Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants was first published in 2007 and set off an enthusiasm for native plant gardening. This practice is now known as “rewilding” in horticulture circles.

Author Doug Tallamy is an entomology professor at the University of Delaware. Entomology is the study of insects, and one might wonder what insects have to do with native plants. Tallamy tells us: Insects eat plants (and don't we gardeners know it), and native insects eat native plants.

These insects support other animal life, including native birds, amphibians and animals. We should appreciate insects more as they support animals we love.

Tallamy also devotes some attention to insects as a source of dietary protein. In some quarters, they are already valued as food. In the future, that role could grow. Although this discussion might make some readers queasy, consider that the first person to eat a crab or a lobster must have been very courageous.

Tallamy's interest in the environment originated when he was a child. His family had moved into a new house next door to some fields, where Tallamy found a pond full of baby toads. Soon enough, a bulldozer came along to prepare the land for another house, and poor Doug escaped with only a handful of toadlets.

Unfortunately, they could not survive outside of their natural environment. This experience helped shape his belief that suburban development is now the greatest threat to biodiversity.

There is a solution. Abandon the sterile, fertilizer-and-insecticide-laden front lawn, and plant natives that will attract other natives. Tallamy also advises us to avoid exotic species that can escape the yard and colonize open spaces, such as parks and wildlands.

He gives several examples of this phenomenon, illustrated with photographs. One image is of a Japanese honeysuckle efficiently strangling an oak tree in a forest. This photo made me rush outside and peer anxiously at my honeysuckle, which is confined to a collapsing trellis and hasn't gone rogue.

We have several examples of invasive exotic plants in Napa. The French broom at Westwood Hills Park is a scourge. A stand of bamboo next to my neighbor's house is terrifyingly vigorous, and I see pampas grass everywhere in the county. These plants were imported, mostly to complement midcentury modern architecture, and because they had no predators here, they thrived.

Many of Tallamy's examples are drawn from the eastern U.S. because that is where much of this research is done. However, he provides a list of native plants suitable for the western U.S. in an appendix.

Tallamy also discusses what it means to be a native plant. Of course, all plants originate someplace, but by Tallamy's definition, a native plant is one that interacts with and is shaped by its community of insects, birds and other creatures. The plant may have originated somewhere else, but over time it helps create an ecosystem that resembles its place of origin.

Tallamy's studies have led him to recognize the interrelatedness of all living creatures. Biodiversity makes everything in the ecosystem more resistant to disease and makes it possible to create more biomass, or life. Even from the most hard-boiled human viewpoint, that is a good thing. Who doesn't want more fish in our rivers and seas?

Bringing Nature Home is not a diatribe. Tallamy doesn't harangue the reader; rather, he calmly explains how a change in attitude about gardening can benefit the environment. Using fewer agricultural chemicals and less water saves money, too.

In the chapter titled “Blending in with the Neighbors,” Tallamy recounts the story of a discussion with his neighbor. Their conversation is a master class in how to educate someone without sounding like a pompous know-it-all.

He also suggests leading by example. Create a native-plant garden so beautiful that everyone will approve. Then make the planted area bigger and denser, which means less lawn.

Tallamy believes it's not hard to persuade people to go native because most homeowners don't know one plant from another. Also, most people enjoy nature and are interested in wildlife. In fact, it was the encounter with his neighbor that convinced Tallamy to write this book

My 2009 edition of Bringing Nature Home (Timber Press) is lavishly illustrated. Half the book is color photographs, which are inspiring as well as instructive. This book would be a fine present for any gardener, or for anyone who has an interest in the environment. Tallamy is a scientist, but he writes in an accessible, conversational manner and is a pleasure to read.

Library Talk: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a Napa Library talk on “Growing Peppers” on Thursday, January 2, from 7 pm to 8 pm via Zoom. Let's parlez peppers—hot, sweet and mild. Learn the basics of starting peppers from seed, plus growing tips and usage ideas for your eventual harvest. Click here to register!

Rose Pruning Workshop: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a workshop on “Winter Rose Care” on Saturday, January 11, from 10 a.m. to noon, via Zoom. Learn pruning techniques for all types of roses along with everything you need to know to make your roses a success in 2025.  Attendees will be invited to a hands-on pruning workshop at Fuller Park Rose Garden on January 18 to practice what they learned. Register here.

Help Desk: The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your garden questions on Mondays and Fridays from 10 am until 1 pm at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa. Or send your questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. Include your name, address, phone number and a brief description