Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast: Landscaping Uses and Identification

Rating:
Summary: An important work, but not best for beginners.
Review: I bought this book because I adore "Gardening with Native Wildflowers" by the same authors. I was a little disappointed because this one is not as reader friendly for beginners such as myself. It does fill an important niche by identifying all native shrubs and woody vines of the southeast, as the title implies, and for this I imagine it would be a must for anyone compiling a serious library and/or study on the subject of native plants. The book is chock full of color photographs, each of which is labeled by the scientific name of the plant. However, I would have liked to see the common name there also (there is a common name index). A beginner who does not need to know about or identify a wide variety of shrubs and vines might be better off starting with a general guide to natural gardening that includes a variety of plant types.

Rating:
Summary: Not for the botanically illiterate
Review: I bought this hoping that I would be able to easily identify the native shrubs and vines on my property, but it is not very helpful. It is very difficult to use for someone not trained in botany. I should know, as my training is in aquatic biology and zoology. Even with my biology background, I have not found it very useful so the identification part of the title is very misleading. Also, there appears to be no rhyme or reason as to how the plants are categorized. I was hoping this would be more like Taylor's guides to trees, shrubs, etc. with pictures that then refer to a description, but it wasn't.

Rating:
Summary: Exhaustive treatment of the subject
Review: When our native shrubs and vines are relieved of the intense natural competition existing in native habitats and are given room, nutrients, and moisture in a congenial environment, they become compact and shapely, and produce better flowers and fruits in greater profusion.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no real difference between the requirements for growing natives and those for growing exotics in the garden. Once introduced and established, natives and exotics are on equal terms. In the long run, natives often exhibit advantages in cold and drought tolerance and in resistance to insect pests and diseases. However, the success of natives in the garden will be the result of good planning, proper judgment, gardening skill, and some luck!