The Living Jigsaw

So often, wildlife gardening is seen as something 'other' to gardening, to be tolerated rather than desired, something messy rather than pretty, that involves compromise or turning a blind eye. Not so here. This is an all-round book that brings wildlife into gardening and sees wildlife as a key part of the garden. From descriptions of the first Narcissus as the year starts, to tips on how to avoid box blight, the author takes us on a journey through her Cotswold garden at Spring Cottage. Along the journey she introduces the wildlife living there and explains how it fits into the garden's ecosystem. The book is the perfect mix of blooms and butterflies, hostas and hedgehogs. It includes plant lists for filling gaps and extending the season, to luring butterflies and feeding bees. The author describes her 'Damascene moment' when, in the late 1990s, she realised why her former garden thrived without chemicals: it was simply itswildlife. The moment influenced the theme of her book The Natural Gardener (2004) in which she describes the insects, birds and other species that worked as part of the ecosystem to keep the garden healthy. An almost-tragic sequel, The Living Jigsaw describes the staggering decline of the very wildlife helping her gardens work. It need not be tragic. We can all take elements from this book and use them in our own gardens. We can plant for bees and butterflies, tolerate aphids and the wasps that eat them, encourage beetles to eat our slugs. We can have beautiful gardens, for where there is wildlife, there is beauty. -- Kate Bradbury * The Garden | *