Natural Habitats and Wildlife Gardening: Inviting Nature into Your Backyard

by Dr. Shaun McCoshum

Learn how to use ecology to turn your backyard into a thriving haven for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife with this engaging, marvelously illustrated guide

Native plants are essential for healthy ecosystems that support insects and animals, but vegetation alone does not provide the necessary resources for most creatures or their life cycles. This book breaks down ecological processes that regulate habitats and explains how to recreate vibrant, gorgeous, natural habitats in your own backyard—ones that attract pollinating insects, birds, and other suburban wildlife while appealing to neighbors and friends. It focuses on how to rebuild broken processes and covers a wealth of topics, such as the importance for gardens that support wildlife to include shelter, nest sites, hydration areas, and places to overwinter. Written by a leading expert, Natural Habitats and Wildlife Gardening is an easy-to-understand primer on ecology and ecological processes that explains innovative conservation and ecological ideas for small and large garden designs. This book will interest gardeners, land managers, natural science majors, and urban planners.


Shares design tips for creating robust garden habitats for insects and animals, giving step-by-step instructions that are easy to followDraws inspiration from wild habitats and their ecosystems, showing readers how to cultivate aesthetically beautiful home gardens that replicate healthy natural landscapesProvides a deep understanding of natural processes and systems in simple termsIncludes detailed species profiles for common insects (including bees), amphibians, birds, and reptiles, with an emphasis on key resources to include in your landscape designsExplains how to replicate roles of absent animals including bison, wolves, and beavers and processes like floods, fires, and ecological succession, which naturally regulate and create habitatsDiscusses the specific requirements of ecosystems across North AmericaFeatures hundreds of stunning color photos

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Gardening, Plants

352 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2026

Reviews

[Margaret Steward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just got my copy and I am so excited to learn more about gardening to encourage native wildlife. The photos and illustrations are beautiful, and this is clearly a well-researched book. I’m especially excited to put into practice tips from the chapter on small-scale urban conservation.

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes native plant gardening to the next level. There is a lot of food for thought in here, but at times it reads like a textbook or reference book. Essentially, the idea is that while planting native plants is good, just putting in a couple beds of native wildflowers for pollinators does not replace all the habitat that has been lost. Ecosystems and their previous engineers (bears, beavers, bison, etc.) are examined, and ways to replicate some of what was lost in an urban or suburban garden are discussed (wood piles, rock shelters, ponds). Also ways to mow, prune, and trim like absent grazers and move rocks/logs and break up wood like absent predators. The book is not regionally specific but attempts to cover the entire United States, so the species listed may or may not be present in your area. As the author states, "No garden should incorporate all of the processes discussed in this book."

For fellow native gardeners in the Pacific Northwest, I highly recommend the older but still valuable book, Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest by Russell Link.

[Patti Jahsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. For anyone who wants to help many of the species struggling to survive on this planet, this is a book I highly recommend. Filled with many very doable projects that will help make your yard, no matter how large or small, ( even a balcony) a places where a wide variety of species can thrive.