• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Perennials for Midwestern Gardens: Book Review

September 1, 2008 By Carol Michel 4 Comments

We could have a good debate about who has the most challenging climate to garden in. Other than those who live on “the fringes” in climates that barely sustain life anyway, I’m sure we would all make a good case for our own particular challenges.

Here in the Midwest, we are challenged by hot summers that offer many days in the upper 80’s and low 90’s with high humidity, and cold winter nights that can see temperatures dip below 0 F. And the ground can freeze and thaw all winter long.

We soon find out that not every perennial flower likes our growing conditions, even if we find that perennial for sale at a local garden center or big box store. That’s why I was pleased to get a copy of a new book on perennials, Perennials for Midwestern Gardens: Proven Plants for the Heartland by Anthony W. Kahtz.

Browsing through this book, I looked up plants I know well from my own garden, like Amsonia tabernaemonta, which I call Blue Dogbane, but Kahtz calls Willow Blue Star. I like that better as a common name, so will call it that in my own garden. I also read with great interest his advice for growing Delphinium hybrids, which should help me in my quest to get these to thrive around here.

I then checked out some perennials I haven’t grown before, like Echinops ritro, Globe Thistle. I am good at growing common weedy thistles, so I should do well purposely growing a “thistle’ that has some ornamental value, not to mention blue flowers.

I like how Kahtz has presented each plant in this book, with a picture, a little fact box with hardiness zone, origin, height, spread, use, season of bloom and key characteristics, followed by his own thoughts and advice and some varieties to try.

Kahtz included 140 plant profiles in this handy reference book, some for old familiar perennials, others for perennials new to me, and all for perennials that will do well in the challenging conditions here in the Midwestern states. While these clearly aren’t all the perennials that will grow in the Midwest, it’s a long list and even just following it, you could end up with a lot of variety in your garden.

This is a welcome addition to my library, a good book to have close at hand for reference whenever I’m looking for new perennials to grow in my garden. It would be good for any gardener in USDA hardiness zones 3 – 6, in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, along with Indiana.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: books, perennials

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rose says

    September 1, 2008 at 3:51 am

    Carol, I bought this book about a month ago after seeing an article about it in our local newspaper. I had thought about writing a review of it myself, but procrastinated…and I wondered what expert gardeners like yourself would think of it. Glad to know you have found some useful information in it, too.

    As for me, the novice gardener, I think it’s a great reference book. I like that all the plants are accompanied by a photo. And I find myself thumbing through it again and again to get ideas for more native plants in the garden.

    Great review; I second your recommendation for this one!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    September 1, 2008 at 3:55 am

    Sounds like a great book to reference for your garden zone. I am adding that Echinops ritro ‘Globe Thistle’ to my garden this fall. It looks like a great plant.

    Reply
  3. Whyite says

    September 1, 2008 at 2:12 pm

    Regardless if the tag says one zone higher than ours, I just have to try it out.

    Reply
  4. garden girl says

    September 1, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    Sounds like a good one to have Carol. Thanks for the review! I recently got the Sunset Midwest Landscaping Book, and Illinois Garden’s Guide. I definitely enjoy having some gardening references on hand that are specific to the local climate and highlight local natives as well. Your pick sounds like another good reference to add.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT