Planting responsibly can be a little tricky—and when your backyard is a shoreline, it can seem nearly impossible. How can you make a garden that you’ll enjoy, preserve your view, keep annoying geese from trampling your property and have a positive ecological impact? Simple: Take some tips from The Lake Minnetonka Guide to Shoreline Gardening.
(Above) Before and After
The book “looks at shoreline restoration in a slightly different way,” says Darren Lochner, education program manager at the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, which awarded writers Sam Greer and Michael Keenan a grant in 2014 to complete the project. Although shoreline restoration is widely accepted as a good idea, many previous publications saw it as just that: restoration of a natural habitat.
Sam Greer, co-author, sees things a little differently. “Homeowners can make a transformation on their shoreline that’s going to be both beautiful and improve the ecology of the lake.” In other words, aesthetics can be important—particularly to homeowners looking for a certain style, whether it’s formal or woodsy.
The authors took special care to make the book readable, too. Gone are the dense scientific texts: This book is concise, organized and filled with images.
The Lake Minnetonka Guide to Shoreline Gardening
amazon.com
minnehahacreek.org
