A glance at the contents page reveals an introductory chapter and 6 chapters dealing with specific habitat types or regions. It confirms that about 40% of the book is devoted to lists. The formal "Introduction" tells us that 73% of Americans consider themselves environmentalists, and that we can exhibit our environmentalism by growing native plants. Further along we learn that "This book is addressed principally to gardeners who are just beginning to consider wildflowers and to enthusiasts who want to arrange their collections of wild species into graceful landscapes." In another words it should be a useful tool for both the novice and experienced wildflower gardener.
A tall order that is.
From the very beginning the author seems to be in continual conflict over what is considered to be an acceptable wild flower and to be in conflict with conventional native plant aficionados as to acceptable collection methods. In the opening chapter, Going Wild, the author relates his introduction to wildflower gardening. He tells of his first experiences. Now undoubtedly he intended to relate mistakes as learning experiences, a truly useful teaching technique. However, I was disturbed by his seeming lack of conscience regarding the wild collecting of plant specimens. "Finally, to get late blooming species (may the gods of conservation forgive me), I dug some clumps from plentiful stands on our place and along the country roadsides." Now it is one thing to collect from the land you "own" and quite another to traipsing down country lanes digging plants on the property of others, including the publicly held rights-of-way.
Mr. Wilson seems to have anticipated my objections; "I rationalized taking a few plants from plentiful stands in the wild by vowing to give away their progeny to friends who visit my garden. I would never take plants of the slow-to-grow and difficult-to-transplant pink lady's-slipper orchid, Cypredium acaule, of Trillium grandiflorum, or any other rare species. In my opinion, taking a few plants from plentiful wild stands for private gardens isn't a black and white matter." Well Mr. Wilson, where is a chapter or two on acceptable collection criteria. If this is a book for novices, then such a discussion should be mandatory, not utterances such as this: "...some of the stands are on power-company rights of way, that company just disc plowed the great expanse of beard-tongue that I raided earlier. The roadside flowers grow just back of a closely mowed strip and are endangered by periodic grading and mowing to keep down brush." Perhaps I am a prisoner of my training as a forester here, for I am aware that every plant occupies a niche, or has a specific range of environmental circumstances in which it will thrive. It would seem to me that the beard-tongue thrived as a great expanse precisely because "that company" created and maintained conditions conducive to its thriving. And perhaps the wildflowers that grow just back of the closely mowed strip do so because of the periodic disturbances, and are not in fact endangered by them.
