The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden

One way to address the environmental threats facing pollinators and other creatures is to provide a habitat garden for them, and this book offers an excellent look at how to do that. The book contains specific sections for attracting birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife (such as bats, insects, spiders, amphibians and reptiles) and lists tips for providing food, water, and shelter for them. Each section also includes full-color photos of different species -- both of the animals and of the plants that attract them -- along with the information needed to identify the creatures and to grow and maintain the plants.

The book emphasizes planting native species to attract other native species and using organic or at least pesticide-free growing techniques, with information on both in the FAQs at the end. And as the author notes, planting to attract one kind of wildlife often helps to attract others as well, creating a space for natural diversity in your own backyard. It's a beautiful reference book for the home gardener and for anyone who loves wildlife and wants to see more of it. 5 stars.

Thank you, Timber Press and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I absolutely love this book. I feel like it would be a great reference. I loved the tutorials on what the gardens could look like like starting on page 189. And I know that this is a book I can reference time and time again, and will reference.

My only caution is that some of the plants (rose of Sharon) are considered to be harmful as non-natives (and perhaps invasive, (it depends on the state etc.) in the US. I would love some guidance there, maybe an asterisk where there is a possible invasive telling folks to check their state invasive lists.

I plan to use this book heavily, and I plan to buy it (I received a net galley copy for review). I purchase maybe 1 of 10 books I read, so this is an exceptional compliment.

I've read a few books this year about developing a garden to support wildlife, but this is the first book that I've found that tells you HOW to actually do it in a way that a beginner could understand. The information presented in a clear and concise manner. The organization of the book is also well thought out and easy to navigate. The book is divided up by the type of wildlife you want to attract to your garden. Then each chapter covers: general info, common backyard species, and plant recommendations. The author gives just the right amount of information for you to make informed decisions when planning. I already pre-ordered a copy! :)

Short, but concise book that explains what to plant to attract the kind of wildlife you are hoping for. There are descriptions of birds and bees that include what they eat, where they nest , flowers etc that they attracted to.
Includes very good descriptions of the plant life and how to care for it, where and when to plant it.
There is also a question and answer section. Well illustrated and thoughtfully laid out.
I will use this book to plan for hummingbirds and song birds next spring.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC.

Ever have an occasion where you stumble upon exactly the right book at exactly the right time? That was the case when I discovered The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden: Attract and Support Birds, Bees, and Butterflies by Stacy Tornio. I’d been wanting to repurpose part of our large yard into a garden that would benefit my local wildlife and plants and also bring me joy, but I was overwhelmed by how to go about it. Torino’s book provided clarity and is making the time spent planning my wildlife habitat garden a pure joy!

The book is organized into sections according to whether you want to attract birds in general, hummingbirds specifically, bees, butterflies, or other wildlife. Each section shares a variety of species followed by plants that will meet the needs of the wildlife in that section. Once you have decided which creatures you want to welcome, Tornio uses illustrations to show how to plan your garden, providing reference to plants that have been described earlier in the book that would be a perfect inclusion in your garden (ex. low maintenance garden, native garden, birdseed garden, bird habitat garden, etc). The book finishes with a helpful FAQ section.

The simplicity of the organization of this book, coupled with the gorgeous photographs of the wildlife species and plants make it exactly what I needed to take an idea of wanting to make better use of our property and turning that idea into reality. I will definitely be purchasing a hard copy of this book. What a treasure!

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Ultimate Wildlife Habitat Garden is a great beginning book for determining how to plan a garden in order to attract different types of wildlife. The book is broken down into the type of wildlife you might want to attract (birds, butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other). The images used are high quality. I love how the author includes growing zone for plants and location for animals. I have quite a list of plants I want to plant next year! The only drawback is the limited information on attracting other animals.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Well organized and full of information. I liked that it was broken up into sections for what you're trying to attract along with the best plants to succeed with.

This book was great! It gave me fantastic ideas for planning out my 2024 wildflower garden and I really liked the illustrations of the different garden plans based on what types of critters you want to attract.

I absolutely love this book. The photos are stunning and helpful for identifying the various plants, flowers, and wildlife. The book is well organized and easy to navigate with multiple garden plans and wildlife focus. This makes it easy to build your garden to attract the wildlife of choice. The chapters cover general information, common backyard species, and plant recommendations. I also loved the Garden Plans and FAQ sections which were full of information and tips.

This is the perfect resource for someone who is trying to create an environment that attracts specific wildlife and/or learn more about the wildlife and plants that have already taken residence in their yard and garden.

This book has beautiful photographs on every page. I am wanting to make my garden more appealing to butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds and this books tells me what plants appeal to encourage those creatures to inhabit my garden and stay. Some of these I have in my yard already so it was affirming that I was doing the right thing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. An excellent resource for any gardener who wants to attract birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife to their garden. Excellent instruction and great picture examples.

I found this book to be both extremely useful in the information presented, and also visually satisfying to flip through. The organization makes it easy to find specific information you may be looking for. The photography and the layout really enhance the content. I love the emphasis on native plants and creating gardens that are mutually beneficial for humans and the wildlife around us. I especially loved the “Show Me How to Plan a Garden” section in the back with sample garden plans that lay it all out for you based on what kind of habitat you are trying to create. You won’t be left feeling lost with what to do with the information in the book, because it is all presented in a practical way that allows you to put knowledge into practice. I will add that I am not an expert on this topic, so I can’t verify any of the advice it gives, but I am looking forward to using what I’ve learned in my garden this upcoming year!

I'm always fascinated by books that explains how to create a garden full of wildlife. Beautiful pictures, instructions easy to follow.
A well done and very beautiful book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

What an amazing resource for those looking to attract more wildlife to their gardens. Not only is it informative and practical, the book is laid out beautifully and is a quick and pleasant read.

As an amateur gardener just getting into attracting birds and bees into my yard, and hoping to move toward native plants, I LOVE how this book is organized based on what you want to attract to your garden. Each section has general tips as well as details about birds, bees, and plants with lots of helpful tips - but not so much it gets overwhelming. I really appreciate the clear, colorful pictures throughout the book. This will truly be an excellent reference for any garden, no matter what size or growing zone.

I received an ARC for this on NetGalley.

Stunning pictures!!! I loved how organized the sections were set up. It was so informative about the wildlife to attract to your garden and the flowers that will do it. I can't wait to incorporate some of these flowers and plants into my flower garden.

This was a really good book. It was well-written, nicely organized, and full of quality information. There are nice images of every plant and lots of wildlife images.

The book is separated by types of wildlife. There is a section for birds, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and other wildlife. I appreciate this organization; it makes things easy to find.

I also really liked the section with garden plans. The companion planting selections are well thought out. I would like to use one or more of these planned gardens in my backyard.

I have read several books on gardening for wildlife in the last year. This one is more thorough than most, which makes me feel like it is a more helpful reference than some of the others I have seen recently.

I almost knocked this down from 5 stars to 4 stars because I would have liked to see some additional info to identify specific wildlife partners for each plant. For example, it mentions that Northern Cardinals like berries and fruit, which is nice but it doesn't tell me what type of fruit tree or berry bush attracts cardinals specifically. It would have been helpful to see extra detail, such as: cardinals are attracted to dark berries like blueberries and mulberries. But that type of detail would have been really above and beyond because the book does cover a lot of stuff.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants to make their yard more friendly to wildlife.