With a title like “Passionate Slugs and Hollywood Frogs,” it’s hard to know what to expect from the 2001 book by Patricia K. Lichen, but the sub-title helps: “An Uncommon Field Guide to Northwest Backyards.” This is mainly a guide to the birds and other animals–natives and non-natives alike–who may call your backyard home, plus a few plants including iconic trees, some troublesome invasives, and even your lawn and its “three million tiny plants.” The essays are short and full of whimsy, but also plenty of good information and the incentive to appreciate what you have in your own, well, backyard. The book concludes with an invitation to look up and appreciate rainbows and the stars at night–charming.
Excerpted from the Summer 2013 Arboretum Bulletin.