Great Lakes Region Field Guides: A Book Review of What's Doin' the Bloomin'?

The Great Lakes region enjoys a profusion of wildflowers, grasses, and more throughout most of the seasons.  In fact, plant life here is as diverse as anywhere in the US.  What’s Doin’ the Bloomin’? by Clayton and Michele Oslund is an excellent field guide that showcases the variety of flora in the upper Great Lakes.

The subtitle of the book states what areas the guide covers - Pictorial Field Guide of Wildflowers, by Season, of the Upper Great Lakes Regions, Eastern Canada and Northeastern U.S. Both of the authors are experienced gardeners, and Clayton Oslund is a professor of botany and horticulture. They also bring their talent as photographers to the book.

There are several things that make this a handy field guide to take along on your travels. The first is that some of the chapters are broken up into the seasons of spring, summer, and fall. Whether you’re walking in a park or trail during your vacation or stop to smell the flowers on a road trip, you can quickly go to the appropriate seasonal section to find the flower you’re looking for.

The photography is what will help you quickly identify the plants.  It is incredibly clear and superbly done with pictures large enough so that you can really match the plant to the photo.  Some of the plants have close-up photos at different stages of blooming and from several angles.

The flowers are listed by their common name first with botanical names and plant families after. Each listing includes a brief explanation of the growing pattern and other details specific to each flower. The authors purposely left white space on each page so notes can be jotted down regarding the date and place each plant was spotted.

Some of the other chapters go beyond wildflowers and take a look at flowering trees and shrubs, herbaceous and woody vines, grasses, and ferns. There is also a short reference section explaining how plants are sorted into families and what common traits plants within each family share.

The authors admit that no field guide can be complete including their own. With the amount of territory they had to cover however, they provide a good overview of the vast number of plants in the area. I highly recommend What’s Doin’ the Bloomin’? for flower lovers who live or plan on traveling to the upper Great Lakes region.