RHS Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty-year Study

“One of the great heroines of wildlife gardening” Dave Goulson Foreword by Chris Packham First published in 2010 by the RHS, Jennifer Owen’s book remains the most complete record of the creatures to be found in an ordinary garden. The groundbreaking research, in which Owen recorded every plant and animal in her suburban Leicester garden, will never be exceeded. This was no wildlife garden – the term barely existed when Owen started recording in 1972. Hers was a standard family garden in suburban Leicester. In this unique long-term study she recorded 2,673 species, from plants to insects, birds to mammals. She discusses diversity, abundance and annual fluctuations and relates these to weather, changes in surrounding land use and other ecological factors. Wildlife she monitored included butterflies, moths, beetles, hoverflies (Owen’s specialist area), bees, wasps, ants, dragonflies, sawflies, bugs, spiders, lacewings, grasshoppers, molluscs and earthworms, as well as plants, mammals and birds. She also outlines the natural history of each group. Researchers in ecology, conservation, environmental sciences, environmental horticulture and entomology as well as professionals in urban planning will find this book invaluable. It is also a captivating read for amateur naturalists and anyone with an interest in garden wildlife. Dr Jennifer Owen (1936-2015) was an ecologist and zoologist. It was while working in Africa in the 1960s that she noticed her garden had more wildlife than the neighbouring rainforest, due to its mix of habitats. This prompted her, on return to the UK and a post at Leicester University in 1971, to begin the remarkable study that was to occupy her next 30 years.