Nature-Friendly Garden, The: Creating a Backyard Haven for Animals, Plants, and People [Paperback]

Marlene A. Condon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2006

How to maintain environmental balance and attract wildlife

Applies to all backyard gardens, large and small with specific information on creating ponds and other water features

Accessible gardening tips for seniors and people with disabilities

Many people approach gardening as a constant struggle with the outside world. They're perpetually at war with nature, investing in weed killers and fighting off deer and birds, all in an effort to preserve their garden as a pristine patch of earth. Marlene A. Condon proposes a radically different method: What if, instead of battling the natural world, we invite it into our backyards? The result is the nature-friendly garden, which attracts and meets the needs of common creatures--rabbits, toads, insects, squirrels, owls, and so on--while maintaining a thriving, varied landscape of flowers and plants. And as this thought-provoking guide demonstrates, coexisting with nature doesn't mean turning your yard into a bramble-infested wilderness. The sustainable, low-impact garden described in these pages is a model of environmental balance, fostering species diversity while keeping wildlife damage and invasive plant growth at an acceptable minimum. Best of all, it offers a privileged look at the workings of nature, and its advice on observing wildlife is sure to open up a new and fascinating world for even the most experienced gardener.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Condon's gardening philosophy respects the needs of all natural participants in the life of the garden: plants, pests, predators, wildlife—and the gardener. She rebels against the beauty of "those ideal gardens depicted in magazines and books," pointing out that "a completely pristine appearance is impossible to maintain." Her refreshing approach focuses on the virtues of many necessities. For example, that unsightly brush pile that is simply too much work to clear right now can be a haven for numerous species. Similarly, unraked leaves shelter tree frogs, butterfly caterpillars and small animals, and lawns, which involve excessive demands on labor and resources, "have a hugely detrimental impact on your life, other people's lives, and wildlife." Condon is instructive, sometimes didactic and tends to assert opinions, such as her views on mulch (somewhat denigrated) and invasive species (disconcertingly welcomed) as facts. While beginners may benefit from her exhortations, experienced gardeners might find much to disagree with and little that is new or revealing. Regardless of their expertise, most readers will benefit from Condon's realistic acceptance of every gardener's limitations and the joys of engaging with nature on its own terms. Color photos. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

"Native wildlife" and "suburban gardens" seem to be mutually exclusive, but not according to Condon, who cheerfully invites insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals to her half-acre yard. Such detente can even extend to such legendary pests as Japanese beetles and rapacious rabbits when the right combination of conditions are created. Whereas predominantly grass-centric gardens may only encourage visits from a few select birds and butterflies, Condon envisions a world in which lawns are reduced to mere buffer zones surrounding vistas of diverse plantings of shrubs, trees, and flowers that provide lush habitats for numerous species. And Mother Nature isn't the only beneficiary; humans can experience emotional, spiritual, and physical improvements from such an ecumenical approach. From providing water and shelter for wildlife, to mulching and composting plant life, Condon covers all the bases in a thoughtful and passionate treatise on the benefits of gardening--and living--in harmony with nature. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (February 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811732614
• ISBN-13: 978-0811732611
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,095,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Indispensible Guide to Backyard Wildlife Habitat, December 21, 2006

By 

William H. Funk "fifthdirection" (Shenandoah Valley) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nature-Friendly Garden, The: Creating a Backyard Haven for Animals, Plants, and People (Paperback)

Marlene Condon's understanding of the intricacies of the natural world shines from every page of this wonderfully informative book. Condon makes it clear, in succinct, inviting prose, that she has garnered and is willing to share a great deal of personal knowledge about the critters that flock (and creep, crawl, hop and wriggle) to her paradisical backyard "garden" ... a term which itself can too often mean simply a sterilized plot for producing vegetables, but in Condon's hands reveals its earlier, edenic meaning as a place where man and nature can live together peacefully.

Among the many positive aspects of this beautifully produced book (glossy pages, plentiful color photos, quality binding) I will mention just three: a plethora of delightful natural anecdotes and wildlife factoids that will surprise even the most jaded natural history reader; a crucial chapter on the necessity of accepting--and even celebrating--the role of predation in the natural cycle of life; and thorough appendices of nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and educational facilities that can perpetuate a reader's awakening desire to integrate wildlife into their gardening experience.

Through it all this book is thickly graced by the author's professional wildlife photography, itself worth the modest price of admission. If the Romantics were correct in identifying the crucial task of the awakening mind as perceiving the remote in the intimate, The Nature-Friendly Garden must be embraced as an important step toward peeling the scales of artificiality from our eyes and opening ourselves--and our gardens--to the myriad wonders that await us. Slugs, bugs and all.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slowly Warming up to Squirrels, thanks to this book..., May 29, 2007

By 

book worm (library bookstacks) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nature-Friendly Garden, The: Creating a Backyard Haven for Animals, Plants, and People (Paperback)

I really liked this book on gardening and getting to know the wildlife in your backyard. Marlene Condon makes a good case for gardening in sync with nature versus gardening trying to fight nature, which always proves to be a never-ending. losing battle. I also appreciated very much the tips on feeding birds, and trying to understand the wildlife. The squirrels here in this neck of the woods are a very strange breed, very confrontational, rambunctious; one squirrel had a staring contest with me one morning when I knocked on the window to get it away from some things I had planted. They dug into all the container gardens I put outside, ate my bulbs - I was contamplating squirrel stew for a moment. This book has helped me overcome the squirel problem in a way; I'm sure the owl, or was it a hawk, a cat??? that had a certain squirrel snack on the deck also helped, too. Very inspirational with good tips on gardening. I think she should nearly have a call-in show on public radio....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Kinder Gentler way to Garden, September 20, 2006

By 

Anna Maki (Western Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nature-Friendly Garden, The: Creating a Backyard Haven for Animals, Plants, and People (Paperback)

I thoughly enjoyed this book. Reading this book is almost like a meditation. Rather than trying to compete with the landscape outside insurance companies, Marlene Condon encourages us to enjoy nature rather than fight it. Her book opens our eyes to the consequences of our actions, such as the snow owl who ate the poisoned mouse. Living in a region with mosquito borne diseases, I don't think I would have a pond although quite a few people do have them. Besides the change in outlook, I also picked up quite a few practical hints on feeding birds, living with wildlife and buying the proper binoculars. It feels pretty good to receive some support for a more natural form of gardening.