HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

      Midwest gardening focuses on changing seasons, so this book is divided into chapters covering spring, summer, fall, and winter, with some inevitable overlapping between the seasons. Each section contains a seasonal selection of alphabetically listed introduced (that is, nonnative, alien, exotic) garden flowers and plants that are popular in the Midwest. We list each plant and flower by its common name(s), followed by the family, genus, and species. Then we state its origin, which is frequently Asia or Europe. Next, we present the plant’s height, notable ornamental features (flower color, leaf shape), and cultivation requirements. An invasiveness note is provided if U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) maps or other resources indicate that the plant has naturalized or become invasive in the Midwest. Using “I” for “Introduced,” USDA maps reveal the great extent to which nonnative flowers and plants have moved into our Midwest ecosystems. USDA maps also document the Midwest’s threatened, endangered, rare, and extirpated native plants. Please reference USDA Plants at http://plants.usda.gov/.

      Selecting the most popular nonnative plants turned out to be an eye-opener. The choices offered by most national nursery outlets, mail-order catalogs, large local nurseries, supermarkets, and garden centers are usually between one nonnative plant and another nonnative plant. Because mainstream sellers rarely offer native plants, it is no wonder imported plants dominate our gardens and landscapes and that we see fewer butterflies. In response to the increasing interest in native flora, some mainstream plant businesses include a few popular native plants. Though these offerings are usually hybrids or cultivars, popular demand is creating better choices. As customers we should ask sellers to offer native plants.

      Following each nonnative entry is the heart of this book: descriptions of regionally native midwestern plants and flowers that resemble the nonnative plant in height, notable ornamental features (flower color, leaf shape), and cultivation requirements. The term “native midwestern plants” means plants that occur naturally in this region and were not introduced by direct or indirect human actions. These days it is easy to obtain native flowers, shrubs, trees, and grasses from the many native plant nurseries that sprung up in response to the needs of today’s buying public. In addition to native plant mail-order catalogs, Web-based native plant catalogs, local native plant nurseries, and native plant landscapers there are native plant sales run by park districts, forest preserves, community organizations, and native plant associations. Following each native plant entry we present a nature note, referencing some of the connections between a native plant and wildlife, especially butterflies and other native insects, because most native insects lay their eggs on native plants, which they require for successful reproduction.

      Some plants in this book may be familiar under other common or botanical names. We often list several common names for nonnative plants and native alternatives (later references to the plant use only the first common name listed). But a plant’s botanical name is its only positive identification. This is why its botanical name should be verified before making a purchase or before incorporating plants provided by a neighbor or a friend. Occasionally even botanical names change, so if one doesn’t ring a bell, check its current status. For example, due to reclassifications of an American genus, Symphyotrichum is increasingly used instead of Aster. For butterflies, common and taxonomic names have changed significantly, and some quite recently, over the past century.

      Our focus on native plants in the Midwest, an admittedly broad and imprecise region, is complicated by the