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Paradise by Design: Native Plants and the New American Landscape
Kathryn Phillips Manufacturer: North Point Pr ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0865475199 |
Amazon.com
Like Phillips's previous book, Tracking the Vanishing Frogs, this series of essays on the moral issues relating to garden design explores the effects human interest has on the objects of its attention. Wild or native plant gardening is an increasingly popular trend, but its ramifications are not always the kind that logic might suggest. In using native plants, we hope to create ecologically sensible and appropriate gardens that are easy to care for. When the nursery industry responds with a furious backlash of recrimination, why are we surprised? Advocates for using as many regional natives as possible in public landscapes are accused of being plant nazis--and as it turns out, that appellation is occasionally correct. Nobody intended the native plant movement to trigger wholesale destruction of habitat in order to provide gardens with eco-cool plants, yet how many gardeners insist upon learning where their native plants really come from? Phillips's touch is light yet deft, and her reach is broad without losing focus. There is no strident anger here, but her interviews with botanists, horticulturists, designers, and gardeners address dozens of intriguing and complex issues. Few books this provocative are this fun to read. --Ann LovejoyBook Description
Every day when she arrives at work, landscape architect Joni Janecki faces a daunting task: to create a piece of paradise for her clients. For this young, up-and-coming designer, that often means bucking mainstream design and gardening culture. Janecki rejects the expansive lawns and tightly clipped shrubs that have become the standards of America's created landscape. Instead, she tries to introduce the natural world to her clients by landscaping their homes, parks, and businesses with the native plants that the larger gardening culture often ignores.Kathryn Phillips follows Janecki as she struggles against nursery fads, anxious clients, pest plants, pesky budgets, and self-doubts to design paradise. The result, in the tradition of our best science and nature journalists, is an engrossing narrative which illuminates the complex forces that shape so much of the natural world we see each day. She introduces us to plant promoters, who want to carpet the world in roses, and nursery retailers who have to adapt to ever-changing fads.
By the book's end, readers will be rooting for Janecki and seeing the created landscape around them-and its often tenuous relationship with nature-with new eyes.
Customer Reviews:
Day-in-the-Life book scores high marks.......2004-03-28
The title of this book doesnýt match the contents........1999-01-29
I liked Kathryn Phillips first book, Tracking the Vanishing Frogs: An Ecological Mystery. It had some great investigative storytelling and raised both interesting questions and thoughts.
Unfortunately this new title is not as compelling a read. This book meanders and winds through three different landscape projects. The untitled chapters, sidetrack and discuss many issues, though few of the issues deal directly with native plants as the title and book flaps promise. It might have been better titled: `A day in the life of a Landscape Architect.' It is more about how we ended up making everything around us look the way it does, and the way the landscape industry forces its commerce on the land. While these issues have a relationship to the use of native plants in the landscape the author makes little attempt to connect the reasons.
A large amount of the book spent on drawing plans, hardscapes, meeting logistics, and what car everyone drives. The loose structure made it difficult for me to understand why certain issues were being raised. It does address some interesting horticultural issues but really doesn't relate them to native plants. Lots of the issues it does raise for natives are the same for all plants. Most growers don't like slow growing plants, whether they are native or not. The few pages that do address native plants are interesting but don't add much depth. I feel this book doesn't really educate the value of native plants. Lack of scientific plant names adds to the feel of shallow content. The one time a plant is named by Genius species, it's incorrect (Page 210 - Stipa purpa should be Stipa pulchra.)
Many other books have truly covered the issues of native plants in a more direct fashion. I would strongly recommend Sarah Stein's work (Noah's garden, Planting Noah's garden) if you're interested in native plants in your landscape. Also, Gardening With a Wild Heart : Restoring California's Native Landscapes at Home by Judith Larner Lowry. They both communicate more clearly the real value of a native landscape.
Perfect for people who always wonder why.......1998-12-27
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Paradise By Design - Native Plants And The New American Landscape
Kathryn Phillips Manufacturer: North Point Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000RJ06NK |
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A Paddler's Guide to Quetico and Beyond (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1550465007 |
Book Description
Canoe country's most up-to-date guide.
Located west of Lake Superior on the Canada-U.S. border and known to countless thousands of paddlers simply as "Canoe Country," Quetico Provincial Park is Ontario's second-largest wilderness park. It connects to the United States via the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, mainland America's largest protected tract of wilderness. The area receives over 200,000 visitors a year.
Kevin Callan is a renowned paddling personality, and his new book describes 10 of Quetico's best trips, plus five adventurous excursions to destinations just beyond the park's boundaries. Trips range from weekend recreational paddles to 10-day multi-lake loops, and there is something for every skill level. All route maps are original and up to date, correcting many of the common errors found in other publications.
One could spend a lifetime paddling the waters of Quetico Provincial Park, with its more than 600 lakes and five major rivers. And with an average portage length of only 435 yards, it's all about the paddling.
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A Paddler's Guide to Ontario (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1550463853 |
Book Description
One of Ontario's most popular canoeing guides takes readers on some of the province's best canoe routes. Each route -- ranging from a two-day paddle in Frontenac Provincial Park to a week-long expedition down Pukaskwa's White River -- includes detailed descriptions, maps of all access points, accurate portage lengths, and advice on everything from running rapids to shuttle arrangements.
Some of the routes included are:
Customer Reviews:
Useful for planning.......2007-08-22
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A Paddler's Guide to Killarney and the French River (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1550464604 |
Book Description
The latest addition to Kevin Callan's guidebook series provides the 20 best canoeing, kayaking, and hiking trips in Ontario's picturesque Killarney/French River region, a favorite wilderness getaway spot in central Ontario. At least three of the routes in this book are documented here for the first time.
Situated at the north end of Georgian Bay, Killarney Provincial Park is a paddler's paradise of rugged, windswept islands and turquoise lakes beneath breathtaking white quartzite mountains. The nearby French River is a historic waterway once used by explorers Samuel de Champlain, Alexander Mackenzie, and David Thompson.
Paddlers of all experience will find weeklong trips on Killarney's tranquil interior lakes and along the Georgian Bay shoreline, and weekend jaunts down remote stretches of the French River. The book includes detailed maps, suggestions for side trips, and color photographs, making this the ideal reference for planning a dream trip by canoe or kayak. Callan's fascinating notes and his trademark tales of adventure and misadventure add to the reading pleasure.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent overview - but bring detailed maps!.......2007-06-20
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A Paddler's Guide to the Rivers of Ontario and Quebec (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 155046387X |
Book Description
Twenty top river trips through the wilds of Ontario and Quebec. Kevin Callan is one of the foremost authorities on canoeing Central Canada's lakes and rivers. But he's that rare ah-shucks expert who gives you the best information, spins a wild-but-true story, yet doesn't have to be the hero of his own tale. Includes detailed route descriptions and maps showing all access points, important river features and accurate portage lengths.
Some of the routes included are:
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A Paddler's Guide to Algonquin Park (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1550464175 |
Book Description
Only 200 miles from Toronto, Algonquin Park is one of Canada's foremost canoeing destinations, a paddler's paradise of spectacular lakes and rivers. This book features a variety of routes, from true wilderness adventures to less rustic excursions.
Trips include:
Customer Reviews:
Don't go to Algonquin without it!.......2005-08-24
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Brook Trout and Blackflies: A Paddler's Guide to Algonquin Park
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 1550462113 |
Book Description
Our favorite canoeing guide takes us on 20 trips in Algonquin Park. Algonquin is Ontario's foremost canoeing destination, a paddler's paradise of spectacular lakes and rivers, and few know the park better than Kevin Callan. Includes routes for all skill levels.
Customer Reviews:
Great guide/storybook combo.......2001-06-06
Excellent cover design and overall rectangular-solid form........1999-04-08
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Northwoods Whitewater: A Paddlers Guide to Whitewater of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and Michigan
Jim Rada Manufacturer: SangFroid Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items: ASIN: 0917939034 |
Book Description
Customer Reviews:
I never met Jim Rada, but I wish I had........2006-08-23
Wilderness & Whitewater.......2006-06-23
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A Paddler's Guide to Ontario's Lost Canoe Routes (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1550464582 |
Book Description
Take the path less traveled along lesser-known waterways. Some of the routes featured in this book are little known; some haven't been documented for as long as 50 years. The 15 trips range from two to eight days, involve all types of water, and are suitable for canoeists of all skill levels.
Trips include:
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A Paddler's Guide to Ontario's Cottage Country (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 1550463837 |
Book Description
Updated, and with additional routes, new maps and a new format, this book features 20 of the best canoe routes in Ontario's Kawarthas, Haliburton, Muskoka, and Georgian Bay regions. Full of photos and original maps showing all access points, important river features, and accurate portage lengths.
Some of the routes included are:
Customer Reviews:
Experience the trip before you leave the couch!.......1999-02-05
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A Paddler's Guide to Weekend Wilderness Adventures in Southern Ontario (Paddler's Guide)
Kevin Callan Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 1550464159 |
Book Description
This book covers the Ontario region closest to the American border and just a couple hours drive from Toronto. Here are 20 perfect quick-getaway canoe routes for one-, two- and three-day paddles. All are easy on the portages, big on the rewards of nature and not too far from your own backyard.
These routes offer a variety of experiences, from cushy trips for novice paddlers to more challenging excursions for experienced canoeists.
Trips include:
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