Lynn Steiner isn't what you'd call a native plant nut. She clearly prizes prairie plants, but the soft-spoken author is the master of the measured approach. Though she's been writing almost exclusively about natives since 2003, she's never gone in for the hard sell. She doesn't denigrate non-natives (which she refers to as cultivars or traditional landscape plants) or insist that a good garden is all native or nothing. Her new book, "Prairie Style Gardens" (Timber Press, $34.95), is a practical guide that focuses on the native grasses and perennials that do best in a back yard.
We talked to Steiner about the "relaxed" nature of prairie plants, her take on non-natives and what's growing in her own Stillwater area garden.
Q How did you get into gardening?
A I saw this program on public TV about a horticulture program at the U on cold-tolerant blueberries. Something just clicked with me. I thought, "Wow, people can really make a career of studying and growing plants."
Q And you've made a career of writing about plants.
A I feel very lucky to have been able to marry my two loves - gardening and writing, and to throw in photography, as well.
Q You've been focusing on native plants for almost a decade. Why?
A I always was fascinated with what I called wildflowers. Walking in the woods, I'd say "Oh, I wish I knew the name of that plant." But it wasn't until I was asked to write a book about native plants ["Landscaping With Native Plants of Minnesota"] that I really got into them. I read books, searched the Internet, studied prairies. It was a real self-study. And the more I learned about them, the more I fell in love with them.
