How Can I Help (the book)

 

Doug Tallamy’s new book is entitled “How Can I Help: Saving Nature With Your Yard.” Many of us have heard him speak a number of times and it’s always a treat (you can find videos of him to watch for free on YouTube). This book is a thoughtful collection of many of the questions posed to him with answers that give good, clear explanations (including details that he might not always have time to give in live situations).

The questions are grouped by chapters such as Ecology and Evolution, Native and Non-Native Plants, Home Landscapes, and more (ten chapters in all). One chapter is devoted just to Oaks, a legacy of his book, The Nature of Oaks, and subsequent talks on oaks. I particularly enjoyed seeing the photo of the female flower on oak on page 89!

How can we use this information? The Q&A approach helps answer some of our own questions (page 74 has questions about using cultivars, for example), and the book gives us answers to use for some of the questions that we might get ourselves when talking to people about native plants. I particularly like his answer on page 145 about “If the new species [exotic imports] are more fit than the species here, then they deserve to replace them.” His answer on why that is not true is very thorough and includes points about how modern humans have moved plants faster than ecosystems can adapt. 

The chapter on Pest Control includes his famous recommendations on mosquito control; that chapter also includes questions on other pests, including deer.

The Home Landscapes chapter includes a wide range of questions including using glyphosate, trees for smaller spaces, assisted migration, and sub-sections on HOA issues and Leaf Litter. From small yards to large tracts of land, from beginners to experienced gardeners, there are questions for all levels in this book. And for those without property, volunteering is always a way to help.

I especially enjoyed seeing that he starts some answers with “It depends!” (see page 223 for two of them) when answers are not black and white. He does go on to answer the question, acknowledging that when it comes to choosing native plants and using them, there are factors that must be considered.

If you’d like to read an interview with him about the book, the Associated Press interviewed him in April about it. Here is a link to that interview. 

I found the interview while I was looking for the answer to a question of my own: why 499 questions? Why not 500? It was a strange point but I was curious so I contacted him. He said it was the publisher’s choice and that he could have included more. 

I’d say that the intense interest that he’s had since 2006 (and all the questions that people ask!) indicates that the desire to be more impactful in the home landscape is growing nicely.

Plant an oak!

A resource section and index is included at the end of the book.