As a kid I remember you really couldn't go anywhere without getting flying insects in your mouth. Driving for a short distance and you almost couldn't look out the windshield. All this is gone. During Covid total lockdown, like almost everyone else, we got bored.

We have now basically reworked our garden, from the traditional "spotless grass lawn and flower beds", to a place where all forms of indeginous wildlife are welcome. We now have two large self-regulating flower beds in taking up about a third of our garden space. It is a pleasure to see all different kinds of birds at the feeders that we didn't see previously. All kinds of wild bees and other winged insects frequent our garden. Our lawn is full of unnamed plants and some small ant colonies.

Once a year, on her way to a lake nearby, a duck comes into our garden to show off her new ducklings and to take a break and a swim in our small water feature.

I wouldn't say any book, but the news. Our planet is failing quickly, with no concerted effort to stop it. My zone has had massive collapses in insect and wildlife year over year, and I aim to help combat that as much as possible by planting native plants, providing extra fruit and vegetables for the wildlife (I keep a decoy garden for them), and doing it all as resource conscious as possible. Nothing but good things can come from having even a few native flowering plants around for bees and hummingbirds, and going a bit of an extra mile to compost to keep the good insects that contribute to that process happy and expanding their colonies.

Most of my garden is devoted to native/natural gardens. My challenge is always figuring out how to have clean aesthetics and a welcoming, usable outdoor space while also creating authentic-looking, functional plant communities. One book that has changed how I think about this is Planting in a Post-Wild World by Rainer and West.