The Plants Are Coming Home
Partnering with natives to crowd out invasives
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[An excerpt from my new guest post for Izel Plants:]
The land comes back to me in waves of beaked panicgrass and patches of false nettles rippling downslope toward their former marshy home. It speaks its name through the calls of redwing blackbirds, lost to this place decades ago but returning now to the bluestems, goldenrods, blackberries, bayberries, and swamp willows. It rings in my ears on warmer evenings, taking on the voices of spring peepers and American toads descending upon their natal pools. It flashes its sparkling blasts from the pasts through the language of fireflies who’ve lately expanded their haunts even to the front yard adjacent to the road.
To people who visit, it might seem like a subtle return. But for someone who has watched and felt and heard the longings of this little patch in central Maryland as closely as I have, it is a gathering of strength after years of suppression. It emanates from every niche and inch of this stretch of soil and water that was desecrated in the mid-70s for development. After my husband and I moved here in 2000, the messages grew stronger with each pokeweed, boneset, sumac, milkweed and walnut that sprouted rebelliously out of the dusty lawn: This is not your land. I cannot be owned. You can drain me, fill me in, build on me, but one day I will be back. And I will call all my friends back too.
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Reviewers Go Wild for Wildscape! |
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My new book, Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and Other Sensory Wonders of Nature, made its official debut on March 28. Reviews are coming in, and I'm so grateful to those who've taken the time to read and share my labor of love:
Butterfly Gardener
"This book had me enthralled from the introduction. With both scientific rigor and resonant prose, Lawson explores the world through the senses—not solely as humans understand it, but by describing the unique and diverse ways that plants and animals perceive their environments ... Her science is in-depth, but accessible; her tone, almost philosophical. An enchanting read for naturalists of all sorts.”
Library Journal
"This author's storytelling ability, along with vast, quality research that's easy to understand, make this an important addition to public and academic libraries. It is an essential read for academics, students of the natural sciences, and readers concerned about the environment."
Booklist
“Lawson’s intimate study of caterpillars, slugs, snakes, beetles, and other smaller members of her garden community leads to a deeper understanding of not only their lives but also the rich interconnectedness within even a small ecosystem. Beautifully illustrated with close-up photographs, this is a book to savor and reread.”
Publisher's Weekly
“Lawson succeeds in highlighting the wondrous abilities of plants and animals. … [B]eautiful photographs illustrating the animals’ abilities nicely complement her explanations. The result is a blissful appreciation of nature.”
What Readers Are Saying on Goodreads:
"Nancy does it again! A stunning book for any nature lover’s heart."
"The author is a wonderful writer. She could write about paint drying and it would still be interesting, but this topic really brings so much information to light that I'd never considered before. Anyone interested in the nature right outside their own house would find this book enlightening."
"I was mesmerized already while reading the introduction! The language of the book was as the music to my ears, eloquent and beautiful."
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The animals and plants are my co-authors and teachers, helping me see, hear and otherwise sense and imagine the world differently than I ever could on my own. My life story is the story of every creature I’ve ever met, from the green frog who knows how to stand out above the noise to the camouflaged looper caterpillar who knows how to blend into a flower. Join me on a behind-the-scenes video journey into the magical place that inspired Wildscape, where logs come alive with sparkling insect jewels, flowers shake with buzzing bees, trees form froggie chorus lines, and chipmunks stretch out on the mosses while I drink my morning coffee. Read and watch the video essay.
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"A beautiful presentation and so informative!”
Attendee of my "World of Discovery" talk for Smithsonian Gardens
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May 20, Irvine Nature Center Native Plant Sale & Workshop, Owings Mills (MD): "How to Fight Plants with Plants: Using Native Plants to Crowd Out Invasives." Register here.
June 5-7, International Urban Wildlife Conference, Washington, D.C.: “Yes, in My Backyard: Welcoming Wildlife in HOA Communities” and “Monarch Rx: Exploring a Little-Known Behavior of a Beloved Butterfly.”
June 20, International Master Gardener Conference, Overland Park, KS: “The Humane Gardener: Nurturing Habitat for Wildlife," Register here.
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Radio & Podcast Interviews |
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A special thanks to the great radio hosts and podcasters who've interviewed me about Wildscape! Listen in for some fun and fascinating conversations: |
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A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach: Sometimes it's not about figuring out how to start; it's about learning to stop. Stop mowing, stop leaf blowing, stop disrupting the sensory environment. Put down the power tools and you'll become attuned to a whole different world in the trees and rustling leaves. Margaret said it well when she suggested we place a "cease and desist order on ourselves." Margaret is offering a free copy of Wildscape to a randomly selected winner who leaves a comment on her blog before May 2!
The Joe Gardener Show with Joe Lamp'l: We talked about frass-flinging caterpillars, beetle larvae who use their poop as a shield from predators, and birds who struggle to be heard amid noise pollution. Joe also delved into one of my favorite parts of the Wildscape story, as we explored the influences of my own human family on my work as a nature writer, naturalist and activist. Special bonus: a story about Joe's chippie friend who inhabits a burrow carved out by tree roots near his deck! Listen to the show and read the notes here.
The Writer's Voice: Creating habitat doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposition, but more often than not and in far too many home spaces, it leans toward the nothing. We need to turn that trend around. That's just one of the many subjects Francesca Rheannon and I covered in this half-hour conversation on her public radio show and podcast, The Writer's Voice.
The RHS Gardening Podcast (featuring my sister!): In their "Reimagining Our Lawns" episode, the Royal Horticultural Society took listeners to what they dubbed "the heartland of rigid lawn culture: America"—and straight into the garden of my sister and brother-in-law, Janet and Jeff Crouch, whose HOA harassed them for years about their pollinator garden. “A lot of times people will say things like, 'Well, why don’t you do it in your backyard? The front yard is for the lawn,' " Janet told the RHS. "And no! The front yard is for everyone!” Hear the story of her family's battle and the resulting state law it inspired.
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Should we let nature feed the birds?
Exploring the problems posed by birdfeeders
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[An excerpt from my latest All Animals magazine column:]
I'm a bird lover with a bit of an aversion to bird feeders. That sentiment tends to ruffle feathers, especially in Western countries where more than half of all households contribute to a multibillion-dollar bird feeding industry. But in light of the potential harm caused by indiscriminate feeding, it’s probably time for some uncomfortable discussions.
Globally, supplemental feeding is the most common way humans interact with wild animals. It also leads to significant conflict. Though many of us consider bird feeding a benign way to connect with nature, it often exacerbates an already pervasive cultural bias that favors birds over practically any other animal who visits the buffet. I’ve met people who claim to love wildlife but shoot squirrels, trap raccoons and poison mice and rats who don’t know that the snacks aren’t meant for them.
Just as concerning are the ripple effects spiraling beyond our backyards and into broader ecosystems, sometimes negatively impacting birds themselves [a topic writer Asher Elbein explored more depth in a fascinating Scientific American article that I encourage everyone to read: "Bird Feeders Are Good for Some Species—But Possibly Bad for Others."]
Feeders draw unnatural concentrations of multiple species, encouraging disease transmission. They act as bait, alerting songbirds’ predators to unusually high densities of prey. They’ve changed migration patterns for blackcap warblers in Europe and have likely helped expand winter ranges for hummingbirds, cardinals and Carolina wrens in the U.S. They’ve led to population explosions among some feeder-loving species like great tits and blue tits in the UK—which sounds positive until you learn about the losers in that numbers game: less dominant woodland species that fare poorly against increased competition for food and nesting habitat.
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Monarchs need dead leaves |
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Yes, you read that right! Monarch butterflies sometimes go to dead and injured leaves, stems and flowers of certain plants to gather pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which they use to bolster their defenses. Very little is known about this behavior, but it's likely common and important to monarch health and fitness. Please be on the lookout for this behavior, and report your sightings by joining our Monarch Rx project at citsci.org.
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Plants are the solution to everything. That’s the driving concept behind my books, presentations, and probably any conversation you’ll ever have with me (you’ve been warned!). Whether you’re trying to resolve conflicts with wildlife or immersed in efforts to save local fauna, you’ll be more successful if you let plants lead the way. You can find inspiration and practical advice for getting started on my social media channels below and on my website, HumaneGardener.com. |
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Questions? Comments?
I'd love to hear from you! Just respond to this email or catch up with me on social media.
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Photo of Nancy Lawson speaking: Will Heinz; all other photos: Nancy Lawson/HumaneGardener.com |
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