The ultimate, fully illustrated guide to plant selection and gardening in the Prairie State. With its northeastern edge seated on the shores of Lake Michigan, Illinois offers some of the United States' most fertile farmlands. But as any midwesterner knows, the entire region's weather can turn on a dime, and keeping plant life alive in such a widely varying climate can be difficult for gardeners of all skill levels. In Illinois Getting Started Garden Guide, born-and-bred midwestern gardener Shawna Coronado showcases more than 150 plant species destined for success throughout all of Illinois--from flowers and shrubs, such as the blazing star and the beautiful early-spring-flowering witchhazel, to trees and vines, such as the ginkgo and the exquisite clematis. Each entry features full-color photography, plant-name pronunciation, helpful icons denoting sun/shade requirements and plant qualities, instructions for how to bring the plant from transplant to maturity, and even recommendations for what you should plant nearby. If you're not sure where to start, official color-coded USDA maps let you know your plant hardiness zone. So whether you're planting in a windy Chicago suburb, prepping for a frigid winter in Galena, or anticipating a rainy spring in Mt. Vernon, Illinois Getting Started Garden Guide gives you all the information you need for a colorful, diverse home landscape.
About the Author: Shawna Coronado is an author, on-camera spokesperson, newspaper columnist, internationally recognized keynote speaker, and environmental and health correspondent. She has lectured for TEDx and Google, appears regularly on US national television, and spends her time educating the online community about eco-travel, green living, sustainable gardening, inexpensive cooking, and home vegetable production--all from her very own home and ornamental front-lawn garden. Shawna's photographs and stories on organic living have been featured on HGTV.com, in Birds & Blooms magazine, and in the books The Green Garden, Grocery Gardening, The Edible Front Yard, and Garden Up!. She is the author of Cool Springs Press' Illinois Getting Started Garden Guide (2014), Indiana Getting Started Garden Guide (2014), The Wellness Garden (2017), and 101 Organic Gardening Hacks (2017).
