During the August meeting of the Read! Plant! Grow! book club we discussed the book Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conversation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy. The book brought about a lively discussion. We discussed how reading the book has impacted what we plan to plant this fall.

A takeaway from the book was the importance of taking small, meaningful baby steps when making choices about what to plant in our yards. When we examine our yard, we need to ask ourselves, what can stay, what needs to be taken out, and what can I plant. The small choices we make about our yard matter. Some attendees who are new to native plantings shared that by taking baby steps, it is more manageable and not so overwhelming. Several attendees also shared that reading this book made them feel hopeful, and it provided resources along with talking points when talking to others about the importance of native plants.

The group also discussed how important it is to join with people in our community who want to come together to plant more natives in public places. Additionally, we discussed the importance of advocacy. For example, talking to stores that sell plants and encourage them to label plants correctly.

This program was co-sponsored by Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Watermark Woods, Loudoun County Public Library and Birch Tree Bookstore as part of the library’s book club that focuses on native plants.

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