My favorite books for creating successful meadow and grass garden ecology

Why am I passionate about this?

As an expert in grass ecology and champion of sustainable design, John Greenlee has created meadows not only in the United States, but throughout the world for over 30 years. Some of his most notable gardens include the Getty Museum, the Norton Simon Museum in Los Angeles, and the savannas at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. In addition to his consulting and design work for commercial and residential clients, John Greenlee enjoys sharing his knowledge by giving several presentations and lectures throughout the year on the use of natural lawns, native grasses, and meadow restoration.


I wrote...

The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn

By John Greenlee, Saxon Holt,

Book cover of The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn

What is my book about?

The American Meadow Garden (also published as Meadows by Design in Europe) is the gold medal winning book by John Greenlee and is essential for creating meadows and natural lawns. This book has inspired and informed gardeners around the world. The book is great for beginners and professionals with useful and accurate information on grass ecology. The book also explains how to plant and maintain meadows and natural lawns. There is a comprehensive section on meadow grasses and an informative portfolio of meadow gardens. John Greenlee has studied grasses and grass-like plants on five continents and continues to create meadow gardens around the world. 

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit

John Greenlee Why did I love this book?

This book is perhaps the most important garden book of the last twenty years and one of my favorites.

The main premise is that plants matter and that the key to successful gardening and garden design is to know your plants and I could not agree more! I love the gorgeous photography and all the information by two of America's greatest horticulturalists.

By Scott Ogden, Lauren Springer Ogden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Plant-Driven Design as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For too long, garden design has given pride of place to architecture, artifice, and arbitrary principles. The results? Soulless landscapes where plants play subordinate roles.

With passion and eloquence, Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogden argue that only when plants are given the respect they deserve does a garden become emotionally resonant. Plant-Driven Design shows designers how to work more confidently with plants, and gives gardeners more confidence to design. The Ogdens boldly challenge design orthodoxy and current trends by examining how to marry plantsmanship and design without sacrificing one to the other.

Supported by extensive lists of plants adapted…


Book cover of The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants

John Greenlee Why did I love this book?

I’ve been waiting almost thirty years for this book to show up, but it was clearly worth the wait. It is without a doubt the most important reference on creating prairies and identifying prairie plants.

I wasn’t disappointed and you won’t be either. My friend Neil Diboll is perhaps the most knowledgeable prairie pundit in North America. He has always been one of my greatest inspirations and together we have seen many of the endangered prairies across North America.

By Neil Diboll, Hilary Cox,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A comprehensive and beautifully illustrated reference for all gardeners passionate about native plants and prairie restoration.

The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants is the one-stop compendium for all gardeners aspiring to use native prairie plants in their gardens. Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox-two renowned prairie gardeners-compile more than four decades' worth of research to offer a wide-ranging and definitive reference for starting and maintaining prairie and meadow gardens and restorations. Alongside detailed synopses of plant life cycles, meticulous range maps, and sweeping overviews of natural history, Diboll and Cox also include photographs of 148 prairie plants in every stage of…


Book cover of The Undaunted Garden: Planting for Weather-Resilient Beauty

John Greenlee Why did I love this book?

The Undaunted Garden is one of the most important garden books ever written for American gardens.

I reference it constantly and you will too. While focusing on the challenges of gardening on the front range of North America, this book is valuable for any serious gardener gardening anywhere in America as the principles laid out in this book are useful no matter the size of your garden or where you are gardening.

I think the photography is superb and help tell the story of Lauren’s journey creating beautiful and sustainable gardens over the years.

By Lauren Springer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Undaunted Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Offers advice on planning a garden that is attractive during all four seasons, and recommends a variety of plants that offer beauty and resilience in a variety of conditions


Book cover of The Moonlit Garden

John Greenlee Why did I love this book?

Don’t be fooled by the small size of this very personal book by the incredible plantsmith Scott Ogden.

You would do well to find this book, now sadly out of print, as it focuses on the attributes of plants that are often overlooked. I’ve had it on my shelf for years and enjoy it constantly. Enjoying the garden at night is often an overlooked aspect of garden design.

Scott’s prose in this book is some of the finest garden writing ever written. Track down this book, you won’t be disappointed. Then walk outside and look at your garden at night with whole new eyes.

By Scott Ogden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Moonlit Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Moonlit Garden, Scott Ogden introduces readers to the wonder of the evening garden. Written with charm and elegance, this book will appeal to those whose gardens are a source of intellectual stimulation as well as physical beauty and repose.


Book cover of The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden

John Greenlee Why did I love this book?

I think this book is one of the best organized and easily digestible garden books out there.

Whether you are a seasoned professional garden designer or just a beginner, this book is essential for helping understand how to put plants together in the garden. Roy’s simple and effective methodology can benefit any gardener's attempts to design successful perennial borders without a lot of jargon or pretension.

Roy’s book is both inspiring and informative. Roy’s influence is felt through some of the Midwest’s finest gardens and his maintenance knowledge can benefit any perennial garden, anywhere.

By Roy Diblik,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A veritable goldmine for gardeners.” —Plant Talk

We’ve all seen gorgeous perennial gardens packed with color, texture, and multi-season interest. Designed by a professional and maintained by a crew, they are aspirational bits of beauty too difficult to attempt at home. Or are they?

The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden makes a design-magazine-worthy garden achievable at home. The new, simplified approach is made up of hardy, beautiful plants grown on a 10x14 foot grid. Each of the 62 garden plans combines complementary plants that thrive together and grow as a community. They are designed to make maintenance a snap. The garden…


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Book cover of Adventures in the Radio Trade: A Memoir

Joe Mahoney Author Of Adventures in the Radio Trade: A Memoir

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Broadcaster Family man Dog person Aspiring martial artist

Joe's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Adventures in the Radio Trade documents a life in radio, largely at Canada's public broadcaster. It's for people who love CBC Radio, those interested in the history of Canadian Broadcasting, and those who want to hear about close encounters with numerous luminaries such as Margaret Atwood, J. Michael Straczynski, Stuart McLean, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gzowski, and more. And it's for people who want to know how to make radio.

Crafted with gentle humour and thoughtfulness, this is more than just a glimpse into the internal workings of CBC Radio. It's also a prose ode to the people and shows that make CBC Radio great.

By Joe Mahoney,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Adventures in the Radio Trade as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"In dozens of amiable, frequently humorous vignettes... Mahoney fondly recalls his career as a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio technician in this memoir... amusing and highly informative."
— Kirkus Reviews

"What a wonderful book! If you love CBC Radio, you'll love Adventures in the Radio Trade. Joe Mahoney's honest, wise, and funny stories from his three decades in broadcasting make for absolutely delightful reading!
— Robert J. Sawyer, author of The Oppenheimer Alternative''

"No other book makes me love the CBC more."
— Gary Dunford, Page Six
***
Adventures in the Radio Trade documents a life in radio, largely at Canada's…


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