Attracting birds and butterflies : how to plant a backyard habitat to attract winged wildlife

Format:

Book

Title:

Attracting birds and butterflies : how to plant a backyard habitat to attract winged wildlife

Author:

Ellis, Barbara W. author

ISBN:

9780358106425

Publication:

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.

Physical Description:

266 pages : color illustrations, maps (some color) ; 24 cm.

Series title(s):

Home grown gardening guides.

General Note:

Includes index.

Derived from Taylor's weekend gardening guide to attracting birds and butterflies.

Contents:

Welcoming winged wildlife -- Creating a bird garden -- Planting for hummingbirds -- Attracting butterflies.

Summary:

A quick-reference guide to attracting birds and butterflies for gardeners with little experience and time. In the eye of a bird or butterfly, the typical suburban landscape resembles an unfriendly desert. Closely mowed lawns, tightly clipped shrubs, raked-up borders, and deadheaded flowers mean no place to nest, no food to eat, and nowhere to hide. To the humans who live there, this means no bird songs, no colorful butterflies, no dazzling hummingbirds, no night-sparkling fireflies. Creating a garden that welcomes these creatures may seem like a confusing and complicated task, but the principles involved are relatively simple. Essentially, wildlife needs food, water, and shelter, just like we do, and this lavishly illustrated guide shows which plants attract which creatures, and how to plant and care for them.

Subject(s):

Gardening to attract birds.

Butterfly gardening.

Birds -- Ecology.

Genre:

Reference works.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Stayton Public Library	639.978 ELLIS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	639.978 Ellis	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Monmouth Public Library	639.978 Ellis, B. 2019	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Salem Main Library	639.978 Ellis 2019	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Silver Falls Library	639.978 ELLIS	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A quick-reference guide to attracting birds and butterflies for gardeners with little experience and time.

In the eye of a bird or butterfly, the typical suburban landscape resembles an unfriendly desert. Closely mowed lawns, tightly clipped shrubs, raked-up borders, and deadheaded flowers mean no place to nest, no food to eat, and nowhere to hide. To the humans who live there, this means no bird songs, no colorful butterflies, no dazzling hummingbirds, no night-sparkling fireflies.

Creating a garden that welcomes these creatures may seem like a confusing and complicated task, but the principles involved are relatively simple. Essentially, wildlife needs food, water, and shelter, just like we do, and this lavishly illustrated guide shows which plants attract which creatures, and how to plant and care for them.

Author Notes

BARBARA ELLIS, a former gardening editor at Rodale Press and the publications director of the American Horticultural Society, is the author of many gardening books. She resides in Chestertown, Maryland.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

There is no mystery to creating a garden that attracts birds and butterflies, Ellis (How to Prune Trees and Shrubs), publications director for the American Horticultural Society, asserts in her comprehensive volume--it's simply a matter of facilitating the food, water, shelter, and security any animal needs to flourish. In the book's first section, "Welcoming Winged Wildlife," she shows how to translate these basic features into "wildlife-friendly yards and gardens... filled with flowers from spring to frost, brilliant berries, and glistening water--along with dazzling birds and butterflies." The second section, "Creating a Bird Garden," describes using nest boxes, shrubs, brambles, grasses, and vines to make an inviting space for roosting or nesting. The next, "Planting for Hummingbirds," covers eclectic horticultural possibilities, urging the planting of such flowers as foxgloves, columbines, snapdragons, and hollyhocks. The final section, "Attracting Butterflies," highlights the milkweed plants, which will attract, in addition to monarchs, species that include "painted ladies, viceroys, skippers, and question marks." Spanning horticulture, ornithology, and lepidopterology, Ellis's encouraging primer will help even the most modest gardener create a lively and colorful habitat for winged creatures. (Feb.)

Booklist Review

Derived from a Taylor's Guide and two Bird Watcher's Digest books, this Home Grown Gardening series guide to inviting winged visitors to one's garden includes guides to plants, birds, and butterflies. A brief summary of the necessities for attracting flying wildlife includes food, water, nesting sites, and plant arrangement. Then three sections address specifics for nurturing bird, hummingbird, and butterfly habitats. Each section suggests plants along with accoutrements for shelter and water, followed by one-page profiles of common North American creatures featuring information such as common and Latin names, description, identifying marks, sounds, behavior, host plants, nectar plants, life cycle, habitat, and general frequency of backyard sightings. The plant profiles include common and Latin names, description, growing information, and color photos, as well as specific details about which birds, hummingbirds, and/or butterflies they may attract to the garden. This handy reference guide covers more varied ground than typical and will be very useful for gardeners focused on welcoming birds and butterflies. Includes current (2012) USDA Hardiness Zone map and index.--Anne Heidemann Copyright 2020 Booklist

Introduction	p. 1
Welcoming Winged Wildlife
Food	p. 5
Water	p. 13
Cover and Nest Sites	p. 16
Arranging Cover Plants	p. 18
Growing with Your Design	p. 24
Creating A Bird Garden
Feeding the Birds	p. 30
Nest Boxes and Other Features for a Bird Garden	p. 33
Trees for a Bird Garden	p. 37
Shrubs and Brambles for a Bird Garden	p. 66
Flowers, Grasses, and Vines for a Bird Garden	p. 80
Bird Profiles	p. 88
Planting For Hummingbirds
What Attracts Hummingbirds?	p. 118
Flowers for Hummingbirds	p. 121
Vines for Hummingbirds	p. 155
Trees and Shrubs for Hummingbirds	p. 164
Hummingbird Plants for Southern Zones	p. 166
Hummingbird Profiles	p. 170
Attracting Butterflies
Butterfly Garden Features	p. 192
Flowers for Butterflies	p. 194
Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Butterflies	p. 204
Butterfly Profiles	p. 206
Hardiness Zone Map	p. 248
Photo and Illustration Credits	p. 251
Index	p. 253

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

Table of Contents