Resources

Here is a partial list of people and media that have supported our thinking and the work we do to increase biodiversity in gardens and other human-dominated landscapes.

Local Organizations

King County Conservation District — Start here native plant sales, soil testing, community gardens, and more.
Noxious Weeds — Find out if a weedy species on your property is a regional problem plant.
Green Seattle Partnership —Forest restoration starts at home! But you can learn a lot by volunteering at local parks. Find event details here.
UW Botanic Gardens — Classes, workshops, events, and updates on the Washington Arboretum and Center for Urban Horticulture.
Elisabeth C Miller Library — Seattle's best-kept secret, if you're a plant nerd, a beautiful library entirely filled with books on plants. They also have a curated, monthly art show.
Native Plant Salvage — Based in Thurston County, they host two native plant sales each year and when they do, their website is a treasure-trove of informative specifically for gardeners.
Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center — Visit the farm for information, inspiration and a few native plants from their farm stand.

Web sites

Homegrown National Park — Learn how all our yardly efforts can add up into one, giant ecosystem.

Xerces Society — Depending on your current world view, start with learning why or how to conserve invertebrates, aka bugs!

Wild ones — Provides inspiration and resources on how to go about designing your garden to choosing plants, plus support for gaining neighborhood and HOA support.

Podcasts

Growing Old: Tales from an Urban Canopy — What could Seattle be like in 50 years if we plant a forest of trees today?

Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden — This podcast will introduce you to people and organizations that are looking at gardens in new and profound ways.

For The Wild: An Anthology of the Anthropocene — Philosophical support for your biofilia.

Books

Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Plants give us so much, but this book teaches us ways to give back.

Cascadia Field Guide, edited by Elizabeth Bradfield, CMarie Fuhrman, and Derek Sheffield

A rare field guide that groups plants and animals together by habitat, and then teaches through their connections to each other, indigenous knowledge, natural history, art, and poetry.

The Comfort of Crows: A backyard year, by Margaret Renkl

Have you been vexed by animals eating your plants? Renkl's ethos is that her plants are for them too.

What we're reading now

I had the opportunity to hear Patty speak at a Townhall Seattle event, and finally began tucking into her book after a friend at King's Books in Tacoma gifted it to me around Christmas time. Patty was a student of Robin Wall Kimmerer's and I immediately recognized her as a like-minded soul. I love finding authors like Robin and Patty who remind us that feeling close to nature is normal and our birthright as earthlings. -- Lisa

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Resources

Local Organizations

King County Conservation District — Start here native plant sales, soil testing, community gardens, and more.

Noxious Weeds — Find out if a weedy species on your property is a regional problem plant.

Green Seattle Partnership —Forest restoration starts at home! But you can learn a lot by volunteering at local parks. Find event details here.

UW Botanic Gardens — Classes, workshops, events, and updates on the Washington Arboretum and Center for Urban Horticulture.

Elisabeth C Miller Library — Seattle's best-kept secret, if you're a plant nerd, a beautiful library entirely filled with books on plants. They also have a curated, monthly art show.

Native Plant Salvage — Based in Thurston County, they host two native plant sales each year and when they do, their website is a treasure-trove of informative specifically for gardeners.

Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center — Visit the farm for information, inspiration and a few native plants from their farm stand.