"Why Native Plants" Doug Tallamy

Douglas W. Tallamy is the author of Bringing Nature Home. He is professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.
Tallamy has taught insect taxonomy, behavioral ecology for nearly three decades. His research has focused on better understanding the many ways insects interact with plants and how these interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.

Bringing Nature Home, Tallamy's book is an invaluable resource and read for anyone trying to sustain wildlife with native plants.

"All plants are not created equal, particularly in their ability to support wildlife. Unless we restore native plants to our suburban ecosystem, the future of biodiversity in the United States is dim. We can no longer hope to coexist with other animals if we continue to wage war on their

 homes and food supplies." Doug Tallamy

After reading Bringing Nature Home, I made the decision to fight invasive alien plants as if my life depended on it. I still have a love affair with daylilies, but I have chosen to plant over seventy five percent of our garden in native plants. Choosing not to use pesticides, removing the invasive buckthorn trees shading the native plants found growing within the forest floor, removing the phragmite plants in the surrounding wetlands and planting more native plants in our garden, my husband and I are enjoying the following list of birds, insects and animals within the boundaries of our yard.

1. Cardinals
2. Blue Jays
3. Morning Doves
4. Goldfinches
5. Robins
6. White-breasted Nuthatch
7. Hairy Woodpecker
8. Downy Woodpecker
9. Red-bellied Woodpecker
10. Bluebirds
11. House Finch
12. Dark-eyed Junco
13. Purple Finch
14. American Tree Swallow
15. House Sparrow
16. White Throated Sparrow
17. Eastern Towhee
18. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
19. Red-winged Blackbird
20. Mallards
21. Black-capped Chickadee
22. Tufted Titmouse
23. Ruby Throated Hummingbird
24. Baltimore Oriole
25. Ravens
26. Crows
27. Barred Owl
28. Cooper's Hawk
29. Blue Heron
30. Sharp-Shinned Hawk
31. Bats
32. Grey Squirrels
33. Red Squirrels
34. Chipmunks
35. Skunks
36. Raccoons
37. Possums
38. White Tailed Deer
39. Fox
40. Rabbits
41. Snapping Turtles
42. Frogs, Spring Peepers
43. Toads
44. Numerous Varieties Butterflies
45. Grasshoppers
46. Snakes
47. Walking Stick
48. Numerous Varieties Bees
49. Numerous Varieties Insects

Become empowered and part of the solution. Plant native plants, trees and shrubs. The success is up to each of us. One back yard at a time connected to a neighbors yard and another yard....