Synopses & Reviews
With the accelerating pace of development and subsequent habitat destruction, the pressures on wildlife populations are greater than they have ever been in our nation's history. Fortunately, there is still time to reverse this alarming trend, and gardeners have the power to make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity.
As this revelatory book eloquently explains, there is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. Indeed, most native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plant species disappear or are replaced by alien exotics, the insects disappear, thus impoverishing the food source of birds and other animals. In many parts of the world, habitat destruction has been so extensive that local wildlife populations are in crisis and may well be headed toward extinction.
By favoring native plants, gardeners can provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds. This doesn't necessarily entail a drastic overhaul of existing gardens. The process can be gradual and can reflect both the gardner's preferences and local sensitivities. To help concerned gardeners, this clearly reasoned account includes helpful lists of native plants for different regional habitats.
Healthy local ecosystems are not only beautiful and fascinating; they are also essential to human well-being. By heeding Douglas Tallamy's affecting arguments and acting upon his practical recommendations, gardeners everywhere can make a difference.
Review
"This book aims to motivate parents and caregivers who are concerned about childrens' lack of connection to the outdoors." Anne Raver - USA Today
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"The book evolved out of a set of principles. So the message is loud and clear: gardeners could slow the rate of extinction by planting natives in their yards. This simple revelation about the food web--and it is an intricate web, not a chain--is the driving force in Bringing Nature Home." Anne Raver - New York Times
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"We all know where resistance to natives, reliance on pesticides, and the cult of the lawn still reign supreme: suburban America. And suburban America is where Doug Tallamy aims the passionate arguments for natives and their accompanying wildlife." Judy Brinkerhoff - Garden Rant
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"A fascinating study of the trees, shrubs, and vines that feed the insects, birds, and other animals in the suburban garden." Elizabeth Licata - New York Times
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"An informative and engaging account of the ecological interactions between plants and wildlife, this fascinating handbook explains why exotic plants can hinder and confuse native creatures, from birds and bees to larger fauna." Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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"This book not only shows how important native plants are but also how easy they can be to incorporate into a landscape plan." Ann Lovejoy
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Bringing Nature Home opens our eyes to an environmental problem of staggering proportions. Fortunately, it also shows us how we can help. Sally Cunningham - Petaluma Argus-Courier
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You can look at this book as a manifesto explaining why we should favor native plants, but it's much more than that. It's a plan to sustain the endangered biodiversity and even more, it's a plan to transform suburbia from an environmental liability to an environmental asset. Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp - Eco-Libris Blog
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This updated and expanded edition ... is a delight to read and a most needed resource."
Warwick Beacon
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"This book will not only foster a love of the outdoors in all who read it, but also create a deeper understanding and appreciation of the intricate web of wildlife outside your door." Cabin Life
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"In an area that is as open and wooded as ours, we may not be aware that there is more to the need for natives than concern about invasive species that upset an ecosystem. According to Tallamy, a balanced ecosystem needs more insects. It is when the balance of the system is disrupted that problems arise." The Recorder
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"Tallamy's book is a call to arms. There is not much ordinary citizens can do to create large new preserves. But we can make better use of the small green spaces we have around our houses. While the situation in the United States is quite serious, Tallamy offers options that anyone with a garden, even a postage-stamp-sized one like mine, can do to help." St. Petersburg Times
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"Tallamy makes such a compelling case for the importance of insects to birds that I've completely changed the way I garden. From now on, insect attractors are my first choices." Birding Business
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"Tallamy illustrates well how gardeners have contributed greatly to tipping the environment off balance and how they are equally able to turn the trend ... Plants and insects are integrally intertwined. Understanding the beauty of these relationships deepens our appreciation of our gardens and the important role we play." Winston-Salem Journal
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"[It] is the book that is going to change how gardening is conducted over the next century." Winston-Salem Journal
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"Doug Tallamy's book is a gift. It's not the kind of gift wrapped with a pink ribbon and a tiny rose tucked into the bow. It's the kind of gift that shakes you to your core and sets you on the path of healing. Your garden. Your planet. One plant at a time. Open it." Plant Whatever Brings You Joy Blog
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"Buy, borrow, or steal this book! It is essential reading with ideas that need to become part of our understanding of how life works on this planet." Plant Whatever Brings You Joy Blog
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"This book is not a rant on nature gardening, nor is it a typical garden design book, or a stuffy academic textbook. The author might be a professor ... but he has written a book which is readable, scientific, fascinating, and highly digestible." Prairie Moon Nursery blog
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"This is the 'it' book in certain gardening circles. It's really struck a nerve." Loving Nature's Garden Blog
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"My book of choice of the year." Philadelphia Inquirer
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He combines the passion which many of us have, with the science, and that’s a winning combination. Sally Cunningham - Buffalo News
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“Tallamy explains in beautiful prose the importance of native plants to our wildlife.” Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp - Indianapolis Star
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"[It] is the book that is going to change how gardening is conducted over the next century." Ants, Bees, Birds, Butterflies, Nature Blog
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"This is the 'it' book in certain gardening circles. It's really struck a nerve." Philadelphia Inquirer
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"My book of choice of the year." Buffalo News
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He combines the passion which many of us have, with the science, and thats a winning combination. Indianapolis Star
Review
“Tallamy explains in beautiful prose the importance of native plants to our wildlife.”
Synopsis
The pressures on wildlife populations today are greater than they have ever been and many gardeners assume they can remedy this situation by simply planting a variety of flowering perennials, trees, and shrubs. As Douglas Tallamy points out in this revelatory book, that assumption is largely mistaken. Wild creatures exist in a complex web of interrelationships, and often require different kinds of food at different stages of their development.
There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. When native plant species disappear, the insects disappear, thus impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. Fortunately, there is still time to reverse this alarming trend, and gardeners have the power to make a significant contribution toward sustainable biodiversity. By favoring native plants, gardeners can provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds.
Healthy local ecosystems are not only beautiful and fascinating, they are also essential to human well-being. By heeding Douglas Tallamy's eloquent arguments and acting upon his recommendations, gardeners everywhere can make a difference.
Synopsis
As development and subsequent habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations. But there is an important and simple step toward reversing this alarming trend: Everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity.
There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife -- native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. In many parts of the world, habitat destruction has been so extensive that local wildlife is in crisis and may be headed toward extinction.
Bringing Nature Home has sparked a national conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human well-being, and the new paperback edition -- with an expanded resource section and updated photos -- will help broaden the movement. By acting on Douglas Tallamy's practical recommendations, everyone can make a difference.
About the Author
Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware where he has authored 80 research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, Humans and Nature, Insect ecology and other courses for 32 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His first book Bringing Nature Home was awarded the 2008 silver medal by the Garden Writer’s Association. Doug was awarded the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd Jr. Award of Excellence in 2013.
Rick Darke is a landscape design consultant, author, lecturer, and photographer based in Pennsylvania who blends art, ecology, and cultural geography in the creation and conservation of livable landscapes. Darke served on the staff of Longwood Gardens for twenty years, and in 1998 he received the Scientific Award of the American Horticultural Society. His work has been featured in the New York Times and on National Public Radio. Darke has studied North American plants in their habitats for over three decades, and his research and lectures have taken him to Africa, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, and northern Europe. His books include The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes (2007), The American Woodland Garden (2002), and In Harmony with Nature (2000).