Planting for Native Birds, Bees and Butterflies: How to create a garden that attracts Australian wildlife

by Jaclyn Crupi

An essential, eye-opening (and beautiful) guide to the simple, sustainable ways we can invite more native birds, bees and butterflies into our gardens and outdoor spaces.

'Simple everyday steps to growing habitat for our precious pollinators and wildlife.' Costa Georgiadis

'I love this book! There's so much to learn and apply for any garden context to help our native wildlife thrive.' Hannah Moloney

'Filled with down-to-earth advice, this wonderful book places environmental stewardship at the heart of successful home gardening.' Kate Flood, The Compost Coach

Countless Australian species of birds, bees and butterflies are in decline or threatened with extinction, but you can help.

Writer and gardener Jaclyn Crupi shows us that protecting and fostering precious native wildlife starts in our own backyards. The first start planting! And choose native plants where possible. This alone presents endless opportunities for habitat creation – sometimes it's the smallest actions that make the biggest difference. Providing a well-placed dish of water on a hot day or allowing leaf litter to stay where it falls are among the many other super simple ways you can make your garden more attractive to native birds, bees and butterflies, and in turn benefit all species.

Loads of practical advice for gardeners and novices alike
Detailed planting plans for all types of gardens, from native to exotic, coastal to food forests 
Bird, bee and butterfly galleries to help you identify your visitors

Includes conversations and insights from other beloved Australian garden experts (Jac Semmler, Sam Cox, Hannah Moloney and Clarence Slocklee) in a standout hardback package.

Genres: Nonfiction

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 29, 2025

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit different to my normal read, but I got so much out of this book. So many practical ideas and tips for habitat gardening without making it overwhelming (even for a complete novice!).

I’m very inspired, and have already started making changes to our garden to invite in more native birds, bees and butterflies!

[Kalliste · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much great info in this book. It make starting a native garden feel a bit less intimidating and has lots of useful information on birds, insects, lizards and more. I'm looking forward to making a better ecosystem wildlife in my backyard.

The only thing missing here was more info on weeding. It's mentioned multiple times how to weed between pavers/concrete but nothing if you have a lot of weeds to remove (which I do), other than to leave them where you pull them unless they've gone to seed.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of good information. I found reading the pages with coloured paper quite difficult.

[happylittlebirdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Hey · Rating 4 out of 5]

-informative
-simple
-inspiring

Reminds you to just plant natives and let things go wild