30 | New Scientist | 27 July 2019
Book
The Garden Jungle:
Or gardening to save
the planet
Dave Goulson
Jonathan CapeHERE in Manaus in the heart of
Amazonia, my garden may not
house the tapirs, jaguars and
monkeys that are ecotourism’s
poster species in this part of the
world, but it still has an impressive
array of predators and potential
prey lurking in the undergrowth.
They are smaller than the average
mammal, often with more limbs.
But what they lack in size and
furriness they make up for in
diversity. A crab spider sits poised
on the petal of a hibiscus flower,
waiting to pluck spiderlings from
mid-air. Centimetres away, a
lime-green grasshopper chews
the top off a flower bud, ensuring
its wine-red petals will emerge
with a rather elegant ornamental
pattern. Above, in the passion
vine, a hummingbird chitters as
it finally frees itself from the web
of a Nephila spider.
But this is the Amazon and even
a medium-sized garden will bustle
with biodiversity. Very Darwinian
and to be expected in what is in
fact a garden in a jungle – just not
the type Dave Goulson reveals in
his new book, The Garden Jungle.
His compelling view of gardens
needs a perspective shift. Goulson,
an entomologist at the University
of Sussex, UK, recalls the words
of TV naturalist Chris Packham
saying “he would rather spend
10 minutes lying on his tummy
watching a woodlouse than an
hour watching a glossy television
programme about lions”.
So Goulson swaps my tropical
hibiscus for hydrangea and
passion flower for pansy, gettingYour very own Serengeti
Our gardens can be every bit as enthralling as a slice of savannah or rainforest
if you know where to look – and who to ask. Adrian Barnett exploresdown into the urban undergrowth
with a hand lens to find an
ecosystem every bit as surprising
and enchanting as any tropical
forest. There are odd mammals,
bizarre birds and very strange fish,
but for sheer exuberant oddness
and elegant strangeness nothing
beats insects in their millions of
forms, living all around any
garden path.It is this, literally, overlooked
diversity that excites Goulson.
British biodiversity may be in
decline even at this level, but what
exists is extraordinary in its range.
Garden Jungle celebrates, explores
and explains in equal part, with
the wildlife corralled into neat
sections focusing on places
(borders, trees, ponds) and groupsViews Culture
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L.COMrelax about your choice of plants:
“Any plant is better than decking
or paving and the more... you have,
and the more variety, the better.”
So, yes, hug that tree, but after
reading Garden Jungle you will
probably do so more carefully
to avoid disturbing bark beetles.
Goulson’s book is a very worthy
successor to Fabre, and in a world
where traipsing to the tropics is
increasingly seen as irresponsible,
backyard safaris may substitute.
Importantly, for an out-of-
control world, Goulson also injects
a sense of proportion. His garden
(and yours) is “a little corner of
Earth that I can control, that is
small enough for my brain to
comprehend, and where I can
make things right”. Amen to that. ❚Adrian Barnett is a rainforest ecologist
at the National Institute of Amazonian
Research in Manaus, Brazil(ants, moths and non-insect
invertebrates such as worms).
And there is a charming touch:
each chapter starts with a
garden-grown fruit recipe.
Ever since Jean-Henri Fabre’s
Souvenirs Entomologiques, written
in the late 19th century, the world
has been aware of the magic and
mystery of the invertebrate world.
In the intervening century, we
came to realise that awareness is
nothing like enough. People like
Goulson encouraged us to do
more, even as they conjured up
the delights of the natural world
and unexpected fun of fieldwork.
Following on from his highly
successful A Buzz in the Meadow,
Goulson has upped his mission
to match the individual-action
zeitgeist. He explains wildlife-
gardening techniques and how to
use them to launch your campaign
to save the planet, and adds a
reading list, organisations to join
and practical tips on how to ensure
your patch is as biodiverse as it can
be. Thanks to Goulson, you canAll insects, from wasps to
ants, become exciting as
you learn more“ My garden is a little
corner of Earth I can
control, small enough
to comprehend, where
I can make things right”