Rewild Your Garden: Create a Haven for Birds, Bees and Butterflies

by Frances Tophill

**A SUNDAY TIMES GARDENING BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020**

'A must-read for every gardener who wants to up their game for wildlife and do their bit for the planet.' -- Isabella Tree

'A refreshing, uplifting and positive look at the true value of a garden.' -- Alan Titchmarsh


The perfect book for any gardener looking to get back in touch with their wild side.

The rewilding of public spaces and farmland is vitally important to conservation, but how can we support native species and provide rich habitats on our own doorsteps?

In this practical, beautifully illustrated guide horticulturalist and Gardener's World presenter Frances Tophill shows you how to plan and maintain a beautiful garden that will attract bees and birds as well as a throng of unsung garden heroes. Whether you have a small balcony or a large open space, discover the joys of welcoming natural ecosystems back into your garden - along with a host of new visitors.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Nature, Environment, Reference, Ecology, Animals

191 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2020

Reviews

[Artemis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, succinct, lots of heartwarming bits to it without being wordy. Lots of things available to learn from.....

But.... The dreaded "avoid chemicals" statement.
Everything is chemicals. Everything. We want to avoid toxic compounds - yes... But everything that exists on this planet is a chemical.
A lack of acknowledgement of this throws suspect all statements of plants having medicinal value because I can't trust the author to vet the information they are given.

Also some really bad decisions were made on book structure such that those with vision issues may not be able to read a few pages.
Black ink on dark purple background. Eesh.

[Vikki Littlemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in their garden, and using it to help wildlife in any small way. It's full of interesting ideas; not necessarily massive projects on a grand scale, but tiny, everyday changes that we can all make with little time or expense, but will have a huge impact in helping wildlife, and the world around us. It really makes you want to get out and plant some trees, and lavender for the bees. A lovely, friendly, and informative read.

[Valeriia Arnaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Благодаря этой книге я узнала, что всё делаю в своем саду правильно. А делаю я ничего.

[Stuart Aken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitled ‘Create a Haven for Birds, Bees and Butterflies’, this lovely little book gives practical guidance on how to do just that. Written to inform simply and comprehensively, the book also gives reasons for making changes to what are often gardens artificially regimented by tradition, ideas of taste, a desire to ‘tame’ nature, or simple lack of time and/or the means to cultivate our individual plots of land. The good news is, once you take steps to allow nature a role in your garden, the amount of work needed to keep it an attractive and useful patch is easily dealt with.
Frances Tophill, from the BBC’s ‘Gardener’s World’, provides examples of the types of wildlife your garden can attract and help protect from the growing threat of species extinction. Having such creatures in your garden will enhance its beauty while giving vital support to wildlife that is often in decline. She also gives lists of the plants that will help in this process and those that should be avoided, especially the invasive species of both native and non-native plants.
The book starts with a series of informative and fascinating chapters on the garden ecosystem. It continues with a section about introducing wildlife, explaining how such creatures can be beneficial to the garden or to the environment in general terms. The final part is a small section on seasonal maintenance of a rewilded garden, with a few pages of useful resources to follow.
I read this book after starting to convert my garden to a low-maintenance space because of advancing years and problematic arthritis. I’m glad I found it before I’d completed this programme, as it’s given me ideas, and practical advice, which will make that process both easier and more productive of environmental benefits.
A word of warning; be careful if you choose to read this book. If you have any sense, any sort of social or environmental responsibility, or suffer from concern about wildlife and the planet, you may find this book will completely transform your neat, cultivated, planned, and regimented garden into a meadow full of wildflowers, a small copse supporting a multitude of wild creatures, or a wildlife reserve!
Such results will, of course, be rewarding and beneficial to wildlife, the environment, and you.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, with a lot of helpful and practical ideas for rewilding and welcoming wildlife into your garden, no matter how large or small a space you have to work with. The book is laid out in an easy to read format, with simple explanations and absolutely gorgeous illustrations.

Frances outlines traditional gardening methods, as well as wildlife gardening approaches, and the total rewilding approach.

There are so many ideas in this book, including a section on how to create a pond and one showing how to create a living/green roof. I'm sure there'll be something that everyone can apply to their gardens and outdoor spaces.

I've seen some reviews from people who were disappointed to find that this is a British book, and so the plants Frances talks about aren't necessarily ones that would be native to their countries. However, I do think there are plenty of ideas and principles in this book that can be applied no matter where you live, so with a little research it wouldn't be difficult to find the best plants for your locality.

[cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh so many good ideas in this sweet little book. Excited for the next growing season.

[Laura F-W · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very attractive coffee table book but a bit light on practical planting tips and plant combinations

[Jayne Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book packed full of very useful information on how to help wildlife in your garden.

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really easy to read and drop into check something up. It idefinitely makes you think on how much we really need to do in the garden does it has to be immaculate? Simple good instructions to help rewind your garden to give it back to nature and wildlife.
Some really good ideas and easy to do the tasks and covers lots of knowledge on plants, care of wildlife and encouraging more into your garden.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is an excellent manifesto for rewilding , it was light on practical ideas for achieving it.

[Julie Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Im sorry to say that as an avid gardener I had high expectations of this book but alas it failed to deliver.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is well written and beautifully illustrated! I learned a lot about all levels/layers of a typical garden’s ecosystem, and I thoroughly enjoyed the attainable approach this book provided. I like that the author provided descriptions of various methodologies used as a way for the reader to be able to pick out aspects from each to implement to fit various lifestyles & budgets. Other books like this left me feeling very overwhelmed and like I need to overhaul my entire yard in order to accomplish any benefits, but this book enforced that there are plenty of small steps I can take to still make an impact in my yard.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely devoured this little book. It is a goldmine of information on how to garden kindly to the animals and insects around us.

It’s set out in chapters but there are lots of singular pages which give a more detailed look at a particular animal, plant or insect, which really helped a reader like me, relatively new to gardening, to understand fully the positive impact that rewilding can have.

I think you probably do need some knowledge of gardening before you start to get the most out of this, but not a huge amount.

Would highly recommend!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frances Tophill is a horticulturist, author, and contributor to BBC's Gardener's World. In Rewild Your Garden she covers the benefits and mechanics of rewilding your land. She writes crisply with a voice that is both passionate and aloof. It is a joy to read, and the artwork throughout the book is wondrous.

This book doesn't go into the weeds on ecology (Natures Best Hope, Tallamy, is good at that) or plant selection (not an issue, since I don't have land in England and this is covered in nativeplantfinder.nwf.org). She also suggests that in some instances, e.g. flowers, near native species ("that's anything from countries that surround you or are in the same biome and region" p. 48) are as effective as native species. I'm not familiar with this research. My guess is, in the US, this is akin to saying contiguous states may share native plants. Not too surprising.

The fact that this book is short on some detail is a plus. It gives the book's message even more energy.

[Karen's World · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute brilliant book, it covers everything to rewild your garden and it does not cost anything, you just do things a bit differently. Even if you just want to do a bit of getting back to nature you can find simple things to do here in this book. I love Francis as her writing is so down to earth just like she is. Definitely a book to keep on the coffee table or bedside cabinet so you can just pop in and change the way you do some things. Well recommended and deserves 10 stars. Also this will probably be my book of the year, that’s how good this really is.

[Laurena Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully produced book - one of those books which is lovely to look at and to hold. It had lots of advice about encouraging wildlife into your garden, and was helpful in making decisions about how much to rewild, from just planting more bee-friendly plants to allowing nature to take over completely. I will be returning to this book and dipping into it for more advice as I need it.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple straight-forward advice for welcoming wildlife back into your gardens. Definitely written for a UK audience, but general enough that it covers gardens all over the world. However, where specific species are mentioned, be sure to research something similar for your own area. Adorable illustrations! Wish the book listed the illustrator.

[Brooklyn Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a flower-loving gal doing my best to respect nature while gardening, I loved this read! It's lovely to have a straightforward and lighthearted guide for finding my personal sweet spot between utilizing the land and working with the surrounding ecosystem. I can't wait to apply these suggestions and sip my coffee with critters abound.

[Tyler D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and straightforward. A gentle reminder to those of us working to turn our garden spaces into wildlife sanctuaries to get back to work. Not full of hyper-detailed plans so much as general ideas and some nice lists and graphics to consider.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely little book with beautiful colourful illustrations.
How to encourage wildlife into your garden.
Create the best footpath to not hinder the worms or hedgehogs.
Choose the best flowers for the bees and particular insects.
Have a browse and enjoy creating a wildlife haven.

[Bethany Patchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful addition to wildlife gardening library

I always appreciate more ideas for bringing life to our garden, and this had many. Even though I live in Nashville and not England, I still can use most of the advice.

[Elisabeth Rose]

I love this book, I read it for second time, as it really inspires me and gives so many great ides about co/creating with the local plants for all the wonderful wild life. Beautiful, inspiring reading.

[Grant Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful wee book. Full of great hints and tips. Preaching patience and recasting garden villains as just a normal part of an ecosystem. Full of great tips of turning a garden into a habitat but also a place to enjoy for people.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting book, but I wish I had looked a little closer since all the info applies to the uk. I will be able to use some of it, but not all. The pictures and simple breakdowns were great though.

[Katie Prater · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. I, of course, completely missed the “from BBC’s Gardener’s World” credit for the author, and thereby also missed that this would be most helpful in specifics for gardeners in the UK. That said, the general themes and tips were marvelous.

[Moira Gibbons · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book. Some great ideas for giving the garden back to nature. I have been rewikding my garden for last few years and this has given me some more work to do! Definitely recommend reading the book and rewilding your garden.

[Katey Lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spent a lovely afternoon reading Frances Tophill's Rewild Your Garden. Useful tips, sections on some of Britain's favourite creatures and projects such as natural fences and bug hotels...

[Amy Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely introduction to rewilding to those who are starting out with the concept. Lovely tone and illustrations. Would make a great gift.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ! Colourful and some good ideas ! Liked the advice on building a pond !