Never mow the lawn again...

Throw away the edger, the pesticides, the herbicides, and give some character back to your yards with these thoughts from Wayne Pacelle. http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2008/07/natural-lawns.html

You should see my yard! It's just about totally wild save for the plants I've chosen to plant. Most of those are natives, too. I have Crossvine that climbed into an oak tree which was joined by wild grapes and morning glories, and the hanks that grow from ground to limbs are sturdy enough to climb. The birds nest in there or take cover from rain and wind. They love it.

I remember a discussion with a man who was the head of the federal bird banding lab in Maryland: Plant berries. Blueberries, here in Florida, specifically, or wherever they grow. Birds dine on the flowers for two months, then the fruits, which can feed them for five months. Anything with berries. So I have to find some young plants and transplant them - they grow wild here, as you know if you read the prior posts.

They also eat and spread native grass seed. Beauty berries grow here, too, and I've noticed I have at least a 10 footer in the yard. They have clusters of magenta berries that the birds love to pick at in the winter.

I didn't see any of the solar eclipse which was partial here. I sent my son an email on his 38th birthday (which doesn't seem possible), that said the universe celebrated with an eclipse in his honor. He gets email through his Blackberry, and he probably trashed it because it was too difficult to sift through for the link. But the thought was there. So, officially, "Happy Birthday, David! Stay healthy and happy, and enjoy this and every day you live."

And let your two-inch manicured lawn grow a little longer between mowings if you can (there are rules in his subdivision), and consider a jungle in the backyard. Want some Crossvine for the fence?

Love,

Mom

I know this guy named Craig...

He lives in Arkansas. Found him on PBase. Let me tell you - he's on his way to becoming a
world class photographer of wildflowers, and his specialty takes him outdoors every day, searching the woods. He's putting together collages which should be posters for the state and part of developing an eco-tourism program. (How's THAT, Craig!) If you'd like to visit his website, here it is: http://www.pbase.com/cmf46/index_of_arkansa_native_wildflowers

I love wildflowers, too. Because our winter's been mild, there are still a few patches of stubborn Bidens alba, that reliable little plant that frosts our summer and fall roadsides, and gives sustenance to all manner of insects. It is ruthlessly mowed by the county which apparently doesn't believe people really like wildflowers on the sides of the road. This one plant guides the migrations of the Monarchs, the Gulf Fritillaries, provides food for aphids, ladybugs, moths, butterflies, flower wasps, the nectaring mosquitoes (didn't know that, did you), all sorts and sizes of bees, beeflies. In turn, small predators like green lynx spiders and anoles hunt there. It's a remarkable, prolific plant. Some in my yard have become perennial. They have a tenacious little seed, hooked at both ends.

One wildflower, above, that has had me stumped for nearly a year got identified by the UF Herbarium just last week. It is a skullcap, Scutellaria integrifolia, and it is incredibly beautiful. The color is stunning, and it likes its feet wet. I have found a few plants in ditches and just a couple in an untended yard on Bayou George. There is a lot to be said for not mowing right down to the water. Which prompted me last year to write a piece that got into the local newspaper.
The caterpillar of the Banded Sphinx Moth is vividly colored, intricately patterned, and lives
on a specific host plant with a yellow flower (Ludweigia decurrens, the Wingstem Water Primrose), which grows in seeps, water's edge and in wet ditches. Again, a plant with a penchant for wet feet. My neighbor is terrified of snakes. I found a caterpillar at water's edge one night in summer and decided to return the next day to photograph it. She had hired a lawn service, and they had just scoured her creek bank down to nothing, and reached out into the water. I was devastated.

That yellow, green, red and black caterpillar is the one I'm talking about.

I guess the point of this post is to ask you to set aside one spot in your yard and let whatever grows - even if you consider it a weed - grow undisturbed and see what happens. The most barren part of your yard is your lawn. Nothing grows in a well kept lawn. Cut back on your use of pesticides and fertilizers just a little, or entirely; consider xeriscaping. Watch your little wild plot. Spend some time each day observing who visits; who lives there. I have a feeling you'll be very pleased. It's a good place for the children, too.



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