Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife

by Noreen Damude, Kelly Conrad Bender

Creating backyard habitat to attract wildlife is what this book is all about. We yearn to get back to nature and to experience the sights and sounds of species other than our own. Watching hummingbirds flitter from flower to flower, chickadees and titmice snatch seeds from a feeder, and dazzling butterflies tilt lazily through the air as they scout for food is indeed satisfying to the soul. To observe such wonders, however, we need to entice the presence of the creatures that call these marvels into existence. Expansive, well-manicured yards with only the occasional tall tree do not support a great diversity of wildlife. Multiple layers of vegetation and native grasses with varied spacing between patches provide the heterogeneity that different species of wildlife require, while bringing pleasure to the eye. This book tells you how and what to plant to provide food and shelter for native wildlife. Most important, it does so by furnishing lists of plants appropriate to the specific region of Texas you live in. (Texas is a big state, and its plant and animal life changes considerably as you go north and south, or east and west.) Beautiful color photographs of different kinds of gardens and the many kinds of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates that can be attracted to them are generously displayed throughout the informative text.

Genres: Gardening

387 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It appears that 2009 has an updated version of this book which includes a searchable CD which was EXACTLY what I wanted. This is a good COMPANION book for helping design a Texas garden. For example, I like growing X plant which attracts Y butterfly. Well, this book tells you that Y butterfly larvae need Z plant in your garden also. Another thing I ADORE about it is it shows a map of the different regions in Texas and provides an excellent guide on the unique attributes of these regions. Finally, it gives lovely instruction on birdhouse building. So I don't kill A plant which attracts B bird then I can build a birdhouse for B based on specific instructions! Or better yet, I want bird B so I plant A and build birdhouse for B and we can enjoy bird B in our garden.
Additionally, there's great instructions on how to plan a garden. Since I've been more of a toss plants at my yard and see what happens kind of gardener this is useful instruction.
Finally, GREAT photos of wildlife.