Collins Wildlife Gardener by Stefan T. Buczacki
This is the ultimate gardening book for all wildlife lovers, written by the leading expert in the field. This book debunks the myth that you need to grow a jungle to attract wildlife, and instead shows how to create suitable habitats without compromising on the aesthetics. The book begins by examining the appeal of gardening for wildlife and why it is ecologically beneficial to do so, then goes on to teach the essential principles for creating wildlife-friendly habitats. The first section takes a creature-by-creature look at how to attract the most popular type of animals to your garden, covering birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, insects and invertebrates, and unusual native plants like mosses, ferns, fungi and lichen. The next section focuses on simple ways to transform existing areas of the garden into thriving wildlife habitats: beds and borders, hedges, containers, walls and fences, kitchen gardens, lawns, trees and shrubs, rock gardens and water gardens. For those who want to take wildlife gardening to the next level, the final section provides an in-depth look at how to create a dedicated wildlife garden, taking the author's own extensive and long-established wildlife garden as its template. A detailed resources section provides contact details for specialist suppliers and conservation organisations.