making habitat gardens, with doug tallamy; sweet old mockorange; come hunt moths  

Think 3-D, says Doug Tallamy, co-author of "The Living Landscape," and in fact, maybe think 4-D, since by designing your landscape in all three dimensions, layering plants into complex communities, you'll add the "D" of diversity, too.

Entomologist Tallamy and his wife have spent 14 years coaxing back to life 10 acres of what had been farmland for nearly four centuries. Now 54 species of birds nest, and acorns they planted are 20-foot trees.

Tallamy has been called the "guru of the habitat gardening movement." He is co-author of "The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden," and we talked about just that. Enter to win a copy, and get a primer on building "the specialized relationships that are nature," as he calls them. All beginning here.

sweet old mockorange (and gold leaves, too!)  

A whiff of sweetness drifted my way just now, from a direction I'm not accustomed to catching one. Change of prevailing winds? No, a newish shrub, the gold-leaf mock orange, or Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus,' putting on a show. Why didn't I invite this sunny-looking, extra-fragrant thing in near the house sooner? I had my reasons. A profile of an old-fashioned but worthy plant.

july 19 and 20: come hunt bugs with me!

Naturalist Charley Eiseman is coming to the beautiful Taconic State Park in my town to lead a National Moth Week evening event July 19 -- a picnic supper, slide talk and after-dark "mothing" adventure -- plus a morning bug walk July 20. All ages welcome (kids free, adults $5). Join us as we set up black lights, paint gooey bait on tree trunks, overturn rocks and leaves, and more; learn from an expert how to sharpen your focus on nature.