The Garden Jungle

An exploration of the wondrous ecosystems in our gardens – and a call to rewild the places where we live. From window boxes to road verges, from lawns to borders, scientist and gardener Dave Goulson shows how easily any outdoor space can become a sanctuary for bees, beetles, worms and butterflies. With infectious enthusiasm, wit and scientific insight, Goulson shows how our gardens can combat biodiversity loss and climate change. Part practical guide, part environmental manifesto, part nature book, The Garden Jungle is an inspiring reminder that saving nature starts on our doorsteps. Essential reading for anyone with a garden who cares about our planet. ‘Packed with remarkable details, an excellent guide to green gardening’ Guardian ‘Exquisite... should be read by every gardener in the country’ Observer

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** The Garden Jungle is a wonderful introduction to the hundreds of small creatures with whom we live cheek-by-jowl and of the myriad ways that we can encourage them to thrive. The Garden Jungle is about the wildlife that lives right under our noses, in our gardens and parks, between the gaps in the pavement, and in the soil beneath our feet. Wherever you are right now, the chances are that there are worms, woodlice, centipedes, flies, silverfish, wasps, beetles, mice, shrews and much, much more, quietly living within just a few paces of you. Dave Goulson gives us an insight into the fascinating and sometimes weird lives of these creatures, taking us burrowing into the compost heap, digging under the lawn and diving into the garden pond. He explains how our lives and ultimately the fate of humankind are inextricably intertwined with that of earwigs, bees, lacewings and hoverflies, unappreciated heroes of the natural world. The Garden Jungle is at times an immensely serious book, exploring the environmental harm inadvertently done by gardeners who buy intensively reared plants in disposable plastic pots, sprayed with pesticides and grown in peat cut from the ground. Goulson argues that gardens could become places where we can reconnect with nature and rediscover where food comes from. For anyone who has a garden, and cares about our planet, this book is essential reading.