Jessica Walliser

Great information on attracting beneficial insects (not just bees and butterflies) to our gardens so they can prey on the 1% of the destructive insect population thus helping to eliminate our need to use pesticides. The book is interesting without being overly zealous and contains info on and pictures of the good insects plus descriptions of the best plants to use to attract them. The author says we would do well to have gardens that emphasize diversity, i.e. the number of different plants show more present, as well as complexity, i.e. how these plants differ in structure and growth habits, and of course we should choose plants that will do well in our own climates. She doesn't leave out the need for beauty. She shows many attractive pictures of well designed gardens and even includes diagrams we can use to incorporate these plants in our own gardens. show less

Plant Partners : Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden by Jessica Walliser. I've always thought the "roses love garlic" type books a bit woo-woo, relying too much on anecdote and folklore, and not so much on actual science so I grabbed this when it came out in late 2020. I'm quite impressed. Walliser talks about plants for soil prep, trap crops, living mulches, support structures (think beans growing on corn), cover crops, etc. Good bibliography.

As an organic gardener of some 10 years I was delighted to received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been chemical and pesticide free in my current garden with a small veg plot for the last 4 years and over that time I have seen an explosion in the numbers of wildlife returning to my little suburban patch. In the second year, I had my organic patience tested as I watched the stems on some of my beautiful literally turn black with black fly. I sat on my show more hands to resist buying a pesticide spray.... and little did I know I was about be rewarded by a little wonder of nature. Literally overnight the blackfly were gone and in their place, hundreds of tiny ladybird larvae. I was astounded at the incredible display that nature had just shown me. With that in mind I have been companion planting throughout my garden and seen some really positive results.

Now it’s time to spread the organic love a little further as I begin my next big project creating an organic community garden. This book will come in extremely useful this winter as I plan the planting schedule and space and I intend to work through all the suggestions, pen and notebook in hand. I am well aware that the science doesn’t always work in the real world but this book gives me a great foundation both to plan and to teach my volunteers from.

Full of handy facts and experience and beautifully illustrated, I will be purchasing a real live copy which I very much hope will become muddy and tattered as it takes pride of place in our little community shed. Highly recommended for all gardeners out there, new or old, passionate about working with nature rather than against it. show less

This is the first book I've purchased from Jessica and it was a slam dunk! This book is quite thorough and tells you the good/bad/ugly about all the bugs in your garden. Really helped me stop wasting money on chemicals.

My favorite part of the book is her laid back writing style. When reading this book, it didn't feel like I was reading a science book or even a nature book. It was a very relaxed read without many scientific words.

I would suggest grabbing this book for any gardener out there show more big or small. show less