the notes for each entry contains links for buying the book (an affiliate link in bookshop.org that sends me a tidbit of money if you use it or another store if not carried there). For books, the reference itself contains a link to the WorldCat entry, so you can find what library near you has it. Some used bookstores online that I buy from include Powell’s and Better World Books.

Help! How do I start?

https://www.facebook.com/mybhg. (n.d.). After No Mow May, Should You Do a Slow Mow Summer? Retrieved July 22, 2023, from https://www.bhg.com/slow-mow-summer-7511688
Oklahoma Native Plant Society. (n.d.). Native Gardening. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://oknativeplants.org/native-gardening
Contains list of Oklahoma native plants often available for sale at nurseries, as well as list of nurseries and general principles for Oklahoma.
Diboll, N., & Cox, H. (2023). The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants. The University of Chicago Press. https://worldcat.org/formats-editions/1300755957
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9780226805931
Vogt, B. (2023). Prairie up: an introduction to natural garden design. 3 Fields Books, an imprint of the University of Illinois Press. https://worldcat.org/formats-editions/1336989937
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9780252086779
Honeycutt, E. (2022, July 10). Where Do I Start? Using Georgia Native Plants. https://usinggeorgianativeplants.blogspot.com/2022/07/where-do-i-start.html
Honeycutt, E. (2021, August 8). Easing Into Using More Native Plants [Blog]. Using Georgia Native Plants. https://usinggeorgianativeplants.blogspot.com/2021/08/easing-into-using-more-native-plants.html
Native Landscape Care Calendar. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2022, from https://grownative.org/learn/native-landscape-care-calendar/
How to Build Firefly Habitat. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.firefly.org/build-firefly-habitat/

Will keeping honeybees help the environment? (No)

The Bee Tool of North America. (n.d.). The Bee Tool of North America. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://thebeetool.com/the-tool/
The Surprising Downside of #NoMowMay. (2022, May 13). Rewilding Magazine. https://www.rewildingmag.com/no-mow-may-downside/
C. B. C. News. (2020, August 7). Urban beekeeping can be bad for wild bees | CBC News. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-bees-urban-wild-1.5676777
Tangley, L. (2021, June 1). The Truth About Honey Bees. National Wildlife Federation, June-July 2021. https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2021/June-July/Gardening/Honey-Bees
McCoy, B. (2019, June 26). Are commercial honeybees making wild bees sick? PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/are-commercial-honeybees-making-wild-bees-sick
Section: Science
MacDonald, J. (2019, March 4). Are Honey Bees Bad for Wild Bees? [Blog]. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/are-honey-bees-bad-for-wild-bees/
Charles, D. (2018, January 27). Honeybees Help Farmers, But They Don’t Help The Environment. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/01/27/581007165/honeybees-help-farmers-but-they-dont-help-the-environment
Concordia University. (2023, April 26). Press release: Abundance of urban honeybees adversely impacts wild bee populations: The explosion of beekeeping in cities may be overwhelming other species competing for the same resources. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230426104004.htm

References I go back to regularly

Nokes, J. (2001). How to grow native plants of Texas and the Southwest (Rev. and updated ed). University of Texas Press. https://www.worldcat.org/title/1302079778
Buy: Out of print and hard to find except at public libraries or at archive.org  (requires free account).  Notes: get the second edition, not the first.
Native Plant Network. (n.d.). Propagation Protocols — Reforestation, Nurseries and Genetics Resources [Database]. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://npn.rngr.net/propagation/protocols
Vogt, B. (2023). Prairie up: an introduction to natural garden design. 3 Fields Books, an imprint of the University of Illinois Press. https://worldcat.org/formats-editions/1336989937
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9780252086779
Clothier, T. (n.d.). Tom Clothier’s Garden Walk and Talk [Reference]. Tom Clothier’s Garden Walk and Talk. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://tomclothier.hort.net/index.html
How to germinate a LOT of stuff, plus useful general articles
Wasowski, S. (2002). Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes. University of Minnesota Press. https://www.worldcat.org/title/gardening-with-prairie-plants-how-to-create-beautiful-native-landscapes/oclc/174689629/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9780816630875
Firefly habitat. (n.d.).

Reading

Invasive woody plants as foci of tick-borne pathogens: eastern redcedar in the southern Great Plains. (n.d.). Journal of Vector Ecology. https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-vector-ecology/volume-46/issue-1/1081-1710-46.1.12/Invasive-woody-plants-as-foci-of-tick-borne-pathogens/10.52707/1081-1710-46.1.12.short
MoDOT, MDC and MPF join forces to combat noxious weeds | Missouri Department of Transportation. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2023, from https://www.modot.org/node/28984
Lawson, N. (2017, March 3). Invasive Species - How to Fight Plants with Plants. https://www.humanegardener.com/how-to-fight-plants-with-plants/
The Plants Are Coming Home. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2023, from https://www.izelplants.com/blog/the-plants-are-coming-home/
He wanted a “low-water, colorful, smell-good garden.” But first, the lawn had to go. (2023, July 19). https://news.yahoo.com/wanted-low-water-colorful-smell-120039193.html
“All the neighbors know who she is”: How one woman built a flower farm across eight yards. (2023, July 10). https://news.yahoo.com/neighbors-know-she-one-woman-120037702.html
“All the neighbors know who she is”: How one woman built a flower farm across eight yards. (2023, July 10). https://finance.yahoo.com/news/neighbors-know-she-one-woman-120037702.html
The Passionflower Bee Project – Applied Community Ecology. (n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2023, from https://appliedcommunityecology.org/yellow-passionflower-project/
Intagliata, C. (2023, July 1). Nets, coolers and courage: A day in the life of a volunteer bee conservationist. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/07/01/1180459184/bumble-bees-animals-survey-conservation
The Indigenous Winter Pantry: Recipes for the Modern Kitchen. (n.d.). YES! Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2023/02/08/indigenous-food-recipes-winter
Vogt, B. (2023). Rewilding Suburbia in the American Plains. Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment, 14(1), 174–179. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2023.14.1.5063
Liz Anna Kozik et al. (2022, July 23). The Experiment. Rethinking Lawns. https://rethinkinglawns.com/home/the-experiment/
The Surprising Downside of #NoMowMay. (2022, May 13). Rewilding Magazine. https://www.rewildingmag.com/no-mow-may-downside/
Khaki, A., & Srivastava, V. (2023, May 18). Decolonize your garden: This long weekend, dig into the complicated roots of gardening — Listen. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/decolonize-your-garden-this-long-weekend-dig-into-the-complicated-roots-of-gardening-listen-205720
Muraskin, A. (2023, June 18). Growing without groaning: A brief guide to gardening when you have chronic pain. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/06/18/1182961315/back-pain-gardening-relief-safe
High Plains Resources for Gardening. (2013, January 10). High Plains Gardening. https://www.highplainsgardening.com/resources-gardening
Tallamy, D. W. (2022). The nature of oaks: the rich ecology of our most essential native trees. Timber Press. https://www.worldcat.org/title/nature-of-oaks-the-rich-ecology-of-our-most-essential-native-trees/oclc/1249475220/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781643260440
Dungy, C. T. (2023). Soil. https://worldcat.org/formats-editions/1377288139
Simon, M. (2023, February 27). You Can Turn Your Backyard Into a Biodiversity Hot Spot. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/you-can-turn-your-backyard-into-a-biodiversity-hotspot/
Vogt, B. (2017). A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future. New Society Publishers. https://www.worldcat.org/title/new-garden-ethic-cultivating-defiant-compassion-for-an-uncertain-future/oclc/974677068/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9780865718555
Lawson, N. (2017). The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife. Princeton Architectural Press. https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/14865849
Buy at: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781616895549
Group launches nonprofit to boost Oklahoma’s native plant market. (2023, May 3). https://news.yahoo.com/group-launches-nonprofit-boost-oklahoma-120052022.html
Rare plants attract rare bees and birds in urban gardens: Study reveals how biodiversity in community gardens is affected by gardener demographics. (n.d.). ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220726194455.htm
Block, M. (2023, May 5). She ripped up her manicured lawn and challenged the norms of gardening stories. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/05/1172727763/garden-gardening-book-writing-soil-dungy
Stillwater, O. S. U., Campus, O. 74078, & Maps744-5000, P. (2023, January 18). OSU unveils butterfly pocket prairie in Stillwater - Oklahoma State University. https://news.okstate.edu/articles/communications/2023/osu_unveils_butterfly_pocket_prairie_in_stillwater.html
Burrell, C. C. (1998). Prairie Lawn. Horticulture, 98(7), 24. http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=781056&site=ehost-live
Sevilleja, C. G., Van Langevelde, F., Gallego-Zamorano, J., Bassignana, C. F., & Wynhoff, I. (2022). Sod translocation to restore habitats of the myrmecophilous butterfly Phengaris (Maculinea) teleius on former agricultural fields. Ecology and Evolution, 12(9), e9293. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9293
OU DEI seeds and cultural sovereignty. (n.d.). https://mymedia.ou.edu/oudei

Veggies, food, and preservation

Bubel, N., & Nick, J. M. A. (2018). The new seed-starters handbook (Newly revised and updated). Rodale. https://www.worldcat.org/title/new-seed-starters-handbook/oclc/982431033/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781635651041  Notes: most but not all of book available via google books
Westcott, C. (2013). Westcott’s plant disease handbook (8th ed). Springer Reference. https://www.worldcat.org/title/westcotts-plant-disease-handbook/oclc/1231613991/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Notes: have not yet read or looked at.
Oregon State University Extension Service. (2015, September 9). Disease Diagnosis and Management [Text]. Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks. https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/diagnosis-testing/disease-diagnosis-management
Notes: References lots of other disease resources
Smith, E. C. (2009). The vegetable gardener’s bible: discover Ed’s high-yield W-O-R-D system for all North American gardening regions (2nd ed., Fully updated 10th anniversary ed). Storey Pub. https://www.worldcat.org/title/vegetable-gardeners-bible-discover-eds-high-yield-organic-system-for-growing-your-best-garden-ever-for-all-north-american-gardening-regions/oclc/1298301564/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781603424752  Notes: simplest crop rotation guide I’ve found (chapter 2) going by height and family instead of listing individual plants. helpful description of cold (what we have) vs hot compost piles/methods.  good plant guide with some simple stuff on preferences but says which plants aren’t fussy but still focused on northern gardens with southern conditions as afterthought.
Beyers, D. (2020). The new gardener’s handbook: everything you need to know to grow a beautiful & bountiful garden. Timber Press. https://www.worldcat.org/title/new-gardeners-handbook-everything-you-need-to-know-to-grow-a-beautiful-bountiful-garden/oclc/1111391944/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781604698749  Notes: how plants grow and general soil principles.  when to divide plants, general principles for propagation
Hupping, C. (1994). Stocking up III: America’s classic preserving guide (3rd ed.). MJF Books. https://www.worldcat.org/title/stocking-up-iii-americas-classic-preserving-guide/oclc/34087393/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Notes: Out of print. We use this regularly.
Mattus, M. (2019). Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening: Rare Varieties - Unusual Options - Plant Lore & Guidance. Quarto Publishing Group. https://www.worldcat.org/title/mastering-the-art-of-vegetable-gardening-rare-varieties-unusual-options-plant-lore-guidance/oclc/1060600202/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9780760361924  Notes: Has useful advice about doing fall only for cabbages and greens
Johnny’s Seeds. (n.d.). Johnny’s Seeds: Grower’s Library. Retrieved June 19, 2023, from https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/growing-center.html
Galloway, W. (2012). Grow cook eat: a food lover’s guide to kitchen gardening, including 50 recipes, plus harvesting and storage tips (1st ed). Sasquatch Books. https://www.worldcat.org/title/grow-cook-eat-a-food-lovers-guide-to-kitchen-gardening-including-50-recipes-plus-harvesting-and-storage-tips/oclc/1014304772/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781570617317  Notes: Has some temperature guidelines for plants that I didn’t find before (like mustard and Asian greens).  A lot of recipes too.
Hemenway, T. (2009). Gaia’s garden: a guide to home-scale permaculture (Second edition). Chelsea Green Publishing. https://www.worldcat.org/title/gaias-garden/oclc/824627440/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781603580298  Notes: detailed description of capturing water in swales and berms
Ruppenthal, R. J. (2011). Fresh food from small spaces: the square-inch gardener’s guide to year-round growing, fermenting, and sprouting (Kindle ed). Chelsea Green Pub. Co. : Sold by Amazon Digital Services. https://www.worldcat.org/title/fresh-food-from-small-spaces-the-square-inch-gardeners-guide-to-year-round-growing-fermenting-and-sprouting/oclc/794114317/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9781603580281 Notes: pushing limits on light, vertical space, and container conditions. also includes mushrooms and chickens.
Ball Corporation. (1994). Ball blue book: the guide to home canning and freezing (Ed. 1). Alltrista Corp. https://www.worldcat.org/title/ball-blue-book-the-guide-to-home-canning-and-freezing/oclc/1028660014/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
Newer edition: https://bookshop.org/a/83804/9780848746780
Oklahoma Climatological Survey. (1994, 2023). Average final spring freeze 1991-2020 [Government Agency]. Oklahoma Climatological Survey. https://climate.ok.gov/index.php/climate/map/average_date_of_last_freeze/oklahoma_climate
Kost, M., & Kost, N. (2022). Garlic care and curing instructions (paper only, ask Claire). The Buffalo Seed Company.
Rising Egg Prices Are For The Birds. Maybe It’s Time To Raise Backyard Chickens. (2023, February 16). https://laist.com/news/food/egg-prices-are-for-the-birds-maybe-its-time-to-raise-backyard-chickens

Leave a Reply