I love to sit on my screen porch and watch the rain flow down from the gutters and fill up the rain barrels. We have a 300 gallon system and it fills quickly with a good rain. When the rain barrels overflow, the water goes into a rain garden. This rain garden is about a foot deep in the middle and 5 feet around. Soil from digging the rain garden was piled on the down hill side to form a dam and reinforced with a few big rocks. This area is planted with soft rush (Juncus effusus), queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra) , hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.), and copper iris (Iris fulva). As the rain continues falling the rain garden fills up and overflows into a swale, which is a small foot wide ditch that directs the water flow to meander through the garden without washing out the paths. The winding swale keeps the water heading down hill while slowing it down and allowing it to absorb into the soil. The swale is invisible from above as the garden on both sides covers the gap. The swale ends at the lowest part of the yard. In this area I have planted species that can tolerate temporary flooding. In the wettest part stands a red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) surrounded by seed box (Ludwigia alternifolia), blue eyed grass (Sisyrinchium spp.), and grey headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). Slightly higher up slope aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) , purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and blue stem goldenrod (Solidago caesia) grow. The amount of stormwater flowing through my yard used to cause erosion and muddy spots in my lawn but now the water is encouraged to soak naturally into the soil. The deep roots of native plants help to move water into the lower layers of soil while the fibrous roots hold soil together to protect from erosion. Using native plants to control stormwater keeps creeks, basements, and driveways from flooding as well as providing natural water to the garden and the plants and wildlife that depend on it. To find out more about adding rainscaping features to your landscape I recommend this website. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/sustainability/sustainability/sustainable-living/at-home/rainscaping-guide.aspx

It is high time that we put native plants in front yards and public spaces so that they can be seen. Native gardens are beautiful and full of life, and we should share them with our community. Front yard gardens can become a gathering spot for neighbors where people stop to talk about plants or bees. My garden often causes people to stop and ask questions about what I’m doing. It is a chance to connect with my neighbors and spread my love of gardening. I have told so many people to feel free to walk around any time that it is not unusual to look out my window in the morning to find someone having coffee next to my little pond. When I started gardening it was difficult to find examples of native plant gardens. There was also a lack of information about using natives in a landscape or sources for the plants I wanted. Now it is much easier to see native plants in gardens, and many more resources are available. Gardening with native plants is the new cool thing. Those of us with a little experience with native plants have an opportunity to share our knowledge and love with our community. Neighbors are more likely to plant native plants in their yard if they see that someone else is doing it. It is hard to be the first one doing something new. However, growing the second or third native garden in the neighborhood is much easier. When native gardens are established by groups of neighbors, they become more accepted by the neighborhood and are also more beneficial for the wildlife. We can each let our garden become the model of what a modern ideal landscape should look like. We should be proud of our native landscapes. Native landscaping is a challenging pursuit that requires commitment. Usually, I find working on my garden peaceful but some days I need to remind myself of why I keep doing it. I’m not only gardening for myself but also because I believe there is a benefit to the insects, birds, plants, soil, ground water, and whole ecosystem. This is one small thing I can do to protect this piece of earth. If I can influence others to do the same, my efforts will be even more effective.

“HOMEGROWN NATIONAL PARK™ IS A GRASSROOTS CALL-TO-ACTION TO REGENERATE BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION by PLANTING NATIVE PLANTS AND CREATING NEW ECOLOGICAL NETWORKS.” National parks are places where space is set aside for nature. Since we have run out of extra space on earth, we need to find new ways of making space for nature. There are about 40 million acers of lawn that are privately owned. These vast expanses of monoculture do not support wildlife or human health. Lawn is prime target for converting into space for nature. The goal of Homegrown National Park is to convert 20 million acres of lawn to native plantings in the U.S. This represents approximately half of the green lawns of privately-owned properties. Large amounts of land can be transformed into productive ecosystems if each landowner does their small part. If each homeowner would convert half or more of their yard to native plants, this goal could be met. Small pockets of native gardens scattered across a neighborhood would collectively create enough habitat to support species that need lots of space. Chains of neighborhood gardens would create corridors that allow wildlife to migrate to disperse to new habitat or find mates. A diverse selection of habitat gardens will provide all the pieces of required habitat for a species. An owl, for example, would benefit from homegrown national park. Owls need very large hunting grounds. The habitats owls hunt in need to support a heathy population of small rodents. Rodents need protective shrubs, seedy plants, water, and a space where they feel safe. The owls also need nearby habitats where other owls live so that they can find mates. Owls need habitat with several dead trees where they can rest, store food, and raise young. All this diversity of habitat and space to roam can be provided by a collection of personal native plant gardens spread throughout a neighborhood. Most of us do not have enough land to support even a single butterfly throughout its entire life cycle. However, we desperately want these creatures in our gardens. We want to protect diversity and we also want to enjoy it. Our gardens can do more than act as an island of beauty when we kill the lawn and connect our gardens with our neighbors to form a homegrown national park. Join the movement at https://homegrownnationalpark.org/

We need more ways to get kids out in nature. We can start close to home in our own yards by creating a garden for children. As a child, I grew up with a large garden to play in and I want to give that same experience to other children. Providing a space for children to play also has the benefit of keeping them occupied so the adults have time to garden. In my experience, children want a space to use their imagination, find some privacy, enjoy opportunities for discovery, and encounter a little danger. As a child, I had several favorite elements to the garden starting with the climbing tree. There was something magical about being up in the arms of my climbing tree. The perspective from above, the sway of the branches in the wind, and the intimacy with the insects all were part of the experience. King of the hill/stump/rock is always a popular game to play with friends. The play area always became well trampled, but we were outside having a good time. Eventually we all got tired of being king and come back down to earth to examine the smaller creatures at the base of our play area. There was no water in my garden beyond the birdbath, but I loved it when we were at the park and there was a stream to play in. A stream on a hot day is a wonder and can turn crabby kids cheerful again. The stream is also where I learned early lessons in hydrology by building dams and canals. Another activity to do at the stream is building rock piles. Sometimes our piles would just be built for size, but they were also many times built for beauty. Using natural objects to make art helps children to see the beauty in nature. Children and adults alike love a garden swing. We have an especially tall one hanging from a silver maple in the back garden that is used frequently. I like to sit on the swing during long phone conversations with my mom. Swings attract children with a magnetic pull. When friends come to visit and aren’t sure where their children went, usually they are at the swing. A play fort can be a structural element in a garden when attractively built. As a kid I was allowed to build my own tree fort which was not very attractive but hidden from sight behind the garage. I have seen many gardens with beautiful plat fort incorporated. A fort could be a platform in a tree like mine was, or take the shape of a hobbit hill or a cute little cottage. Small garden buildings are a focal point that draws the eye, and the children. A child’s garden should have a place for a tent. Sleeping outside is an excellent way to become more intimate with your garden. A hammock is also a good place to sleep in your garden or just rest. There needs to be options to rest in the garden to just enjoy it. A place of discovery is the rotting log. Allowing a log to naturally decay will attract all sorts of insects and other critters. Children enjoy poking around the log to discover new creepy-crawlies. Another crawly you may attract is snakes. Snakes, crickets, worms, and salamanders can often be found under a board left out in the garden. Teaching kids to respect snakes at a young age will help them become good stewards later in life. Adding a garden gnome village or other make-believe world to the garden gives children a place to exercise their imagination. When I was a kid, we had a restaurant where we served mud pies, my cousin had a battleground for his army men, and my friend had a village of acorn people. The garden has a wealth of material to be used in such a make-believe world, with all its leaves, flowers, sticks, and rocks. Worlds may exist just for an afternoon of play or develop over months or years. Gardening with children requires some flexibility and tolerance of damage. Include the child in planning and planting the garden to give them ownership. It is wonderful to watch something you planted grow and develop. The child and the garden will grow up together.

I think I am addicted to being out in nature. Sometimes when I’m out hiking in a natural area, I feel almost drunk with joy. It is like my brain just fills with bubbles. I feel true love for the world around me, and myself. Part of the joy is from the smell. It is the smell of the earth, all the decaying leaves and logs, the smells of coming rain or spring, and the smell of trees, especially pine, that makes me feel all wobbly inside. I’m guilty of pressing my nose up against a tree trunk just to get a good deep sniff. Research has shown that plants release compounds into the air that can affect our brains. Microbes in the earth also release scents as byproducts of organic compounds as they break down. When I give myself time to stop worrying about my normal human troubles, I am always amazed by just how beautiful everything around me is. Tor example, there are so many colors in a turkey tail mushroom it is hard to imagine why a fungus would go to such lengths to build so many rings of pigment. At a valley overlook I notice the changing sweeps of tree leaf color and texture depending on elevation and aspect. Down in the valley the surprising white skeletons of sycamore mark the path of the river off into the distance. Brushing against my hands are the perfectly aligned seed capsules of gammagrass. Such perfect alignment may simply be efficiency to the plant, but it is very pleasing to me. Part of the joy I derive is from walking. There is a meditation practice called walking meditation which best describes how my mind reacts to walking in a natural setting. My mind is at peace while my body is busy moving forward. I feel free to just experience joy, awe, and wonder at the beauty around me. “In beauty, I walk, With beauty before me, I walk, With beauty behind me, I walk, With beauty above me, I walk, With beauty all around me, I walk, With beauty within me, I walk, It is finished in beauty.” Excerpt from Yeibechai, Night Chant of the Navajos.

· Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale · Purslane, Portulaca oleracea · Lamb's quarters, Chenopodium album · Chickweed, Stellaria media · Plantain, Plantago spp. · Purple deadnettle, Lamium purpureum · Henbit, Lamium amplexicaule · Mint, Mentha spp. My daughter and I were talking about the grocery store shortages, and she commented that she wished she could be a rabbit and just eat the grass. Well, we can all be rabbits with the bounty of edible greens in our spring gardens. Looking around my garden I found several edible weeds including henbit, dead nettle, onion grass, violets, and dandelions. In my herb garden I found parsley, garlic chives, kale, and mint. For some fun color I included the edible flowers of dandelion, violet, and red bud. With all the nutrients from these hardy spring greens I should be able to avoid a trip to the grocery store for another day. There is value to the weedy lawn. Many lawn weeds bloom in early spring and delaying the first mowing can allow early spring pollinators to take advantage. The buffet can also be enjoyed by humans, so I suggest tasting a few of your weeds to decide which ones you like. Encourage those species to keep growing and establish in unused areas. Note, however, that eating weeds is not recommended if there is a chance that chemicals have been applied to the area during regular lawn maintenance or to kill weeds. Additionally, whenever adding new foods to your diet, start small and check with your doctor. Although these plants are not native many of them have been naturalizing in the area since they arrived with early European settlers. I don’t recommend purposefully planting them in your yard, just wait for them to arrive. Where there is garden space for edibles to be planted give first dibs to native edible plants. The first weed I was fed as a child was dandelion, when my teacher made us dandelion pancakes with fresh maple syrup. Yum! I like to pick the yellow fluff out of the center of the flower and remove the bitter outer green part. In a salad, a few yellow dandelion petals look great. They are also used as a garnish and can be baked into dishes like pancakes. Dandelion leaves are a healthy green, but look for fresh new leaves because older ones can be very bitter. Eat your greens fresh in salad, steamed, or sautéed. Weeds can be an overlooked source of fresh nutritious greens. Check your garden for weeds next time you want a snack.

There is a mourning dove living outside my front door. She has built something resembling a nest on the shelf where I store some old pots. As I come and go, she is always sitting there staring me down. I don’t know if she keeps an eye on me out of distrust, or maybe she disdains that I could be so busy to need to open this door yet another time. The nesting spot must be adequate because she comes back year after year to claim my porch as her own. After an eternity of waiting, a baby dove hatches, followed soon by a sibling. The pair grows bigger quickly and soon crowds the nest. Their poop messes up my shelf, and they adopt their mother’s habit of staring. One day the nest is empty, and I go on a hunt to find the little family. They have moved to the rail of my back porch where the birdbath is. The mother dove still does not trust me even after all our close proximity, though the kids know no better and are content to be observed. The family continues to show up in other places throughout the garden, wandering out from under a shrub while I weed, watching me from the roof when I park my car, or visiting the bird feeder. My garden seems to be ideal mourning dove habitat. The new pair of porch babies each year is just part of a growing exponential population. My little plum tree can hide at least 30 doves that all burst forth as I pass underneath to take out the compost. I enjoy the noise their wings make as they fly off and the cooing from the treetops that is sometimes mistaken for the hoot of an owl.

The fresh snow tells the tale of what has been going on in my yard before dawn. Three racoons have come from the neighbor’s garage, walked diagonally across mine, and headed off towards another neighbor’s vegetable garden. A cat has come by to check on my front door, the bird feeder, my back door, and a warm sunny bench. Two opossums headed in opposite directions while meandering through. Small tracks, too many to count, show signs of birds busily hopping everywhere. However, the central area of interest in the yard that all paths connect to is the pond. Our little pond runs all winter with an electric heater to keep it from freezing solid. Every critter in the area knows our pond will have water and they stop by regularly to get a drink. Woodchucks, racoons, squirrels, owls, hawks, mice, skunks, turtles, frogs, opossum, and stray pets all stop in at our pond. Wildlife needs access to water. Backyard ponds, bubblers, fountains, creeks, and bird baths are essential when providing habitat. Keep a reliable water source available year-round through the heat advisories of summer and freezing days of winter. Water features need to be kept clean when used heavily to prevent the spread of disease. The wild things of the neighborhood will come to depend on your garden as a clean place to bathe and get a fresh drink. When planning garden layout place a water source for wildlife in a place that is easy to see from the house. This will help to remind you to keep it maintained but is also a good vantage point to watch all the action. A water feature provides every gardener with a source of endless entertainment and provides wildlife with the water they need to survive.

How to deal with weed ordinance violations and how to prepare to never get one: Most communities have rules about how a yard should be maintained. These rules are our protection when the neighbor decides to park cars in the yard or allows the lawn to become a monoculture of thistles. But sometimes they can also be used against a native garden when neighbors don’t understand what we are doing. My local weed ordinance has this sweeping statement: “Grass, weeds and all other noxious vegetation which have attained a height of eight (8) inches or more … is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.” Many native plants are weeds in someone’s eyes and any plant can become a weed if it is growing in the wrong place. So, the key is to make sure that the plants in the garden are not seen as weeds. This sounds deceivingly simple. Dealing with a weed ordinance citation starts with preparation early on. The benefit of being well prepared is that you can garden with confidence and hopefully never have to deal with this unfortunate bureaucracy. Start with education: educate the community and yourself about native landscaping. Set appropriate expectations, like any garden, that there will not be 100% flowers all the time. Be a good neighbor and respect your neighbor’s property the way that you want them to respect your garden. How to avoid getting a citation: · Become familiar with any regulations impacting the garden. · Invite any neighbors to tour the garden. · Drop off native landscaping information with all neighbors. · Have yard signs displayed at the street. · Know every plant in your garden by name. · Keep receipts of all native plant purchases. · Keep brush and compost piles out of sight of any neighbors. · Keep the plants from crossing onto others property. · Don’t block the street, sidewalk, power lines, or lines of sight. · Have a tall privacy fence. If the weed ordinance notice arrives: If the weed ordinance violation letter still arrives in the mail one day, don’t panic. Contact the weed police and find out exactly what feature in the landscape is a problem. Invite the inspector to the garden to discuss the problem. If you manage to get an inspector in your yard this is an excellent opportunity to educate, have lots of pamphlets ready to send back to the office. Brush up your file on your garden with a complete plant list and receipts and get it to the inspector. Usually, a little education will cause the violation to be dropped. If the cause of the violation can be easily remedied such as removing a brush pile or trimming plants back from the sidewalk, dealing with the issue is a quick way to restore neighborhood peace. One nice thing about native plants is that herbaceous plants can all be trimmed back to six inches without much ill effect to their long-term health. When necessary, it is advisable to trim all plants except trees and shrubs down to the required height. It will be unsightly and may affect blooming but will satisfy the weed ordinance requirements before the deadline. Do not let the deadline arrive, as the municipality may come in and mow the whole landscape. This can damage woody plants, cause ruts, and may even introduce weed seeds. Fighting a weed ordinance violation in court is sometimes necessary to protect a garden and to change public policy to protect all native plant gardens. The Wild Ones organization offers personal advice to any landowner up against a weed ordinance. Banding together public support of native gardens by connecting with neighbors and local organizations helps to keep gardens safe from poorly applied regulations. Hopefully soon these worries will be a thing of the past.

I have not yet mastered time management in the garden. It always seems like I spend more time working on it than I do enjoying it. Although, I must remember all the times I’m out there weeding and stop to watch an insect do something amazing. Below, I have put together a short list of ways to prevent spending hours in the garden weeding. Plant groundcovers: Cover all bare soil with groundcovers so weeds can’t grow. Kill any existing weeds first and then mulch or plant a living groundcover to fill in the vacant space. If there is an idle part of the garden, cover it with a groundcover until planting time comes. Simplify path maintenance: Cobblestone paths either need to be hand weeded or poisoned. I don’t use poison in my garden so I don’t have cobblestone paths. I have decided that mulch paths, wide enough for the lawn mower to mow down in summer, are the best solution for my garden. Before putting in a path, think about maintenance and remember that paths are necessary to do maintenance on the rest of the garden. Avoid difficult to care for borders: It is popular to use the chain link fence as a border, but this area can become a weeding nightmare as they tangle in the fence and only one side can be reached. When the garden boarders a lawn, use border material such as brick that is easy to mow against. Design the garden to avoid unmowable lawn spaces that will just get out of hand and invade the flowers. Expand the garden slowly: New garden beds should only be as big as you can weed. It is always best to underestimate this area because weeding in midsummer is unpleasant. Keeping a garden well weeded the first few years will cause it to be less maintenance in the long run. Prepare new beds with care: No matter which way you prepare a new bed make sure all the weeds are good and dead before planting. Some lawn grasses can be very difficult to kill and may need to be killed more than once. Roots like clematis, star of Bethlehem, and dandelion need to be dug out. It may take more than six months to be sure all weeds are dead. Be wary of free plants: Do not take in a free plant you can’t identify. Plants given away from another garden are most likely aggressive quick spreaders and should be selected carefully. If the free plant is going to be a good fit for your garden, you should still clean all soil off of free plants to prevent hitchhikers. Limit weed seeds entering the garden: Don’t let weeds seed. Monitor the garden frequently to remove all weeds before they can spread their seeds. Rainwater can also bring weed seeds from uphill properties. Hitchhiking seeds come in on clothes and pets. A less preventable way that weed seeds appear is from birds pooping them into the garden. Some weed seeds will enter the garden and germinate. Monitor frequently to pull them out while they are small.

There are a few key elements to attracting birds and wildlife to the garden. Incorporate all of them into the garden for the best results. The more each element is used, the more wildlife will show up to call your garden home. Garden with native plants. Adding native plants to a garden is a great way to attract birds and other wildlife. Native plants and native animals have evolved together. Our local wildlife is specially adapted to feed off of our native plants that are easy for them to digest and provide the nutrients they need. Use plants that produce seeds and berries. Berries and seeds keep wildlife going through the winter. Winter residents and migrants appreciate a variety of food to eat all winter long. Seeds of native plants left in the garden can be even healthier and more attractive to birds then a bird feeder. While birds are busy exploring the garden for seeds they may also come across a tasty insect to supplement their meal. Keep dead plants standing through winter so birds can continue to clean seeds off the stalks. Supplemental with bird seed and suet in winter. Birdfeeders will gather birds in an easy-to-view spot in the yard. Hummingbird feeders near the porch will allow you to catch a glimpse of this speedy visitor. It is easier to see how successful a garden is with the wildlife when they show up right outside your window. Racoons and opossums will also raid bird feeders at night. A red shouldered hawk likes to sit on a tree overlooking my bird feeder. When the birds suddenly scatter, I know to look for a hawk. Invite insects to thrive. Allow insects to eat plants and become bird food. Leave plant stems and leaves around garden through winter and into spring to shelter insects. Native plants eaten by native insects will attract native birds. Seeing insect damage on plant leaves is a good sign that there will be plenty of food for birds. Young birds are fed insects almost exclusively by their parents. Provide safety. Wildlife needs your garden to be a sanctuary. Birds want to feel safe from passing cars, stray cats, humans, hawks, etc. Birds need shrubs and brushy cover to hide in and nest. Hollow trees are preferred by some birds as a place to nest. Provide as many natural shelters as possible and supplement with some bird houses. Supply clean water. Water attracts wildlife. Birdbaths, water features, and ponds will become gathering places for birds and other wildlife. Birds need a source of water for drinking and bathing. Try to keep birdbaths, etc. filled and clean throughout summer when water is needed most. In winter, a small heater can keep a water feature running without freezing. I am always amazed to see the birds eagerly bathing even when I think it is too cold to go out.

I’m listening to the spring peepers calling outside my window. The peepers say that it is spring and time to get busy. Battling for vocal supremacy, these tiny frogs try to attract a mate. Spring peeping can go on for weeks on any warm day down by the pond. Soon the water will have masses of eggs and after that, millions of tadpoles. Later in the year the American toads take over the symphony. It is amazing that something so small can make so much noise. Their calls echo off the brick walls of my house calling in their sweethearts. The cardinals are also in the mood this spring. The males and females flirt, flying from tree to tree. Love is on the mind of all the birds. The little wren is checking out each knothole in the silver maple looking for a safe place to raise some babies. The mockingbird perches on my chimney and sings out his best calls hoping someone will be impressed. And somewhere I hear a woodpecker drumming up a territory fit for a woodpecker family. Even the plants are feeling sexy. The silver maple is releasing pollen into the wind, hoping it lands in the right spot and forms a seed pod. Many plants release hormones to trick insects into exploring their flowers in hopes of some pollen being transferred to a neighboring plant. Plants are using insect sexual behaviors to have sex themselves, kinky. The insects are also doing it on the flowers. I see two beetles locked together gathering nectar from a flower not wanting to take a break from gathering resources even for the perfect mate. All this fecundity would not be happening in my garden if these animals did not feel that the resources were available to raise a family. A garden must have a plentiful source of food to raise young, this means lots of insects, pollen, and seeds. The parents also want to feel safe with shrubs to hide in, knot holes to nest in, and a reliable source of water. Safe habitat comes naturally with native plant gardening and so does the sex. This garden is all about the birds and the bees.