Complete with information on buying and selling woods, useful contact addresses and a glossary of terms, Caring for Small Woods will prove the indispensable handbook.

Complete with information on buying and selling woods, useful contact addresses and a glossary of terms, Caring for Small Woods will prove the indispensable handbook.

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Housesitting at the ultra-modern apartment of a composer friend in a glum Eastern European city, a British copywriter accidentally spills wine on the apartment's priceless wooden floor and endures a psychologically disastrous week of perfectionist repair and maintenance.