The Landscaping Ideas of Jays: A Natural History of the Backyard Restoration Garden (Paperback)

by Judith Larner Lowry (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"There is much wisdom here."--Ibis

Product Description
Elegantly organized by season, this lyrical yet practical guide to backyard restoration gardening celebrates the beauty, the challenges, and the rewards of growing native plants at home. Judith Larner Lowry, winner of the prestigious John Burroughs award, here builds on themes from her best-selling Gardening with a Wild Heart, which introduced restoration gardening as a new way of thinking about land and people. Drawing on her experiences in her own garden, Lowry offers guidance on how to plan a garden with birds, plants, and insects in mind; how to shape it with trees and shrubs, paths and trails, ponds, and other features; and how to cultivate, maintain, and harvest seeds and food from a diverse array of native annuals and perennials. Working in passionate collaboration with the scrub jays, quail, ants, and deer who visit her garden, and inspired by other gardeners, including some of the women pioneers of native plant horticulture, Lowry shares the delights of creating site-specific, ever-changing gardens that can help us better understand our place in the natural world.


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Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (April 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520249569
• ISBN-13: 978-0520249561
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #154,893 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, July 17, 2009

By	T. Burd (Californa, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an exquisite book. Each chapter is an essay on some aspect of native gardening -- the role of woody debris in forests, backyard quail havens, decidications to the pioneers of native preservation gardening, and many more, each essay is so beautifully and eloquently written. I am inspired and sometimes laughing out loud at the clever, fascinating pieces. I even stole out of bed at 1 am with a flashlight to see exactly what kind of clarkia I had planted in the yard! (incidentally these were seeds I'd ordered previously from Larner's). I am very appreciative of this movement to preserve the native species of California. Having lived here for over 20 years, I had done many miles of hiking and biking, but never gave native flora a thought until I became the steward of a plot of dried up grass with the usual mismash of exotic plantings. I am in the process of converting the whole thing to permeable hardscape and native plants (all diy). One of these days, I am going to play hooky and drive from the south bay up to Larner's! Thank you for a lovely and inspiring book.