Transform a Yard to a Living Landscape
Three beautiful orioles, one zippy hummingbird and countless fascinating native insects are keeping me company as I write this article. About three decades ago, my husband and I, along with our two tiny children, moved to this property. There is a river nearby and some lovely trees and lawn, so much lawn. Over the years, we have eliminated a lot of lawn. First with a vegetable garden, then flower beds, then two prairies and some areas that we simply quit mowing and we started to notice changes. Birds have come in numbers and variety that we had not previously seen and insects including butterfly and moth species now visit regularly. The diversity of species is remarkable and really fun to explore, especially close up on the native plants.
Another impactful change is choosing what we plant in the flower beds. We are moving to more natives, not cultivars of natives, but true Wisconsin natives. This shift is still taking place in our flower beds. I continue to plant iris, daffodils and a variety of annual plants such as zinnias, marigolds, strawflowers and four o’clocks, to name just a few. They blend nicely with the natives and herbs in each flower bed.
In the United States, we have 135 million acres of traditional lawn that provides no chance for biodiversity to exist. Eliminating even a portion of lawn in your yard would be a great help to our much needed native plant, animal and insect species. And watching as your yard transforms is fascinating!
Elise Howard recently published a book entitled, Plant This, Not That. She provides state specific recommendations for planting natives instead of traditional landscape plants. Our own Wisconsin prairie expert, Neil Diboil along with fellow writer, Hilary Cox have coauthored The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants. Most useful in this guide are the photos of prairie plants when they are just emerging and as they grow as well as tips for designing and starting a prairie garden. Douglas Tallamy is the author of many books as well as a respected conservation movement advocate. He has transformed his own yard into a wildlife habitat with special attention given to oak species. His recommendation to leave oak leaves under their trees for insect habitat is a powerful first step in changing your yard. And you don’t have to rake as much! Robin Wall Kimmerer, famed author of Braiding Sweetgrass, has championed a new group called Plant Baby Plant that invites people to reimagine our shared future through acts of care for the living world. Another resource is the growing movement, Less Lawn, More Life. Their website lesslawnmorelife.com allows you to join the free 12 week challenge where you’ll receive 12 weeks of emails with doable steps, expert tips and a yard health scorecard. And aside from feeling great about making a positive ecological difference in your yard, you will save money on gas! Happy transforming, garden friends!
