The Wildlife Sanctuary Garden

Buchanan writes for homeowners who, wanting more than an outdoor refuge of trees, vegetables and flowers, seek to entice wildlife to complete their landscape. Aware of the suburban destruction of ecosystems that support wildlife, Buchanan offers practical solutions for attracting birds and other wild creatures to apartment balconies, small city lots and suburban sprawls. Her plot of land is both a garden and a sanctuary, and she believes that it should also be a haven for people and wild creatures alike. She explains how to provide the essential elements of food, water and shelter within the four tiers of landscaping: canopy, understory, shrub and groundcover. She emphasizes using native and compatible plants for individual microclimates because they require minimal maintenance and are also attractive to area wildlife. Although other regions of the country are briefly mentioned, Buchanan focuses on wetland and woodland sanctuaries like those near her home in Washington's drizzly Puget Sound area, where her garden has been certified as an official Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary. Extensive charts of plants to attract birds and butterflies will be useful to gardeners anywhere, however, as will the multiple references to native plant societies and botanical gardens and arboreta. Of special note is her inclusion of the many Web sites gardeners can weed through. (May)