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A review by fallona
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy
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.