Check out our list of native plant sources for NW Ohio and SE Michigan
Find the plants that are native to your area using the Native Plant Finder on the website of the National Wildlife Federation. It allows you to enter your zip code, and then — get this! — it gives you a list of native plants ranked in order by the number of butterfly and moth species that use them as host plants for their caterpillars!
Check out the Clear Choices Clean Water campaign to find out why natives are important!
Nature Scoop Newsletter – Toni Stahl works as part of a team of National Wildlife Federation volunteers to help the general public create wildlife habitat in their yards.
Gardening for Life by Dr. Douglas Tallamy https://www.wildones.org/download/gardeningforlife.pdf
Why Wild Ones? http://www.wildones.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/WhyWildOnes.pdf
Why we need Monarch butterflies http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/sunday-review/the-year-the-monarch-didnt-appear.html?_r=0
Oak Openings Green Ribbon Initiative
General information on the Oak Openings, a globally rare habitat and what The Nature Conservancy has labeled as “One of America’s Last Great Places.” http://oakopenings.org/
Wildflower Information and Photos
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center http://www.wildflower.org/plants/
Native Plant Network http://www.nativeplantnetwork.org/
Spring Wildflower guide from Metroparks Toledo
5-minute video about Oak Openings native plants done by Green Ribbon Initiative
Living in the Oak Openings guide that includes a good plant community photo section.
Native Garden Websites
http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/
http://nativeplantconvert.blogspot.com
Native Bees and Other Pollinators
http://beenative.org/index.html
Invasive Plant Info
Fighting Invasive Plants in Ohio http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/3/invasive/pdf/invasive_plants06.pdf
Garlic Mustard http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/garlicmustard.shtml
Miscellaneous
Root Systems of Prairie Plants – https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/il/plantsanimals/?cid=nrcs141p2_030726
Ohio Spring Wildflower Bloom Reports: http://naturepreserves.ohiodnr.gov/wildflowers
Recommended Reading
Bringing Nature Home — Douglas Tallamy
Sand County Almanac – Aldo Leopold
The Landscaping Revolution – Andy Wasowski
Urban and Suburban Meadows – Catherine Zimmerman
What Has Nature Ever Done for Us? – Tony Juniper
The Organic Lawn Care Manual – Paul Tukey
Teaming with Microbes; A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web – Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis
