Maritimers can help their backyard ecosystem flourish with new book

An author and an illustrator chat about their new gardening book that focuses on bringing native plants and pollinators to your yard.

A new gardening book is focusing on bringing native plants and pollinators to yards across the Maritimes.

“The Nature-Friendly East Coast Garden” offers advice on everything from how to attract butterflies to planting wildflowers.

Author and illustrator Jeffrey C. Domm spent the past 30 years doing illustrations for nature field guides. He brings his artistry to the new book, too.

“I have hundreds and hundreds of all of these species illustrated,” he told CTV Your Morning Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett about his experience.

He said one day he thought to himself, “I’m showing people how to spot and identify things, I’m not showing them how to take care of it and bring them closer to home. And you can do that right in your backyard.”

Co-writer Jon Stone echoes this. He says they wanted to show and give people the tools to bring nature into their own green space.

“Whether it’s their yard or their balcony. We wanted to make it simple, to make it achievable,” he said. “There’s something in it for everybody.”

Stone brings a background in nature communication; he says simplifying information about the ecosystem for the book was the hard part.

The authors break down the biodiverse roles of different plants and critters that could thrive in the Maritimes. They also encourage readers to welcome snakes, as they bring pest control by eating rats and mice.

Even decaying logs can “become a life on their own,” according to Domm.

“It’s like an apartment building for bugs, but it’s also a buffet for all the other animals,” he said. “So, if a tree falls over, let it be.”

The books also suggests Maritimers mow less of their lawn, allowing for small meadows to grow for pollinators and wildlife.

“We want people to kind of start appreciating what they have outside in their backyard, says Domm. “With all the development around us, it’s going crazy right now, so less and less wild is out there. So, the idea is that we want everybody to kind of reconsider their backyard lawns and gardens.”