The Insect Garden
Why buy this book?
Bees are not the only beneficial insects we need to look out for. Butterflies, hoverflies, moths and dragonflies need our help too. The Insect Garden does just that. This bright, friendly book tries to take them into account when it comes to choosing garden plants. It's written by an active gardener and based on 20 years of experience.
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Chapters on bees, bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies and the plants they prefer to visit for nectar and pollen
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Scores for over 520 plants indicating how good they are for insect biodiversity
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Hints and tips on how to create an easy to manage insect friendly garden including ideas on pond planting
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Useful notes on plants that are poisonous or otherwise harmful to insects - this includes invasive plants that are frequently found in gardens but which harm natural ecology
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It's a very personal view from the author with some amusing comments (he mentions his cat and her tendency to eat catmint). This is not an academic/formal book - perhaps a labour of love for the author.
The book is packed full of information with lots of colour coding. It's a good a start point for insect friendly gardening but because it is so different in style, it works well alongside Plants for Bees by Kirk and Howes. The two books work together well. Gardeners probably never have enough information about plants but you'll be using these two books for a while before you feel the need to look elsewhere.
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It's on our list of books for our workshop All About Bees.
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