Author Spotlight: Dr. William Allan Plummer

Author Dr. William Allan Plummer’s interest in nature was stimulated one winter by the sight of snowbirds, slate-colored juncos, in the family’s backyard in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. That same spring, he spotted the yellow-bellied sapsucker during its migration, and he was hooked. In Fronds and Anemones, he offers a collection of nature-based essays and articles, most of which appeared in the quarterly newsletter, Screeches, of Spencer Crest Nature Center, as well as in several other publications. Fronds and Anemones begins with Plummer’s accounts of bird watching as a Boy Scout and then spreads to a love of native plants. This interest continued and increased when he bought a wooded lot on which to build their home, and he describes the evolution of the garden and the gardener. He covers a plethora of subjects—from ferns, to native wildflowers, to the shrubs and trees on his lot, the vagaries of weather, shade gardening, building paths and stone walls, and trips to natural areas and gardens. Concluding with a collection of garden quotes, Fronds and Anemones presents a varied look at plants, birds, and gardens and addresses a host of topics of interest to gardeners and nature enthusiasts.