Even though I feel I have been gardening thoughtfully, with the environment in mind, I have been re-thinking aspects of my yard and garden. Here are a few examples. I had wanted to remove what I thought was a "scrubby" tree from my backyard, until I learned it was a native wild cherry that was a host for many native insects (they can't eat or nest in most imported, exotic plants). I learned about the severe decline of the monarch butterfly, so I started its native host plant, the common milkweed, to plant in a new flower bed I am constructing. I had already gotten rid of most of a half acre of grass, which requires too many inputs of chemical and water to justify growing. and, of course, I use no artificial fertilizers, pesticides, etc.
Would you like to go to a more natural style of gardening? Here are 15 ideas for an "Ecobenefical Landscape:"
http://www.ecobeneficial.com/2014/09/fall-checklist-ecobeneficial-landscape/
[this is an endorsement of these ideas, not necessarily this consulting company].
Gardening is like parenting - it never ends. However, like parenting, we really don't want it to end. When we're 90, we'll still be attempting to take care of our babies... plants, pets, kids...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you and others are conscious of and work toward caring for our environment.