An interesting book, Ms. Wasowski gives us pause when she explains at the beginning why many songbirds and butterflies are endangered. She refers to their habitat, including what they should eat. Planning your native garden to include these concerns is just one of the many topics she covers.

I would have loved if the author included any cultivars of the native plant with a minor description. Instead, included with each plant listed are important hints and suggestions along with native range, related species, companion plants and wildlife that each affects. Is this a book for the beginner? Probably not. Are you looking for plants other than natives? Try something else. Would I have loved to see more information and pictures? Absolutely. Not every book will please everyone.

Among other things I look for three important criteria when giving a garden book five stars. Is it a keeper, do I want it for my bookshelf to reread and refer to at a later date? Would I recommend it to another Florida gardener that has experience with our area? Lastly, because I am visual, are the pictures in the book clear and colorful?

Because the plants she listed are NATIVES they should be able to handle our heat and humidity. What they may not handle is severe cold. When she gives you the plant's native range she is letting you know that it should do well in that general area; further north it may die. Common sense tells me that not everything listed will grow in my area of Florida even though it is a native to the south. The winter of 2009/2010 was below average for my state. Where I normally have some days in the high twenties we had continual cold getting as low as 15 degrees. Any good gardener is going to research a plant she or he is not familiar with or hasn't seen growing in their area.