How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens

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Douglas Tallamy spoke at the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council’s http://chesapeakelandscape.org/ Turning a New Leaf conference on November 9th in Annandale, VA.  His topic for the Closing Plenary session was entitled “Gardening for Life.”  Doug, introducing his talk, said, “With nearly 1000 species of plants and animals already lost, threatened or endangered in the mid-Atlantic states, it is clear that we must change our approach to landscaping if we hope to create homes and food for our local biodiversity.  Native plants will play a key role in the restoration of our living spaces because only natives provide the coevolved relationships required by animals.  By supporting a diversity of insect herbivores, native plants provide food for a large and healthy community of natural enemies that keep herbivores in balance and our gardens aesthetically pleasing.”

Douglas Tallamy is Professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE, where he has authored over 65 research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, and other course for 26 years.  Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.

Subtitled “How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens,” his book, Bringing Nature Home was published this year.  As the book jacket explains, “With the accelerating pace of development and subsequent habitat destruction, the pressures on wildlife populations are greater than they have ever been in our nation’s history.  Fortunately there is still time to reverse this alarming trend, and gardeners have the power to make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity.

“As this revelatory book eloquently explains, there is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife.  Indeed, most native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants.  When native plant species disappear or are replaced by alien exotics, the insects disappear, thus impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals.  In many parts of the world, habitat destruction has been so extensive that local wildlife populations are in crisis and may well be headed toward extinction.

By favoring native plants, gardeners can provide a welcoming environment for wildlife of all kinds.  This doesn’t necessarily entail a drastic overhaul of existing gardens.  The process can be gradual and can reflect both the gardener’s preferences and local sensitivities.  To help concerned gardeners, this clearly reasoned account includes helpful lists of native plants for different regional habitats.

“Healthy local ecosystems are not only beautiful and fascinating; they are also essential to human well-being.  By heeding Douglas Tallamy’s affecting arguments and acting upon his practical recommendations, gardeners everywhere can make a difference.

This book might be a welcome holiday or New Year gift for a gardener that you know.  Check it out!