Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Prairie up and enjoy
Another author I’ve interviewed, and a MAJOR advocate of normalizing prairie lawns, Benjamin Vogt, has a phrase: Prairie Up. He’s referring to eliminating your lawn that offers pollinators nothing and is not the natural state of things. He uses ONLY natives. I have cultivars too.
While lawns have a purpose for those who play yard games, have pets or maybe used as a path, etc. the era of the Great expanse of lawn is coming to a close for homeowners.
Note: this doesn’t include playing fields! This is just your lawn.
MY take, as an individual, is that it’s introduced slowly. First, it’s easier to renovate a small chunk of your lawn at a time in terms of labor and expense. It also gives neighbors the opportunity to get used to it. We DO live in community, at least most of us, and it’s just helpful to be considerate of the neighbors too.
My neighbor loves lawn, he likes to seed the small patch between his driveway and my home each year. We’ve talked and he understands that I don’t use chemicals.
I admit that I do enjoy seeing a small pretty lawn and I also enjoy flowers and pollinators.
During the pandemic 18 million new gardeners emerged, finding ways to relieve stress and anxiety. Most are continuing after having tasted fruits of their labor, whether it, literally, be fruits or just taking the time to breathe in nature in their own landscape.
When considering native plantings, do so at YOUR pace. I advocate ADDING natives, not just ripping up all your cultivars. That’s not realistic and, honestly, I like those cultivars too.
If you have questions, you’re always welcome to find Garden Bite on facebook, instagram and here. Those are not going away. Enjoy your gardens and continue to reach out to me. tkgardenbite@gmail.com
