Something to think about. Appropriate native plant diversity is the key to biodiversity.
9
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.YES!!! I recently read Tallamy's first book, "Bringing Nature Home," and I am a zealous new convert to his ecology "gospel.". ...beats the hell out of religious drivel. Beautiful White Texas Star Hibiscus, BTW!
A lot of communities have strict regulations preventing homes from simply letting landscaping go, but we can still keep a semblance of design and order to our yards while doing it with native plants, thereby providing vitally important food sources to the bugs and fungi that are the foundation of our entire food web. ...that's that thing that ultimately allows humans to exist. Biggest thing is to stop using chemicals to keep our lawns "weed-free." Then we can add plenty of drifts of wildflower or meadow lawn patches, and just narrow strips of lawn pathways to define boundaries. And adding more shrubbery and wildflowers is beautiful, and when it is mostly native, the upkeep ends up being super-easy. Plants want to grow themselves in their native places. Just pick the right plants for the light, soil, drainage conditions, and suddenly you've got a little ecosystem again, instead of a sterile "golf course!"
MikeInBatonRouge
Level 8
Mar 18, 2020
1
I am working on something similar - can't go totally natural cause the Yorkies have a bit of a problem going potty in tall grass/flowers 
but I am switching to clover and am letting the native grow along the house, fence & edge of my pasture.
Heidi68
Level 8
Mar 17, 2020
3
Yeah, my Chihuahuas sympathize. I think about snakes sometimes, because we do get watermoccasins and rattlesnakes here. I keep plantings at least 18 inches away from the foundation of the house; that makes me feel a little safer.
If I let my front lawn grow Wild like my back yard , I'd immediately get ANOTHER nasty grahm from my Home Owners Association .
Cast1es
Level 9
Mar 17, 2020
1
@OwlInASack oh but it's true, here in the U.S., "Land of the Free!," (Snarky tone intended), where ordinances designed to protect neighborhood property values end up dictating lifestyle to a degree.
My backyard, too, is definitely "Wilder" than my front yard. I have quite the wild dewberry patch going back there.
There is an interesting three part series you can find on You tube that is a three hour tour (not Gilligan's Island) of American gardens and gardening narrated by British gardening guru Monty Don. In it he talks a bit about the American obsession with lawns in front yards that flow right to the street and to neighbor property lines without any sense of border or boundary often. It is a fascinating look at the origins of this obsession, especially for those of us who have always considered lawns to be a bit of a wasteful indulgence.
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