Why am I passionate about this?

I am now considered by many as the expert on creating allergy-free and allergy-friendly gardens and landscapes. I have lectured on the subject all across the US and Canada, and also in Israel, Ireland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. For 30+ years now I’ve been researching the connections between urban landscaping and allergies and asthma. My articles have appeared in dozens of fine publications, including The New York Times, The London Times, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, Atlas Obscura, Scientific American, Der Spiegel, and The New Scientist. I have owned two nurseries and taught horticulture for twenty years. 


I wrote

The Allergy-Fighting Garden: Stop Asthma and Allergies with Smart Landscaping

By Thomas Leo Ogren,

Book cover of The Allergy-Fighting Garden: Stop Asthma and Allergies with Smart Landscaping

What is my book about?

Many allergies (and asthma) are homegrown…caused by plants growing right in your own yards. Learn which choices are the most…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Man's Health

Thomas Leo Ogren Why did I love this book?

This is the best book on medical botany. The authors are both top experts on biology and botany, and among his peers in biology, Walter H. Lewis is known as the medical botanist. Just packed with interesting, useful information not found anywhere else. Widely used as a university textbook for medical botany…but extremely readable. Highly recommended!

By Walter H. Lewis, Memory P. F. Elvin-Lewis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Medical Botany as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Plants as Medicine.... A Natural Approach to Self-Health Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Man?s Health, Walter H. Lewis, Memory P.F. Elvin-Lewis

Medical Botany is a fascinating look at the facts and fictions surrounding plants and man?not only which plants affect our bodies, but how they affect them. Authoritative, rich in anecdote and lore, lavishly illustrated, this encyclopedic reference brings within your reach the curative, healing, poisonous, allergenic, and psychoactive properties of thousands of plants. Its ready reference format allows you to turn instantly to information about a specific plant?s properties, its history, its use in orthodox medicine (where applicable) and its…


Book cover of Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health

Thomas Leo Ogren Why did I love this book?

Edited by Matilda van den Bosch and William Bird, Nature and Public Health. Each chapter was written by several top experts in the field. There were more than a hundred different experts chosen to write sections of this fine book, selected from all around the world of health, botany, horticulture, urban forestry, urban affairs, and the environment. Nature (or the lack of it) is closely aligned with human health, and this wonderful book explores the subject like no other.

By Matilda van den Bosch (editor), William Bird (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Human beings have always been affected by their surroundings. There are various health benefits linked to being able to access to nature; including increased physical activity, stress recovery, and the stimulation of child cognitive development. The Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health provides a broad and inclusive picture of the relationship between our own health and the natural environment. All aspects of this unique relationship are covered,
ranging from disease prevention through physical activity in green spaces to innovative ecosystem services, such as climate change adaptation by urban trees. Potential hazardous consequences are also discussed including natural disasters, vector-borne…


Book cover of Airborne and Allergenic Pollen of North America

Thomas Leo Ogren Why did I love this book?

Airborne and Allergenic Pollen of North America was the most important book I read (out of hundreds) when I was doing my original research for my own book. The material is extensive, accurate, scientific, and yet it is quite readable. Unlike so many other books, papers, or articles on pollen and allergy, this book takes into consideration all of the plants grown in North America, not just the trees. A classic, and yet, still the very best.

By Walter H. Lewis, Prathibha Vinay, Vincent E. Zenger

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Airborne and Allergenic Pollen of North America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Quarto, Silver Lettered And decorated Green Cloth, PP.254, B & W Specimen Photos, Color Photo Plates, Distribution Maps


Book cover of A Natural History of Western Trees

Thomas Leo Ogren Why did I love this book?

I own hundreds of books on plants and trees. The two finest books written on American trees were both written by Donald Culross Peattie. His book on Western trees is amazing. When he looks at and writes about a particular tree, he mentions everything about it. What it looks like, where it grows, how big it gets, what it is used for, what animals, birds, insects use this tree. He also mentions in detail how it flowers, sets seeds, grows….he misses next to nothing. Totally recommended! 

By Donald Culross Peattie, Paul Landacre,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Natural History of Western Trees as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A lovely reprint of Peattie's 1950 classic with the fine wood engravings and a new (4 page) introduction by Robert Finch. This editio printed on alkaline paper. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Book cover of A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America

Thomas Leo Ogren Why did I love this book?

A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America by author and naturalist Donald Culross Peattie is probably the very best book on trees that I have ever read. I used this book (and also his book on Western trees) as a marvelous resource when I was working on my books. 

I learned many a new thing from this book, things I could not find in books written by botanists or horticulturists. This in large part is because Peattie was first and foremost, a naturalist. He tells the reader things that others didn’t bother to mention (for example, that with Honeylocust trees, each branch is of only one sex). The author also has a wonderful way of writing that makes the text come alive…always interesting.  As a naturalist, Peattie looks at the whole picture; one of the few writers about trees who was also a dedicated ecologist. A great book!

By Donald Culross Peattie, Paul Landacre (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Gives the economic facts regarding the trees of northeastern North America and identifies a wide variety of species


Explore my book 😀

The Allergy-Fighting Garden: Stop Asthma and Allergies with Smart Landscaping

By Thomas Leo Ogren,

Book cover of The Allergy-Fighting Garden: Stop Asthma and Allergies with Smart Landscaping

What is my book about?

Many allergies (and asthma) are homegrown…caused by plants growing right in your own yards. Learn which choices are the most allergy-free, and which are the worst. Thousands of trees, grasses, ground covers, vines, and shrubs are included…and all are ranked 1-10 (where 1 is the best, and 10 is the worst, the most allergenic. Used by hundreds of cities worldwide.

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What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

By Sharman Apt Russell,

Book cover of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

Sharman Apt Russell Author Of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Explorer Runner Mother

Sharman's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks left by browsing deer, predatory weasels, and inquisitive bears, skunks, and raccoons. Master tracker Kim A Cabrera provides photos and illustrations.

Winner of the prestigious John Burroughs Medal, Russell also writes about community, a sense of place, and a renewed connection with the nonhuman world. She explores the health of…

What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

By Sharman Apt Russell,

What is this book about?

Did a red fox pass this way? Could that be a bobcat print there in the dirt? Do those tracks belong to a domestic dog or a coyote? Combining lyrical memoir with an introduction to wildlife tracking, What Walks This Way explores the joys of learning to recognize the traces of the creatures with whom we share our world.

The nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife-mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice-near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. With wit and compassion, she guides readers through…


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Interested in trees, North America, and botany?

Trees 52 books
North America 68 books
Botany 35 books