Here are just a few of our favorite resources we find ourselves referencing and recommending again and again. Whether you’re brand new to native plants or have been growing them your whole life, we hope you’ll find something useful!
Descriptions of Plants
- The Plant Finder from the Missouri Botanical Garden has great plant stats, plus a 🔊 button next to each scientific name that will pronounce it for you!
- Best online field guides are, Kansas Wildflowers, Missouri Plants, Illinois Wildflowers, Minnesota Wildflowers, and Native Plants of North America by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Prairie Moon Nursery has the best photos of seeds and information on how to grow from seed
Species Range Maps
The North American Plant Atlas from the Biota of North America Program (BONAP) is our favorite place to find species range maps. Find out if any species is native to your county, state, or region.
Reference Books
- Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds by by Michael John Haddock, Craig C. Freeman and Janét E. Bare
- Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas: A Field Guide by Michael J. Haddock
- Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary by James G. Harris and Melinda Woolf Harris
- Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification by Thomas J. Elpel
Braiding Sweetgrass
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a fantastic read and the source of the name of our organization. Read more about our name, Botanical Belonging.
A New Garden Ethic
Another favorite read is A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future by Benjamin Vogt. This book has another excellent philosophy of why we do what we do.
Grow Native! and Deep Roots KC
Our partners at Grow Native! as well as Deep Roots in Kansas City both have extensive websites full of reference guides, educational materials, events, classes, and more.
Botanical Belonging 