This area was concrete. It was broken up & removed and top soil was put down. I’ve spent the past few years diversifying the soil with various clover varieties and wildflowers. I’m still working on the path but the kids love it. I’m already planning for next year!
by semiusedkindalife
5 Comments
Lovely! <3
The organized chaos is very pleasing to see. Keep up the good fight.
Love your little non-lawn!
I especially love talking to fellow plant lovers about the importance of native plants! Most people know about milkweed for monarchs and flowers for pollinators, but many don’t realize that almost every species of moth and butterfly have a 1:1 to 1:3 relationship with host plants they evolved with over tens of thousands of years. So the Karner Blue butterfly (which is endangered) for example can only have its caterpillars survive on eastern lupine – lupus perennis- often mistaken for western lupine. Both lupine are stunning, as are the butterflies whose caterpillars don’t have enough food! Meanwhile our migratory songbirds have declined by almost 70% in 50 years! Most people don’t know that our native songbirds eat primarily the caterpillars of moths and butterflies, and require at least ten thousand caterpillars just to bring one nest of baby birds to fledging, when they likely need even more! You certainly have some radiant natives in your amazing yard- and clearly it’s been a labor of love to create so much beauty! I just wanted to share a little about native plants, because so many people don’t realize that many non native plants can be harmfully invasive, and spread aggressively, outcompeting natives in the area as well. It’s also important to acknowledge that we are already in a mass extinction and that without everyone- and likely especially gardeners leading the movement!- taking some action (as you are already doing OP!) – we will see many songbirds and moths and butterflies and other species go extinct in our lifetime. Our cities and Townships continue to remove the last wild buildable areas where they see profit in building. There are parking lots and huge percentage of land coverage is monoculture grasses. Posts like this give me so much hope- because our government isn’t likely to have our garden centers stop selling invasive plants, and shiny grass is normalized, despite that lawns are comparative green desert that have replaced healthy ecosystems!! It’s up to us! To learn more, I recommend Doug Tallamy books such as Nature’s Best Hope and Bringing Nature Home. These books really opened my eyes. I knew native plants were important but I didn’t realize how important!! Happy Gardening in your precious oasis!
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Some lobelias or some trailing plants would look lovely in those cinder block holes! Just add dirt and they are each a separate pot.
Wonderful!