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Reviews
Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens by Douglas W. Tallamy
dkremraf's review
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.5
As someone who loves to garden and deeply believes in the need to transform all green spaces to natural habitats and native plants to support all biodiverse (including human) life, this was a very lovely read. It is a great one for beginners to this topic.
vharting's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
I loved this book and appreciate all the pictures, lists, and charts it included. I’m always inspired by Doug’s writing.
fallona's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting, but as with many similar books, I feel that I would have a hard time taking much of the book's advice. It suggests 15' wide border plantings if you have a small lot... my lot is only 35' wide, which at that point I'm not sure a 15' wide border still constitutes a border. Still, if you have a larger yard and are curious about the interplay between native plant species, beneficial native insect species, and birds--it's certainly an interesting book with useful information! Even with such a small yard, it did give me a few ideas of types of plants I might consider adding to my yard/garden, and also had some useful information on what makes for a truly effective butterfly garden.
That said, the book does rely on the reader already being fairly sympathetic to its ends. If your initial reaction to the idea of providing insect habitat is "why would I want to do that, they make me itchy," you really have to get quite far before you realize that he doesn't mean biting insects or the kinds of insects that will destroy your vegetable garden. But then, most books that offer advice about what to do with your house or garden do rely on the reader sharing at least some of the design sensibilities of the author--at minimum.
That said, the book does rely on the reader already being fairly sympathetic to its ends. If your initial reaction to the idea of providing insect habitat is "why would I want to do that, they make me itchy," you really have to get quite far before you realize that he doesn't mean biting insects or the kinds of insects that will destroy your vegetable garden. But then, most books that offer advice about what to do with your house or garden do rely on the reader sharing at least some of the design sensibilities of the author--at minimum.
questionablyevil's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
Great resource for changes that feel actionable
thedisfiguredpeach's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good book, but I felt like the ideas he put forward in the book weren’t new to me. It was probably made for people with less knowledge on topic coming into reading it. In addition, at least 1/3-1/2 of the book was just simply a list of different plant/insect species and a short blurb for each one. While there was some interesting information in that section, it’s not necessarily the most interesting section and isn’t presented in the best way.
antijeffbozo_love2read's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
Although it occasionally has a tendency to paint humanity as historically always against nature (which erases the philosophies and ways of life of many indigenous peoples), it is otherwise very informative and well-explained, and provides readers with much of the inspiration and information needed to enact the change it advocates for.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, Excrement, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Blood
includes pictures and discussion of insect parasites, insect mating, and predation