Ecology for Gardeners

by Steven B. Carroll

Even a relatively small garden is a miniature ecosystem. It includes a surprising diversity of organisms that interact in a myriad of ways. Some are permanent residents, others come and go in search of a meal or a mate. An insect feeding on a garden plant is simultaneously hunted by predators and weakened by parasites; it competes with other herbivores for choice food plants; it is hindered in its feeding by the plants' chemical and physical defenses; and it challenges other members of its species for the best mates and locations for egg-laying. Ecologists Carroll and Salt argue that the more completely we understand these interactions, the better gardeners we become. The authors cite hundreds of examples drawn from personal experience and from literature on gardening and ecology.

Genres: Gardening, Nature

328 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister-in-law gave me this book last Christmas, or maybe two. It reads like a textbook, and yet it keeps reappearing on my bedside table. The reason is because of the high density of information. That can be good or bad depending on my mood.

I focus a lot on regional gardening. I obsess so much that I almost feel like I've exhausted all the information that's out there, even though I know that sounds silly. But when I pick up this book, I realize how much I don't know. For instance, I learned from this book that actinomycetes is a type of bacteria that synthesizes geosmin which is the substances that gives soil its "earthy" smell. I also learned that the seeds of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) have been known to survive in excess of eighty years. There's a lot more to this book other than quick little bits of trivia. I selected those two items because they're easy to shoehorn into a quick review.

In short, if you're into gardening, then you probably have a bunch of books already on the topic. But, this one is different. It's a very smart book, and it complements nicely the other gardening books with all the pretty pictures.

[Sara Van Dyck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Organized like a textbook but thorough, informed, surprisingly easy to read because the explanations are so – well, down-to-earth. Presents a lot of basic ecological science plus personal experiences of the authors,who are teachers and gardeners. This is applied science at its best – the authors describe their own frustrations in dealing with pests. I especially appreciated the authors’ emphasis on using practices that decrease stress on the environment, while not claiming that all-organic methods will necessarily produce satisfactory results.

[Nathan Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is seriously like a four-year program in Ecology condensed into one tome. In addition to providing the biology behind gardening, the authors do a great job of covering the applied implications of managing gardens from an ecosystem point of view.