Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife, Texas A&M Nature Guides Edition (Texas A&M Nature Guides (Paperback))

This is a great book. I bought the first edition shortly after it came out-- in 1999, I believe. I have used that book more than any other for not only the gardening I do at home, but also for restoring some property that has previously been badly overgrazed and overtaken by ashe juniper. This book has been invaluable in figuring out which plants/seeds offer the best fit to my land and the most benefit to wildlife. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.I have recently purchased the latest edition and it offers advantages over the first--namely the DVD. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a great guide that will help you do something that is fun and that will greatly benefit our rapidly declining ecosystem. There is very little habitat left for native plants and animals: 95% has either been developed or is used for ranching or farming. When native plants decline so do native insect populations, which feed birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc. Ms. Bender's book makes it easy for everyone who is concerned to not only help, but also enjoy themselves while doing it.

Fantastic book on landscaping for wildlife! A must have for any gardener who cares about the Earth and wildlife.

What a pleasure to read about gardening from such a lover of all things natural. Ms. Bender has an endearing way of reminding us that we needn't fear nature, for nature does not stop at the fence around our yard. We are all so prone to freaking out about the lack of perfection in our landscapes that it takes a book like this to make us step back and realize that the supposed perfection we seek is truly the epitome of ignorance and suppression of the natural order of things.How wonderful to read about wildscapes and wildlife, and to see the beautiful photos that show how "keeping things natural" does not mean you have to have a wild yard. Many thanks to Ms. Bender for encouraging us to incorporate even the tiniest element of "real" into our city lots, and to not be afraid of the critters that feel at home there.

This invaluable guide to creating fire-safe home landscaping, as well as designing a great place for birds, bees, and other wildlife, is as entertaining to read as it is informative. Ms. Bender includes many photographs, lists of plant categories, and ideas for improving your home landscape, be it around a patio home or a larger property. Her treatments of planting to deter wildfire is excellent, and should be understood by anyone in a drought-sensitive or water scarce area. As a new transplant to Texas, I am so grateful to Ms. Bender for starting me off right, thinking about what to plant around a new house! A great guide for learning about native plants and which non-native plants to shy away from.

Lots of ideas for improving my yard. I love the pond plan. I will be busy for quite a while. Great job.

This is a great primer and resource for everyone's gardening, from the small space to the really large space. Wildlife gardening is so doable with this resource!

Could use more colored pictures to identify plants a little better. Maybe I was expecting too much. Blah, blah, blah.

The DVD with this book requires Macromedia (Adobe) Flash which is no longer available. I tried all the work around I could find, and was unsuccessful. I bought the previous edition in order to access the information that was on the DVD. I would have loved to used the planning and design functions on this.