Northern Virginia gardeners have all kinds of publications and online databases at their disposal – free.

Most are available in PDF format so they can be viewed on anything from a desk top PC to an iPhone or Android device or be downloaded and printed.

Here is my free library:

Plant Identification

• Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (Free online; PDF available for $12 from Virginia Botanical Associates.)
• Lawn Weed Identification (Online only at University of Maryland)
• Native Plant Database (Online only at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin.)
• Native Plants for Conservation, Restoration, and Landscaping (Multiple 2-page PDFs for each region of Virginia from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.)
• Native Plants for Northern Virginia (Online and 52-page PDF.)
• Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed (Online  and 85-page PDF.) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Plants Database (Online only at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.)
•  Plants Database (Online only at The National Gardening Association.)
• Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas (Online and 172-page PDF.)
• Terrestrial Invasive Plants of the Potomac Watershed (Online and 2-page PDF.)
• Weeds of the Southern United States (Online and 47-page PDF.)

Invasive Species

• Virginia Invasive Species Plant List (Online and 2-page PDF.)

Insect Identification

• Insect Identification Lab (Online only via Virginia Tech Department of Entomology.)
• Pest Management Guide: Home Grounds and Animals (Online and 310-page PDF.)

Miscellaneous

• Selecting Landscape Plants: Groundcovers (Online and 14-page PDF.)
• Virginia Cooperative Extension (Multiple e-books.)

Also check out the blog roll on Wild Suburbia.