Resources

Forest

Climate Change Tree Atlas

The Forest Service’s climate change tree atlas showing predicted range shifts for most of our tree species under different climate change scenarios. I hope this crucial work survives our current administration. There is also a companion site for birds.

Richard T. Holmes and Gene E. Likens, Hubbard Brook: The Story of a Forest Ecosystem (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016).

A detailed but readable overview of New England’s most important long-term forest study site.

John Laird Farrar, Trees of the Northern United States and Canada (Ames: Wiley-Blackwell, 1991).

This is the best field guide to trees, but it is limited to those species found in Canada. There is a newer version, Trees in Canada, published in 2017.

L. Katherine Kirkman, Claud L. Brown, and Donald J. Leopold, Native Trees of the Southeast: An Identification Guide (Portland, Or. London: Timber Press, 2007).

For trees too southern for Farrar.

Donald Culross Peattie, A Natural History of North American Trees (Trinity University Press, 2013).

The most beautifully written of all books about trees, although it might be a bit too lyrical for some.

David A. Perry, Ram Oren, and Stephen C. Hart, Forest Ecosystems, 2nd edition (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013).

An accessible and fascinating forest ecology textbook for those of us in temperate climes, although it is getting a bit outdated given all that we have learned about trees in the past decade.

Tom Wessels, Brian D. Cohen, and Ann H. Zwinger, Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England, 1st edition (Countryman Press, 2005).

This book will change the way you look at forests.

E. Lucy Braun, Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America (The Blackburn Press, 1950).

A comprehensive labor of love surveying almost every forested ecosystem east of the Mississippi, including many old-growth stands that have since been logged.

William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (Hill and Wang, 2011).

Not without problems, but still the classic New England environmental history.

Gardens

Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher, Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change (Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, 2016).

Asks the important question: what would happen if I did nothing? A great approach for gardening hand in hand with nature.

Monty Don, The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening (DK, 2021)

Folksy and friendly—albeit very British—overview of all things gardening.

Thomas Rainer and Claudia West, Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes (Timber Press, 2016)

Insightful discussion of gardening’s role in these ecologically troubled times.

James Hitchmough, Sowing Beauty: Designing Flowering Meadows from Seed (Timber Press, 2017).

Very useful reference for growing plants from seed in situ.

David L. Culp and Rob Cardillo, The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage (Timber Press, 2012).

A more ornamental than ecological approach, but lovely to look at, and certainly an improvement over your average suburban yard.

Rick Darke and Douglas W. Tallamy, The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden (Timber Press, 2016).

All of Tallamy’s books are great; you might as well start at the beginning.

Orchard

Michael Phillips, The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way (White River Junction (Vt.): Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012).

Michael Phillips, The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist, Enlarged 2nd edition (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2005).

These are the best introductions to growing fruit trees for those trying to minimize harmful sprays. There is some overlap between the two, but each has enough unique information that I found it worthwhile to read both.

Roger Deakin, Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees (New York London Toronto Sidney: Free Press, 2010)

A wonderful book, worth reading just for the description of Kazakhstan’s wild apple forests.

Rowan Jacobsen, Apples of Uncommon Character: Heirlooms, Modern Classics, and Little-Known Wonders, First Edition (New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2014)

Fanciful and memorable descriptions of many of my favorite apples.

Joan Morgan and Alison Richards, The New Book of Apples: The Definitive Guide to Over 2,000 Varieties, Revised edition (London: Ebury Press, 2002).

Very UK-centric, but marvelously comprehensive.

Claude Jolicoeur, The New Cider Maker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Craft Producers (White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2013).

For those of us who like to drink our fruit.