Lorraine Johnson has been researching and writing about environmental issues for three decades. She is a community activist and advocate for protecting, supporting, and growing the urban forest. Johnson is the author or editor of fourteen books, including City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing and Tending the Earth: A Gardener’s Manifesto.
Few sights are as charming as a hummingbird hovering over cardinal flowers in your backyard or a butterfly lighting on the black-eyed Susans potted on your balcony. Yet pollinators do more than beguile us: they are key to a healthy environment. With many pollinators threatened and their habitats disappearing, gardeners can make a real difference by planting native species that support these amazing creatures. The trick is knowing what species to plant and how to help them thrive.