Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy
A book that explains why native plants. Includes scientific data. Very readable.

The Tree Identification Book by George W. D. Symonds
Paperback book with black and white photos of trees, leaves, fruit, flowers ect.

The Shrub Identification Book by George W. D. Symonds
There are a lot of books on wildflower and tree identification, but not many at all on shrubs. This book fills the gap.

Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs by Dirr
This book has trees and shrubs that will grow from the east coast to the west coast in the north. It has both native and non native plants, but clearly states where they are native. It has wonderful color photographs.

Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines for Urban and Rural America by Gary L. Hightshoe
This book has only native plants. It includes the entire country. It has a map with each plant that is detailed down to the county. It has black and white drawings instead of color photos. I recommend using with Dirr. It also has many useful lists. For example shrubs that are shade tolerant, trees that are wet tolerant, shrubs that need acid soil ect.

American Plants for American Gardens by Edith A. Roberts and Elsa Rehmann
This book has plant communities. It has all the layers in the natural environment. It has canopy trees, understory trees, shrubs and the herbaceous layer.

The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada by William Cullina
I use this book every time I create a landscape design. My book is falling apart. It is time to buy another one. The information I use the most in this book is how far apart to plant. Many books tell you how tall plants will grow, but few tell you how wide.