#if all the talk about complicated drainage systems doesn't scare them off then honestly like

[anipgarden]

Ani Reviews: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Florida Native Yard

I promised you guys a review and here it is. I've never really done a book review before but I'm doing my best to make this Coherent and Helpful.

[Photo ID: a book, titled A Step-by-Step Guide to a Florida Native Yard by Ginny Stibolt and Marjorie Shropshire.]

Out of all the books I checked out from the library this round, I started with this one because it was the shortest out of all of them--if we don't count the appendix and index, its 101 pages long. You can read where I sort of live blogged a portion of this read here.

I think its a pretty good read! It's definitely a lot more relevant if you are the home owner and most directly in charge of landscaping decisions and such. It gives a bit of advice on how to handle making similar changes in an HOA neighborhood, and provides pointers and resources to other books that can also be helpful in the journey to make your landscape a wildlife-friendly habitat. It focuses on Florida specifically, as denoted by the title, and will frequently remind the reader that gardening in Florida is vastly different from gardening anywhere else. So whether you've been a Florida resident all your life, or are planning on making a move on down here, this book can be a helpful resource if you want to transform some or even all of your yard into a habitat.

After the introduction, the book is separated into seven major sections referred to as Steps. There's Assess Your Property, Plan for Drainage and Stormwater Sequestration, Install Trees, Plant Shrubs, Working with Herbaceous Plants, Build a Wild or Natural Area, and Create Spaces for Human Use. If you're more interested in one part than the others, you can definitely skip around to find what you're looking for. I will say, the Drainage and Stormwater section made my head spin a bit.

I will say this: I don't know if the writers ever fully decided if they wanted this book to be targeted towards those who are already gung-ho about native plants and itching to transform their landscape, or to people who are just beginning to dip their toe into the idea. Overall though, it was a nice and informative read, and the illustrations inside are lovely.