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ktroney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
earthgirl207's review against another edition
4.0
This book makes a compelling case for how gardening with native species can turn sterile suburban yards into refuges for wildlife. Native species provide food for insect larvae in ways that nonnative species can't, and the larvae are themselves important food sources for birds and other wildlife. Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware, explains the science behind all of this in a way that is both accurate and accessible. The book's appendices include lists of the host plants of specific butterflies and moths as well as lists of species native to particular regions of the US. A must-read for the ecologically-minded gardener.
sheila713's review against another edition
3.0
Engaging. Emphasized using plants native to your part of the country, as opposed to using alien plants introduced to the US from other countries, even 100s of years ago. The book points out how using foreign plants upsets the delicate ecosystem.
craftygoat's review against another edition
3.5
Probably 3.5-ish. Listened to the audiobook, which wasn't the best (it was especially annoying when the performer paused and slowly pronounced the Latin names for each species). I also got a hard copy of the book so I could reference the pictures and charts, and I think I might have had a better impression if I approached it from the book first.
I do feel the message is an important one. I already considered myself pretty "bug" friendly, but this book has convinced me I need to rethink my approach. One of the main takeaways is that native plants and insects co-evolved over centuries, causing non-native plants to be useless to the creatures that live here. That makes non-natives -- at best -- a waste of sunshine. Some become invasive and displace the native plants, which can destroy ecosystems and contribute to species extinction. So I'm definitely interested in growing more natives.
However, the book is very regionally-focused. If you don't live in the Northeast part of the US, the examples aren't really relevant. I would love to see something with a broader focus.
I do feel the message is an important one. I already considered myself pretty "bug" friendly, but this book has convinced me I need to rethink my approach. One of the main takeaways is that native plants and insects co-evolved over centuries, causing non-native plants to be useless to the creatures that live here. That makes non-natives -- at best -- a waste of sunshine. Some become invasive and displace the native plants, which can destroy ecosystems and contribute to species extinction. So I'm definitely interested in growing more natives.
However, the book is very regionally-focused. If you don't live in the Northeast part of the US, the examples aren't really relevant. I would love to see something with a broader focus.
leaf_lynne's review against another edition
4.0
Humans suck. I hate how much we’ve destroyed our native plants :(
dlrcope's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a must have for all gardeners. It explains how to garden in a way that supports nature and why it is essential that we do that. The book changed the way I see plants, trees and bugs around me, making them even more personal, more individual than before. This book is now in the top 100 books of my personal library.
maxstone98's review against another edition
5.0
Not a 5 star read in the sense of "oh my god this was amazingly written", but 5 stars in the sense of enhancing my understanding of how the world works.
In general, I'd say "native" seemed to me like a good feature of a plant, in a way that "organic" seems like a good feature of food, but I didn't really understand why it was so important (and hence kind of wondered in fact *whether* it was so important), beyond avoiding introducing species to places that end up totaling dominating that area.
It's the insects!
The main things I was missing were:
-most plants try to not be too easily digestible, in general (as opposed to their fruits or whatever), by every insect so they don't get gobbled up. But a plant species generally can't keep itself inedible to all insects; something evolves to be able to eat a type of plant, and this is a co-evolution that takes place over thousands of years or longer
-when you move a plant to a new area, it isn't generally more fit for that environment (a point I have been confused about; in a race where the victor is most adapted to an environment, why should a non-native plant or animal be the victor?), but it *is* less susceptible to being eaten by insects, because the insects that evolved over thousands or more years to digest it aren't around.
-"insect resistant" seems like a really good feature of a plant! (that you put in your yard). but it is not because...
-insects are mostly how the energy gets from the sun --> plants --> (insects) --> bigger critters like birds. Plants that don't feed insects still do some useful things for birds, like grow berries and provide shelter, but are missing a key ingredient, which is the protein/fat the birds get from eating insects, and without which they can't rear their young
-so, you need lots of insects. and to have lots of insects you need native plants. In fact the author goes so far as so pretty much define native plants as ones that local insects can feed on, which I think makes sense because otherwise the word "native" is pretty vague.
The author further notes that you can actually accomplish this rearing of insects and hence other fauna in a pretty small area, like your yard.
And then if you live in the northeast US, there's tons of info about particular plants (especially trees) and particular insects. One punchline is: oaks are awesome. Not sure how useful these lists are if you live elsewhere.
In general, I'd say "native" seemed to me like a good feature of a plant, in a way that "organic" seems like a good feature of food, but I didn't really understand why it was so important (and hence kind of wondered in fact *whether* it was so important), beyond avoiding introducing species to places that end up totaling dominating that area.
It's the insects!
The main things I was missing were:
-most plants try to not be too easily digestible, in general (as opposed to their fruits or whatever), by every insect so they don't get gobbled up. But a plant species generally can't keep itself inedible to all insects; something evolves to be able to eat a type of plant, and this is a co-evolution that takes place over thousands of years or longer
-when you move a plant to a new area, it isn't generally more fit for that environment (a point I have been confused about; in a race where the victor is most adapted to an environment, why should a non-native plant or animal be the victor?), but it *is* less susceptible to being eaten by insects, because the insects that evolved over thousands or more years to digest it aren't around.
-"insect resistant" seems like a really good feature of a plant! (that you put in your yard). but it is not because...
-insects are mostly how the energy gets from the sun --> plants --> (insects) --> bigger critters like birds. Plants that don't feed insects still do some useful things for birds, like grow berries and provide shelter, but are missing a key ingredient, which is the protein/fat the birds get from eating insects, and without which they can't rear their young
-so, you need lots of insects. and to have lots of insects you need native plants. In fact the author goes so far as so pretty much define native plants as ones that local insects can feed on, which I think makes sense because otherwise the word "native" is pretty vague.
The author further notes that you can actually accomplish this rearing of insects and hence other fauna in a pretty small area, like your yard.
And then if you live in the northeast US, there's tons of info about particular plants (especially trees) and particular insects. One punchline is: oaks are awesome. Not sure how useful these lists are if you live elsewhere.