Getting Ready for My Natives!

In my last post, I talked about how to take care of your garden and plants during the winter. Yes, it's still winter. Actually, if you live in NE Indiana like me, it's just now winter considering it's been so incredibly mild (today it is back to being mild -- 10 a.m., mid-30s and a mix of sun and clouds).

Although I haven't began sketching out our garden and landscaping plans for this coming year, we have talked about what's going in and what we want in our veggie garden.

We decided (o.k., I decided and told Shaun) that this is the year we are starting with all natives. Yes, we have several non-native species in our yard, and even some euonymus. Luckily, we don't have full-size euonymus (burning bush), we have a more compact variety that grow to about 7 feet tall. I'm not sure of the exact cultivar -- they were here when we bought the house. Euonymus is an invasive species, although the smaller varieties may not be as much of a threat as the large, 20-foot-tall-plus regular variety.

While I can buy my natives at the nursery I work at, I can also dig several species up from the woods that line my parents' property. While I know those woods like the back of my hand, I know that there are a lot of plant species I've taken for granted out there and never really paid attention to.

Not a huge fan of may apples, but those grow in insanely large patches in the woods out there. I'm also pretty sure I've seen some Jacob's ladder. This spring and summer, I plan on looking for some natural coral bells, Jacob's ladder, spiderwort, American honeysuckle, wild roses and wild lilies. There are also several native grasses out there, and I love grasses.

I want my yard to be more natural. I get sick of looking at green lawns. It's not natural. The grasses we plant in our lawns are somewhat invasive and are definitely alien. As you've guessed from my blog, I'm also disgusted by the lack of habitat for wildlife and the general consensus that it's okay as long as the people are happy.

When my yard becomes developed with my native plants, I plan on certifying it with the National Wildlife Federation as a wildlife garden. My neighbors might think I'm insane trying to attract wildlife instead of exclude wildlife, but hey, maybe they should follow suit.

My next posts will be about ideas for my landscape, wildlife gardens and other related information!