Ever since I moved to this house 13 years ago, I envisioned a yard filled with native plants. Backyard Lac Amora Sept 2008I don’t mind the soft touch of bluegrass under my feet, but why do we need so much of it?

I started small, filling the small spaces with buffalograss, planting side-oats grama, mountain mahogany, but I wanted a native meadow. Out came the garden beds. Beds 2794 W 12th Ave 2003Out came the turf. In went the butterfly garden, only to die in the drought that turned the century. I may put a vegetable garden in its place.

Scattering yarrow seeds years ago, I didn’t imagine the weeding I do now, the struggle with the invasive roots.

Five species of penstemon out of three hundred.
I’ve just started.

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  1. BernardL July 20, 2009 at 9:53 am - Reply

    If your goal was making your yard look like a wild field, you succeeded. It looks a bit susceptible to wildfires though. 🙂

  2. Beth Partin July 20, 2009 at 10:18 am - Reply

    Bernard, some days I wish a wildlife would come through just that part of my yard and burn out all the weeds. It would save me some work. I wonder if Broomfield would let me do a controlled burn?

    I should have posted a picture of the field next to my garden: just covered with seedheads.
    .-= Beth Partin´s last blog ..MonHaibun: Redo, Redo =-.

  3. Mary July 20, 2009 at 10:21 pm - Reply

    Living downtown like I do, I think the open space looks lovely pretty much just the way it is! I love the energy of the city, but I do sometimes think a bit more nature in my daily life would be nice.
    .-= Mary´s last blog ..Mile High sky =-.

  4. Beth July 20, 2009 at 11:16 pm - Reply

    I guess I’ve done so much restoration that I notice noxious weeds, kind of the way I notice typos because I’ve been a copyeditor so long. But open space is nice. I’m glad I got to have a home with a good view of the mountains for so long.
    .-= Beth´s last blog ..MonHaibun: Redo, Redo =-.