The cover of The Wisconsin Nature JournalThe cover of Native Plants of WisconsinThe cover of The Night Sky over Wisconsin

Guides Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Set

Three printable Wisconsin editions in one purchase — the twelve-month journal, the native plants reference and the stargazing guide — for less than the three cost apart.

  • Three printable Wisconsin editions, in one checkout instead of three
  • Twelve undated Wisconsin month pages to write the year down in
  • The Wisconsin native plants reference, with bloom windows and zone timing
  • The Wisconsin night sky guide — dark places and the year's meteor calendar

$29.00one-time$33.98 bought separately

Instant download · yours to keep, with no account and no renewal · full refund within 30 days

A look inside

What the Wisconsin pages actually look like

From the Wisconsin editions

Some of what is actually in the set

The Wisconsin Nature Journal

Each Wisconsin month page carries that month's reference side — the blooms, trees and butterflies Wisconsin actually has then. Names you will meet in it:

  • Marsh Marigold
  • Bloodroot
  • Sharp-lobed Hepatica
  • Large-flowered Trillium
  • Wild Lupine
  • Prairie Blazing Star
  • New England Aster
  • Sugar Maple
  • Quaking Aspen
  • Tamarack
  • Eastern White Pine
  • Paper Birch
  • Bur Oak
  • Monarch
  • Great Spangled Fritillary
  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
  • Mourning Cloak
  • Red Admiral
  • Black Swallowtail

Native Plants of Wisconsin

61 native species are profiled for Wisconsin, chosen for hardiness zones 3a–5b. A dozen of them:

  • Purple Coneflower
  • Black-Eyed Susan
  • Butterfly Weed
  • Common Milkweed
  • Swamp Milkweed
  • Wild Bergamot
  • Scarlet Beebalm
  • New England Aster
  • Aromatic Aster
  • Showy Goldenrod
  • Stiff Goldenrod
  • Wild Columbine

The Night Sky over Wisconsin

Every dark-sky place the Wisconsin edition sends you to, and every meteor shower it tracks through the year:

  • Newport State Park
  • Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
  • Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest
  • Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
  • Rural Driftless Area (southwestern Wisconsin)
  • Quadrantids
  • Lyrids
  • Eta Aquariids
  • Southern Delta Aquariids
  • Perseids
  • Draconids
  • Orionids
  • Southern Taurids
  • Northern Taurids
  • Leonids
  • Geminids
  • Ursids

How the Wisconsin year breaks down

Counted, not claimed

Across the twelve Wisconsin month pages the reference side draws on 7 wildflowers, 6 trees, 6 butterflies and 7 things coming into season locally.

Something in the Wisconsin list is in bloom from March through November, and June is the peak — 28 of the 61 species are flowering then.

18 of them are caterpillar host plants and 23 support specialist bees — the ones that do the most work in Wisconsin yards.

On the 2027 numbers the standout for Wisconsin is the Quadrantids — about 120 an hour at its peak with the moon only 18% lit, best after midnight into dawn.

The Geminids, by contrast, peak against a 100%-lit moon that year — the kind of night the guide tells you to skip rather than let you find out at 2am.

The calendar runs every major shower of the year — 12 of them — with the moon's brightness worked out for each peak, so Wisconsin knows which nights are worth the drive.

In the box

Exactly what you receive

The Wisconsin Nature Journal15 pages — twelve month pages plus covers and how-to
Native Plants of Wisconsin10 pages — the species table, bloom windows and planting calendar
The Night Sky over Wisconsin8 pages — the meteor calendar, dark-sky places and seasonal targets
Pages in all33, across 3 Wisconsin files
What you save$4.98 — $33.98 bought apart, $29.00 bought together
FormatPDF, laid out for both Letter and A4
DeliveryAn instant download link, plus a link you can re-open for 72 hours
AccessYours to keep — no expiry, no account, no subscription
RefundsFull refund within 30 days, no questions

How it works

From checkout to the field

  1. Buy it

    Checkout takes a card and an email address — no account to create.

  2. Open it straight away

    The download link appears immediately and the Wisconsin files are yours to keep.

  3. Use it through the year

    Print the Wisconsin pages you want and take them outside; they are laid out with room to write on as the season moves.

The set, or the pieces

Both are honest ways to buy the Wisconsin editions

One at a timeThe Wisconsin Set
What you getWhichever single Wisconsin edition you pickAll three, together
CheckoutsOne for each — there is no cart hereOne, for the whole Wisconsin set
What it costs$33.98 for the three apart$29.00, saving $4.98
If you only want oneBuy it on its own; every Wisconsin edition is sold separatelyThe set is only worth it if all of it is new to you

Before you buy

Who this is for

Made for

  • Someone starting from nothing who wants the Wisconsin basics in one go
  • Gardeners in Wisconsin who also go out after dark
  • Anyone giving the whole Wisconsin set rather than a single file

Not for

  • Anyone who already owns one of the three Wisconsin editions in it — buy the rest singly instead
  • Anyone who wants the Wisconsin Nature Year; that is the bigger book, sold on its own page

Everything here describes typical timing across Wisconsin, drawn from long-run records — weather, elevation and how close you are to water all move the real dates around. So the Wisconsin pages say "usually early May" and never "May 4th", which is not hedging but the most the data can honestly carry.

Questions

Before you decide

What exactly is in the Wisconsin set?

Three things, sold separately elsewhere on the site: The Wisconsin Nature Journal, Native Plants of Wisconsin and The Night Sky over Wisconsin. You get every file each of them contains.

What if I already own one of these Wisconsin editions?

Then buy the others on their own — the Wisconsin set only saves money if all of it is new to you, and we would rather say so than take $29.00 for a file you already have.

Is this cheaper than buying the Wisconsin editions one at a time?

Yes — $29.00 rather than $33.98, a saving of $4.98. There is no cart here, so buying them apart also means checking out 3 separate times.

Do the Wisconsin files arrive together?

They arrive as one download list on one page — 3 files in all for Wisconsin, each downloadable on its own, and the link re-opens for 72 hours.

How accurate is the timing for Wisconsin?

It describes typical timing across Wisconsin drawn from long-run records, and because weather, elevation and habitat move real Wisconsin dates around it says "usually early May" rather than "May 4th".

Is it worth paying when the Wisconsin pages here are free?

The free Wisconsin pages are the month you are in; these are the Wisconsin editions around them — planned before the year arrives, and printable, so you are not holding a screen in the garden.

Will it work for my part of Wisconsin, or just the big cities?

It is written at state resolution — Wisconsin as a whole, with regional notes where Wisconsin genuinely differs end to end, and nothing behind it is recorded finely enough to honestly promise more than that.

What format is the Wisconsin edition, and can I print it?

A PDF laid out for both Letter and A4, one page per sheet — printing it is the point, since the Wisconsin pages are made to be carried outside.

What if the Wisconsin set is not what I expected?

Email hello@birchcompass.com within 30 days for a full refund on the Wisconsin edition, and keep the files either way — asking for them back would be theatre.

Everything in this set is also sold on its own — The Wisconsin Nature Journal, Native Plants of Wisconsin and The Night Sky over Wisconsin — and the free Wisconsin pages cover this month either way.

The rest of the Wisconsin shelf

Also for Wisconsin