“From his hiding place inside the overturned flowerpot in Smith's garden, Toad dozes with one eye open. Toad's scientific name is Bufo americanus, just as Smith's is Homo sapiens, but neither Toad nor Smith attaches much importance to the niceties of scientific accuracy. Toad's list of important matters scarcely extends beyond the length of his tongue, with which he can reach out swift as lightning and catch bugs that fly within range. His repose even now, during his daylight siesta, is deceptive. Smith, down on all fours watching him, does not even see the sudden stab of the tongue when it comes, only that a hapless fly, hovering near the inscrutable toad, suddenly disappears.” – Gene Logsdon, Chapter 1
In Wildlife in Your Garden Gene Logsdon has found an imaginative way to introduce gardeners to a more total enjoyment of nature – fauna as well as flora. From suburb to countryside, every gardener knows that there are many pests who delight in one's precious creations – rabbits devour petunias, raccoons eat the almost ripe sweet corn, deer browse the morning glories, crows pull up young corn sprouts. How can gardeners and wildlife live together in harmony? Gene knows.
But this is as much a work of literature as it is a how to. The advice is there, but it is presented through various characters who represent different points of view and levels of knowledge about nature – Smith, Brown, the Widow Lady, the Beekeeper, the Farmer, and the neighbourhood itself, Gwynnedde Township.
You'll fall in love with these characters, with Toad, with the Township, and with Gene Logsdon.