Field Guide to the Seasons

This unique field guide has three outstanding features. First, it is designed to match the way people actually experience nature: seeing plants and animals as they appear together in a particular landscape. Second: the book offers a richly nuanced depiction of nature by dividing the year into 19 distinct seasons, instead of the usual four. Best of all, readers can select any date and place to find out what plants and animals are doing anywhere in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.


Each season's chapter contains a list of flowers coming into bloom, fruits ripening, leaves turning color, etc., at that particular point in time. There are also sections on prominent landscape features, animal behavior and edible wild plants that are ready to harvest. Over four hundred color photographs accompany the text. 


The progression of seasonal change is not a seamless continuum, but occurs in stages. In this region a new set of wildflowers comes into bloom every two weeks or so during the growing season. Even in the dead of winter, things are changing. Harbingers of spring appear one by one as the annual cycle inches toward renewal.


While the sequence of seasonal changes is the same throughout the region, the timing varies by elevation, latitude and weather conditions. This book solves the problem of geographic variation by providing a Location Map and Season Timetable. Used together they identify the arrival of each season in any location selected. Indicator plants noted in each season further pinpoint timing at the local level. When lilacs start to bloom, so do columbine and wild azalea. When elderberries are ripe, lady's-tresses and Japanese knotweed will be in bloom.


In 19 seasons a year, there's always something new and interesting to see. Before you head outdoors, check out the current season where you are. Knowing what to look for makes for a more rewarding nature experience.