{"id":30,"date":"2014-08-01T17:05:49","date_gmt":"2014-08-02T00:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=30"},"modified":"2025-10-12T18:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T01:11:17","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Real Gardens Grow Natives"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #2f5c2f;\"><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #365c2f;\">\u201cSupplies all but the sunshine.\u201d &nbsp;\u2014 <strong>Eugene <\/strong><em><strong>Register Guard<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #365c2f;\">\u201cIn our own gardens, we can contribute to the health of our planet\u2019s biodiversity by following this book\u2019s lead.\u201d &nbsp;\u2014 <em><strong>Bellingham Herald<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #365c2f;\">\u201cA common-sense approach to rewilding.\u201d &nbsp;\u2014 <strong><em>Seattle Times | Pacific NW Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=1788\">More praise from media and readers &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">G<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">et your copy of<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> REAL GARDENS GROW NATIVES&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">today at your local book or garden store<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">or online at<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountaineers.org\/books\/books\/real-gardens-grow-natives-design-plant-and-enjoy-a-healthy-northwest-garden\">Mountaineers Books,<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/real-gardens-grow-natives-design-plant-and-enjoy-a-healthy-northwest-garden-eileen-stark\/591113?ean=9781594858666\">Bookshop.org<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.powells.com\/book\/real-gardens-grow-natives-design-plant-enjoy-a-healthy-northwest-garden-9781594858666\">Powell&#8217;s Books<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/earthlove.co\/products\/real-gardens-grow-natives\">Earthlove<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Real-Gardens-Grow-Natives-Northwest\/dp\/1594858667\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37H2PUI8KGAB1&amp;keywords=real+gardens+grow+natives&amp;qid=1567447318&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=real+garden%2Caps%2C202&amp;sr=8-1\">Amazon<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/real-gardens-grow-natives-design-plant-and-enjoy-a-healthy-northwest-garden-eileen-stark\/591113?ean=9781594858666\">IndieBound<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">,<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/real-gardens-grow-natives-eileen-stark\/1119582349?ean=9781594858666\">Barnes &amp; Noble<\/a><\/span>. &nbsp;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">With an ecological perspective and an unwavering tenacity, <strong>REAL GARDENS GROW NATIVES<\/strong><\/span><strong><em style=\"font-size: 16px;\">: <\/em><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><strong>DESIGN, PLANT, AND ENJOY A HEALTHY NORTHWEST GARDEN<\/strong>&nbsp;informs, captivates, and compels us to turn our conventional yards into beautiful, functional, and humane landscapes that give back to the diverse community of life&nbsp;that thrived there not long ago.&nbsp;Welcoming wildlife and maintaining a lovely landscape are definitely not mutually exclusive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountaineers.org\/books\/books\/real-gardens-grow-natives-design-plant-and-enjoy-a-healthy-northwest-garden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-131\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/RealGardens_web-small.jpg?resize=210%2C255&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Real Gardens Grow Natives\" width=\"210\" height=\"255\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why use native plants?<\/strong>&nbsp;As our growing population continually&nbsp;overwhelms ecosystems&nbsp;and threatens the biosphere,&nbsp;effective biodiversity conservation cannot rely on isolated natural areas alone.&nbsp;One way to improve our relationship with the earth is to&nbsp;allow others their survival necessities, and&nbsp;the most straightforward&nbsp;way to do that is by protecting and restoring natural ecosystems. With thoughtful planning and the use of plants that are indigenous&nbsp;members of the local ecosystem, gardeners can contribute to global sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>Native plants \u2014 especially when grown in natural plant communities \u2014 are the foundation of the food web. They support drastically more insect biomass than nonnatives, and provide other essentials for the wild creatures who built an evolutionary partnership with them eons ago. When we garden with natives we&#8217;re doing crucial conservation work, and doing ourselves a favor as well, because native plants are low maintenance, often&nbsp;drought tolerant, and easily compete with the beauty of exotic plants. Fall in love with some of the most gorgeous&nbsp;plants in the world, right here in the Pacific Northwest!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Books with a regional focus are best<\/strong> at providing the specific information needed for gardening in that&nbsp;region. Published by Mountaineers Books,&nbsp;<strong>REAL GARDENS GROW NATIVES<\/strong><em>&nbsp;<\/em>leads us&nbsp;along the design path \u2014 from conception to implementation \u2014 with interesting stops along the way. Within the book are&nbsp;all the tools needed to plan a \u201creal\u201d garden west of the Cascades (or&nbsp;simply add some&nbsp;native species to an existing garden), including:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">* Landscape design guidance for various-sized yards, including sample plans<br \/>\n* Ways to enhance habitat and preserve biological diversity<br \/>\n* Tips on&nbsp;nurturing and sustaining healthy soil<br \/>\n* Organic techniques&nbsp;that keep a&nbsp;garden&nbsp;vibrant and&nbsp;lively<br \/>\n* Propagation methods for native plants<br \/>\n* Detailed descriptions and stunning photographs of 100 of the most garden-worthy PNW &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;indigenous plants (plus related species) that help simplify plant choice and arrangement<br \/>\n* And much more!<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Take a peek at the book&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/RealGardens_TOC21.jpg\">Table of Contents.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>The book&#8217;s author and main photographer,<a title=\"the author\" href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=34\"> Eileen M. Stark<\/a>,<\/strong> is an&nbsp;ecological&nbsp;landscape designer, writer, photographer, and naturalist who&nbsp;provides landscape&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=6376\">consultations and design services<\/a> in the Portland metro area.&nbsp;<strong>Check out her <a title=\"blog\" href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=51\">blog<\/a>&nbsp;and speaking <a href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=46\">calendar<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&gt;&gt;&gt; <\/strong>Eileen&#8217;s featured in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.powells.com\/book\/humane-gardener-nurturing-a-backyard-habitat-for-wildlife-9781616895549\/1-1\"><strong><em> The Humane Gardener <\/em><\/strong><\/a>(Princeton Architectural Press, 2017) <strong>&lt;&lt;&lt;<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Need a speaker or book signing at your <a href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=46\">event<\/a>?&nbsp;Have a brilliant comment or burning question?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/?page_id=87\"><strong>Contact the author.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>A portion of net profits is gladly donated to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.xerces.org\">The Xerces Society<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cSupplies all but the sunshine.\u201d &nbsp;\u2014 Eugene Register Guard \u201cIn our own gardens, we can contribute to the health of our planet\u2019s biodiversity by following this book\u2019s lead.\u201d &nbsp;\u2014 Bellingham Herald \u201cA common-sense approach to rewilding.\u201d &nbsp;\u2014 Seattle Times | Pacific NW Magazine More praise from media and readers &#8230; Get your copy of REAL [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P69uLV-u","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6689,"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions\/6689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realgardensgrownatives.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}