This book is about the author’s personal laboratory for ecological studies, which he created by replacing the Bermuda grass in his suburban Arizona lawn with gravel, cacti, and fairy dusters. He seeded his property with flowers to entice certain insects and even added a few cowpies to attract termites. His observations of life in his own front yard provided him with the fieldnotes for this unusual book .

The book draws readers into the strange and fascinating world of plants and animals native to Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. As Alcock studies the plants in his yard, he shares thoughts on planting, weeding, and pruning that any gardener will appreciate. And when commenting on the mating rituals of spiders and beetles or marveling at the camouflage of grasshoppers and caterpillars, he uses humor and insight to detail the lives of the insects that live in his patch of desert. Celebrating the virtues of even aphids and mosquitoes, Alcock draws the reader into the intricacies of desert life to reveal the complex interactions found in this unique ecosystem .