Companion book to Bringing Nature Home. It’s been a while since I read the previous one, so a bit difficult to put my finger on how the focus is different between the two- because in a broad sense, they’re about the same thing? This book is also about how important it is for everyone to do something to support wildlife, specifically “the small things that run the world”- the insects- because they are the base of so much other life on earth. It’s about why you should remove invasive plants- and exactly why they are so damaging to the environment, making entire systems collapse or become sterile- and what types of plants you should choose to replace them. I should have realized that plants have keystone species just like animals- ones that are so important to the support and health of all the rest that without them the ecosystem is seriously degraded. The author reiterates over and over through this book which half a dozen shrub, perennial and tree species will provide food and shelter for the greatest number of insects, and thus birds (specifically to the Eastern United States). He points out that it doesn’t matter how small your yard is, or how few resources you have- just starting by removing one invasive, or by planting one native that feeds insects and/or birds, will start a change. Notes how even a small yard can be an oasis for wildlife in the middle of a built-up city, bringing in birds and other creatures from miles around. His biggest points seem to be: make your lawn smaller, plant more natives- but not just any native- ones that are keystone species- and remove as many destructive, invasive plants as you can. Other helpful tips, like: don’t put up a huge “bee hotel” with hundreds of cavities. This makes bees susceptible to their predators. Instead make smaller blocks with drilled holes, and space them out through the yard. Make sure to keep your yard tidy and have at least a strip of well-manicured lawn with nice edges out front where people see it. This gives the impression that the area is cared for, so that wilder looking collections of plants, or unfamiliar natives that some people call weeds, will be more accepted by your neighbors. Made me chuckle a bit, because how true that is. The book also made me sigh, because now I think I’ve now identified another invasive in my own yard which I need to work at removing.
So a lot of it felt like re-iteration from the other book, the same things explained a bit differently. My copy is full of photographs, which I really appreciate, especially of all the birdlife and interesting caterpillars. It’s surprisingly heavy, though. Might actually be the reason it took me two or three weeks to gradually read this one, in between a bunch of others, because sometimes merely the idea of the weight in my hands made me pause and reach for a different book instead, ha. It’s nice that in the back, the author has a kind of question-and-answer section, where he addresses common objections people have to making the changes to their yards and landscapes that he recommends. I learned some from that, too.