No Nettles Required: The Reassuring Truth About Wildlife Gardening

Description

New packaging for this refreshing and much needed counterpoint to other books on wildlife gardening, blowing away the many myths and misconceptions on the basis of unique detailed research. In 2003 a MORI poll for the Royal Horticultural Society revealed that an extraordinary number of us are interested in attracting wildlife into our gardens. It also indicated, however, that many of us have no idea how to go about it. Information is sparse, and public opinion seems to suggest that gardens that are plentiful in wildlife are unattractive, expensive to upkeep and hard work to maintain. But this couldn't be further from the truth. In this illuminating book, Ken Thompson explains that encouraging wildlife is actually entirely compatible with ordinary gardening, costs next to nothing and is almost completely effortless. Packed with helpful hints and tips, the book shows us how easy it is to fill our gardens with everything from foxes, frogs and mice to butterflies, ladybirds and literally thousands of fascinating creepy-crawlies. Why should we? Because we'll be promoting the biodiversity of the UK, we'll be reconnecting with nature, getting more from our gardens, and we'll be doing our plants a favour.

KEN THOMPSON is a plant ecologist. he is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield where he was a key member of the first of two 'Biodiversity of Urban Gardens' (BUGS) projects investigating the significance of urban gardens as habitats for 'natural' biodiversity. Ken Thompson has written over 100 articles for scientific journals and writes a regular column on the science of gardening for Organic Gardening magazine. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed An Ear to the Ground- Garden Science for Ordinary Mortals.

A well-researched gem. I love it. Buy it and read it. -- Cleve West * The Independent * BOOK OF THE MONTH...Attractive and highly readable follow-up to his excellent An Ear to the Ground * The Telegraph, Gardening supplement * A good read: informative and well-explained. * Bob Flowerdew, Gardener's Question Time * A cheerful hand grenade of a book...fantastic science writing for a lay audience. * New Scientist * I finished this book torn between wild feelings of omnipotence and a nagging sense of guilt for poisoning the mice in my garden shed...he guides us around the millions of varieties of insects that most of us either ignore or abhor...even slugs, the gardener's most persistent foe, are given respect. -- Ludovic Hunter-Tilney * Financial Times *