All That Transpired

The migrations and permutations of nature writing among the trees

We've lived through a lot together, the trees and I, and this past summer we all seemed to be making up for lost time. The young loblollies, sumacs, maples, walnuts, oaks and black cherries enjoyed some growth spurts while I continued to fill the rest of our habitat with more bareroot shrubs and trees. Even though I didn't ponder by the pond as much as I would have liked during this season of restlessness, I still had a chance to feel the gentle self-made rain of the tulip trees transpiring above the garden bench. Those same leaves that let go of their excess water just a few months ago are now falling all around me in the same spot, landing with soft thrums in the expanding ground layers and on my arms and even in my coffee cup.

In August, I also became reacquainted with our yellow-billed cuckoo friends, who were stars of my new book, Wildscape. This year the cuckoos took a liking to the redbud and persimmon grove near the edge of the woods, flying back and forth to the surrounding pawpaws and dogwoods but always circling around again to the small tree-ringed spot where I like to sit and read among the ferns. One of my favorite books of the season has been The Hidden Company of Trees: Life from Treetops to Root Tips by Jim Nardi, who also writes about cuckoos. "You can tell a lot about a tree by the company it keeps," he notes. I'm about 90 pages in and already entranced by Jim's detailed narrative and drawings celebrating the many intricate relationships among fungi, bacteria, trees, and animals, including the cuckoos.

The cuckoos are long gone to overwinter in the tropics of South America, but the ruby-crowned kinglets recently descended in all their diminutive glory, flitting about among the branches while the white-throated sparrows began to fill the autumn soundscape again with their ethereal song. I have my own seasonal life cycle as a nature writer and will migrate back to my desk soon. Most of my warm-season days unfold among the trees and the humans, as I deliver numerous talks at a time of year when people are hungry to learn more about the native flora and fauna all around them. I have just a few more events to go (see calendar below) before settling back into my winter writing season. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these updates. And remember: Leave the leaves and stalks—the animals need them as much as we need our cozy blankets and shelters from the storms.

In Massachusetts for a recent presentation, I made my way to Blackwater Woods, the mushroom-filled forest that inspired poet Mary Oliver. Special thanks to the gracious hosts of my early fall events: Maryland Horticultural Society, Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association, Gardens at Gantz in Grove City, Ohio, GoCrisp, Baltimore Wild Ones, and the Maryland Sierra Club!

Nov. 5, North Carolina Botanical Garden's annual Jenny Elder Fitch Memorial Lecture (Chapel Hill): "A World of Discovery: How Science and Heart Can Make You a More Ecological Gardener." Register here.

Nov. 8, Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD: "A World of Discovery: How Science and Heart Can Make You a More Ecological Gardener." Register here.

Nov. 13, Severn River Association's John Wright Speaker Series, Annapolis, MD: "A World of Discovery: How Science and Heart Can Make You a More Ecological Gardener." Register here.

Nov. 16, Nature Forward, Conservation Cafe: Moderator of panel discussion: "Yes, in My HOA Back (And Front) Yard!" Register here.

Nov. 19, Scott Arboretum and the Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group, Swarthmore, PA: "A World of Discovery: How Science and Heart Can Make You a More Ecological Gardener." Register here.

Nov. 26, Natural History Society of Maryland, Baltimore, MD: Museum Store Sunday, reading and book signing for Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Salty Butterflies, Beckoning Blooms, and Other Sensory Wonders of Nature. Details here.

Dec. 7, Turning a New Leaf Conference: "Yes, in My Back (And Front!) Yard!" Register here.

Stay tuned for more events, including my 2024 schedule, at the Humane Gardener Events & Talks page.

On Land and "Sea," Let the Leaves Be

Leaves and stalks provide much needed structure for wild neighbors

All Animals Magazine: "Birdsong, interrupted: The aural violence of leaf blowing and lawn mowing": Much has been written about the effects of landscaping equipment on people and the environment. How do they affect the rest of the animal kingdom, those creatures who can’t put on noise-cancelling headphones or escape indoors? For wildlife, the consequences of leaf blowing are devastating: the obliteration of critical understory where birds, frogs, fireflies, bees, caterpillars and chipmunks forage, nest and overwinter. Less considered are impacts of the noise itself. What happens when landscaping conglomerates send crews into a neighborhood with two-stroke engines strapped to their backs, imposing a sound that can be as loud as a jet plane taking flight? Read more here.

If you read Wildscape and enjoyed it, please consider posting a review about it on Amazon or Goodreads! Reader reviews are critical to gaining visibility for new books.

Wildscape was out of stock for several months at the height of the season, resulting in long-term back orders from stores and institutions around the country. It was unfortunate timing for a book that had just been released. But a review from you could help make up for lost time! I'm so grateful to the readers who have already submitted their thoughts, including this sampling:

• "Best gardening book, native plant book I have ever read."
• "No one writes as poetically and empathetically about plants and all wild creatures as Nancy Lawson does—and while doing so, she teaches us tons."
• "A new universe beckons right beneath our feet. Nancy Lawson writes beautifully about insects, amphibians and birds and their incredibly complex lives. Through her book, I'm getting a whole new vision of nature."
• "Spellbinding. Nancy Lawson writes with intimacy as though to a best friend who takes your hand and points out, in gleeful silence, a branch of baby barred owls looking down upon you. Her senses are exquisitely tuned to the rich stew of impressions that invite us home into our own backyards with the creatures who live there too. What a gift!"

Leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

Wildscape continues to garner positive press! My squirrel friend and I were delighted to see it featured in the New York Times (along with some of my original photos of our habitat as well as a squirrelly photo taken by my friend Toni Genberg, creator of ChooseNatives.org!). I've also spoken recently with podcasters, radio hosts, and TV reporters about everything from the demise of the American lawn to our local initiative to protect pollinator habitat.

Janet and Jeff Crouch meet with Joey Santore and Al Scorch to talk about HOAs and pollinator gardens. Joey's dog, Lewy, played a supporting role.

Stomping on spotted lanternflies isn't going to reduce their numbers. No scientific evidence exists to support this practice, and a growing number of scientists are now calling it ineffective. Some have even acknowledged that the stomping campaigns of the past five years have been more of a PR maneuver to "raise awareness" than a practical solution.

At the same time, research is showing that native trees bounce back from lanternfly feeding and that lanternfly populations collapse after two to three years because predators begin to recognize the insects as tasty treats. But it seems that no amount of reason will persuade some people intent on needlessly smashing things—which is one of the reasons I find these all-or-nothing campaigns so dangerous in the first place. The press in New Jersey and Rhode Island picked up on a piece I published on HumaneGardener.com about this phenomenon, quoting from the article and interviewing me. In spite of the vitriol and personal attacks my words garnered from some people on social media, I also received grateful comments from ecologists, horticulturists and parents who'd felt conflicted about stomping all over living beings in front of their young children.

If you missed the original story, you can read it here: Stop Squishing Spotted Lanternflies. You can also find my rebuttals to common misperceptions and inaccurate statements here: Responses to Common Misperceptions.

A sweat bee in the Lasioglossum genus visits aromatic aster, one of the last plants to bloom before winter in our habitat. Native bees are mostly solitary, unlikely to sting you, and play very important roles as pollinators.

Did you know that putting a honeybee hive in your yard does nothing to help the pollinator crisis? In fact, an ever-growing body of research shows that adding tens of thousands of nonnative, domesticated insects to your suburban community can actually exacerbate problems for our native bees, increasing risk of disease transmission and creating too much competition for nectar and pollen. Honeybees are not at risk of extinction, but many of our 3,600-plus native bee species in North America face serious troubles.

Helping bees is far easier and less taxing than outfitting yourself in a beekeeping suit anyway. All you have to do is nurture native plants and protect nesting and overwintering sites. That involves going gently on the land, leaving bare ground for the 70 percent of native bees who nest in the soil; leaving dead wood and cut stalks for the 30 percent who nest in woody cavities; and leaving fallen leaves in the understory where bumblebees and other insects can overwinter.

In my books and presentations, I've long encouraged homeowners and managers of natural areas to be wild beekeepers who nurture habitat, rather than honeybee keepers who tend hives. I've been following the issue and writing about it for more than a decade (including in this early piece, "How to Really Save the Bees"). But I'm just one of many advocates, gardeners, and scientists who do so. Yet entrenched myths still pervade our culture, and a lot of people in my community are adding hives to their backyards and signing up for beekeeping classes, thinking they are helping pollinators. It's one of the main reasons I work with our local initiative, Howard County Bee City, which operates under the auspices of the Xerces Society to increase awareness of the importance of native bees and their habitats.

While some media coverage continues to perpetuate inaccurate information, astute reporters and other writers have been offering thoughtful and deeply researched pieces for years. Here are two recent articles from mainstream outlets plus one from the Xerces Society, a leading authority on the topic:

• Xerces Society: Want to Save the Bees? Focus on Habitat, Not Honeybees
• New York Times: The Beekeepers Who Don't Want You to Buy More Bees
• Washington Post: Backyard Bees Disfigure Yards in Ways We Are Only Beginning to Comprehend

[A comment from a reader reminded me of this almost-forgotten essay inspired by a trip I took eight Novembers ago. It's still as relevant today as ever. Enjoy!]