The American Horticultural Society (AHS) has selected its annual book award winners, recognizing outstanding gardening literature published in North America.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES, March 22, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The American Horticultural Society (AHS) has selected three winners of its annual book award program, which recognizes outstanding gardening literature published in North America. Nominated books are judged by the AHS Book Award Committee on qualities such as writing style, authority, scientific accuracy, design, and illustrations. Because successful books are necessarily a collaborative effort, these awards are presented jointly to the authors and publishers.

From the more than 55 garden books published in 2021 that were nominated for consideration in this year’s award program, the books selected to receive the 2022 AHS Book Award are:

Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects by Heather Holm (Pollination Press, Minnetonka, MN)

Heather Holm’s second AHS Book Award is even more impressive when you consider Holm took on the challenge of extolling the merits of a much-maligned insect, the wasp. Even if this book doesn’t take you from frightened to fervent, it will most definitely educate you on these tiny insects, which play an outsize role in wild and garden ecosystems.

The book details approximately 150 species of flower-visiting wasps, each depicted with amazingly detailed images. Unlike bees, which collect pollen intentionally, wasps are known as incidental pollinators, so Holm has included helpful information on the native plants they visit to gather nectar.

“This meticulously researched book leaves no doubt about how diverse, fascinating, and important wasps truly are. You might even find yourself looking up nectar plants to grow in hopes of attracting more species of these beneficial insects to your garden,” says AHS Book Award Committee member Viveka Neveln. In addition, wasp larvae are carnivorous and benefit ecosystems by keeping insect populations, including those that cause damage to crops and other plants, in check.

100 Plants to Feed the Monarch by The Xerces Society (Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA)

By now most of us are aware of the plight of the monarch butterfly and how habitat loss is contributing to its precipitous decline. If you’re keen to help reverse this downward spiral, this book provides a roadmap. The message is hopeful: Monarchs can be saved if homeowners and gardeners plant more native wildflowers, trees, and shrubs.

These regal creatures visit 470 different nectar-rich flower species to fuel their migration and lay their eggs on over 30 types of milkweeds! The 100 plants included in this book include some suited to growing conditions along the entirety of the monarch’s range.

“This is a must-have guide that contributes to enriching our awareness and understanding of the natural world, particularly the Monarch’s life cycle,” says Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago, AHS Book Award Committee member.

The Nature of Oaks by Douglas W. Tallamy (Timber Press, Portland, OR)

“I talk constantly about the importance of oak trees,” says AHS Book Award Committee member and garden radio host Doug Oster, “but The Nature of Oaks opened my eyes to a new world about the tree and a greater appreciation of oaks as a species.” Through his brilliance, the staid advice “plant an oak” transforms into a month-by-month account of the inner workings of a keystone species and the multitudes of birds and insects that feed in and on it, and underneath its wide canopy (yes, even in the dead of winter).

The book contains a comprehensive list of oak varieties, so there is sure to be one that fits any region and garden situation.

The AHS’s 2022 Book Award Committee was chaired by Kimberly Toscano Holmes, a freelance communicator and professional horticulturist based in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Members of the committee include Amy Campion, a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer and co-author of Gardening in the Pacific Northwest; Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago, a garden communicator in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Susan Eubank, an arboretum librarian at Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden; Viveka Neveln, garden editor for BHG.com in Des Moines, Iowa; Caleb Melchior, a Fort Myers, Florida-based landscape architect, writer, and podcaster; and Doug Oster, garden writer, television producer, and radio host from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Katherine Somerville
American Horticultural Society
2023863246 ext.
ksomerville@ahsgardening.org

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