Review by Carolyn SummersContinuing our review of Bringing Nature Home, by Douglas Tallamy, this book is an irresistible invitation to all of us to open our hearts, minds and gardens to the little critters that make the world run. Not just butterflies and other pollinators, but all manner of wondrously bizarre-looking caterpillars and bug larvae, which just happen to be the only food source for over 90% of our baby birds. This book has the potential to be as influential as Sarah Stein’s Noah’s Garden. It has certainly influenced my own work. I believe it will help convince many more gardeners and landscape professionals to turn away from stylish biological deserts and towards gloriously productive wildlife habitats.
My single disappointment with the book is a lack of information about maintenance. How do we keep from undoing our good work by mowing or raking at the wrong time? It would be nice to have some signal, tied perhaps to some annual phenomenon such as shadbush flowering, to let us know that the over-wintered caterpillars are out and about and we can commence spring clean-up without harming them. Others may wish for more specific information about using native plants in many different design situations. In my forthcoming book, Indigenous Plants for Northeastern Gardens, Restoring the Food Web One Plant at a Time, I will address those and related topics. The book, published by Rutgers University Press, will be available in spring 2010.
My single disappointment with the book is a lack of information about maintenance. How do we keep from undoing our good work by mowing or raking at the wrong time? It would be nice to have some signal, tied perhaps to some annual phenomenon such as shadbush flowering, to let us know that the over-wintered caterpillars are out and about and we can commence spring clean-up without harming them. Others may wish for more specific information about using native plants in many different design situations. In my forthcoming book, Indigenous Plants for Northeastern Gardens, Restoring the Food Web One Plant at a Time, I will address those and related topics. The book, published by Rutgers University Press, will be available in spring 2010.
Scroll down to read Part 1 and 2 of this book review.
I’d like to thank Carolyn Summers for giving her time to write this wonderful article during such a busy time. I just got a call yesterday from a gentleman who went out and got the book on Carolyn’s advice. He was quite pleased, and asked me to let her know!
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