Bauer, Nancy. The Habitat Garden Book: Wildlife Landscaping for the San Francisco Bay Region (Coyote Ridge Press, 2001). Clear and compact beginner’s guide to native and non-native plants that attract birds, bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects.

Clarke, Charlotte Bringle. Edible and Useful Plants of California (University of California Press, 1978). Information on the uses of wild California plants.

Emery, Dara E. Seed Propagation of Native California Plants (Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1988). Out of print but available from www.cnps.org.

Francis, Mark and Andreas Reimann. The California Landscape Garden: Ecology, Culture, and Design (University of California Press, 1999). Bringing the California landscape and wildlife into the garden through ecological gardening practices.

Hagen, Bruce, et al. Compatible Plants Under and Around Oaks (Oakland: California Oak Foundation, 2000). Guidelines for planting under or near native oaks.

Hayes, Anne and Shannah Anderson. The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the East Bay (Aquatic Outreach Institute, 2001). Useful beginner’s guide to plants and resources for the East Bay native plant gardener.

Jepson, Willis Linn and James C. Hickman. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California(University of California Press, 1993). Detailed reference on the botany of California native plants.

Lowry, Judith Larner. Gardening with a Wild Heart (Berkeley: U.C. Press, 1999). Meditation on wildland ecology, restoration gardening practices, and native plant horticulture.

Ornduff, Robert. An Introduction to CaliforniaPlant Life (Berkeley: U.C. Press, 1974). Guide to California’s plant communities and the environmental influences that determine their distribution.

Peirce, Pam. Golden Gate Gardening: The Complete Guide to Year-Round Food Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area & Coastal California (Sasquatch Books, 1998). Provides tips for growing food plants suitable for California’s Bay Area coastal microclimates. Includes generally applicable sections on soil and pest management.

Schmidt, Marjorie. Growing California Native Plants (Berkeley: U.C. Press, 1980). Detailed growing information for many native plants.

Sonoma County Master Gardeners. Flora for Fauna: Habitats for Birds, Butterflies, and Beneficial Insects (Wayward Gardens, 1999). Includes a database of plants and the types of fauna they attract.

Stein, Sara. Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards (Boston/N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1993). Follows the transformation of the author’s garden as part of her efforts to restore the native ecosystem.