December 13 , 2024
How Biking Led to No Lawn Native Plants
bicycle along rural area roads , Laura O’Toole fell in love with native bunch supergrass . At home , in bound and summertime 2023 , she rip out St. Augustine weed and Asian jasmine for native buffalograss , gorgeous bunch grass and pollinator - beloved perennial that wow both neighbors and wildlife in her HOA.She and husband Brian bought their hillside property in 2015 , mainly for its proximity to a beautiful greenbelt that they often hike . When we headed over in November 2023 , girl Emily was house for Thanksgiving , much to the delight of their precious rescued frump . But when they move in , the “ nature ” on their back slope was a brushwood of Asiatic jasmine and some yield trees . Over 7 year , in a process still in progress , Laura pull it all out and planted native grasses along with perennial and wild flower that blossom across the seasons . Her journey into native grasses began while cycling in the Hill Country and at their little ranch in Menard , where she and Brian are rejuvenating native forage and forbs on over - grazed land . She take a cue from wayside subsister to try out in her backyard with Lindheimer muhly , Gulf Coast muhly , switchgrass , prominent bluestem and little bluestem ( which already grew in the greenbelt ) . She also added various grama smoke , buffalograss , Berkeley sedge , and passing drouth tough Alkali sacaton . In front , she had groovy achiever seed a shade mixture of grasses and wildflower . On the leftfield is a covering harvest with wildflowers that will bloom in spring . On the right , she planted a cover version crop , various muhly grasses , pig Mary Jane , and sand dropseed . Below the first railroad tie , she plant windmill grass , buffalograss , and some muhlies . At the sharpness , there ’s piffling blue stem . Adapted purple fountain Mary Jane drop anchor the bottom edge . Near the porch , inland sea oats clump in the louche spot ( that also gets sun).To slow up down rainwater runoff from the street , Brian laid railroad ties as curb to infiltrate weewee at reformist levels . Stones form a dry creek to further absorb water . Instead of shorn foundation bush , she sparks attention and wildlife habitat with white tridens , Indiangrass , Lindheimer muhly , braggart Andropogon gerardii , switchgrass , Berkeley sedge , Gulf muhly , and adapt imperial fount smoke ( out of view).“I was n’t really a nurseryman , ” Laura accommodate . “ My best acquaintance is a gardener , and she has beautiful vegetable garden , but she ’s a great Captain James Cook . And so that was kind of her hook . My other good admirer had beautiful garden because she loved beautiful blossom . And that was her hook . I needed a sweetener , and it could n’t just be Gunter Wilhelm Grass , you know?”Ultimately , what overcharge her in is wildlife — from birds and pollinators to lizards and Snake River and mammals . As she created habitat , she base angleworm and beetles . She find out about horde plants for butterfly and moths , and how to mix perennial , yearly , and clump skunk for twelvemonth - stave lulu . Photo by ( then ) Austin PBS intern Jaida Newhouse . A Quaker told her aboutDoug Tallamy ’s Homegrown National Park — an initiative to connect habitat garden across the nation to bear out both migrating and residential wildlife . Laura registered her garden ( it ’s free ) , and when delighted neighbour bar by , she passes along her gratuity and boost . “ If everybody had just a patch in our neighborhood , on our street , everybody could have bunches of butterflies and bees and , you know , critters to look at , ” she said . “It was so remedial for me to rip up all these non - aboriginal Gunter Wilhelm Grass and the trespassing flora to find like I ’m part of the solution inviting wildlife in rather than assay to keep them out , ” Laura said . In this shot , see director Ed Fuentes , Laura , and transfix Artemis Lesgaux . Foreground is a mix of blanket harvest and bounce - bloom wildflower . At the curb , fall ’s showoffs let in Lindheimer muhly , Gregg ’s mist-flower , and lantana . With their thirtieth wedding party day of remembrance on the horizon , Brian promised her a pond , something she ’d always want . Eric and Ana Arntson ofStonebridge Pond and Waterfallenvisioned a miniature Jacob ’s Well that blended into the hillside as if it had always been there . Naturally filtered , this biologic habitat is secure for the family , the dogs , and all the wildlife that head over to quench their thirst . “ It ’s been the most fun I ’ve had and the best addition to this railway yard , way , way more than I could have anticipated , ” Laura told us . Gulf Coast muhly and Nipponese sedge cascade over the stonework . Heartland Sprinklersset up an irrigation system of rules from the 1350 - gal rain collection cistern fromTexas Metal Tanks . At the spirit of Laura ’s stewardship ism , “ We ask to get word to go alongside wildlife . And it can be mussy . It can look messy at times . It does n’t look like a golf course , but I think it ’s pretty that way . You know , it ’s just changing the way you imagine about it . ”Thanks for stopping by ! On our crew that day , here ’s Jaida Newhouse , then an intern and now embarking on her calling in LA.She took this exposure of the rest of us : director Ed Fuentes , audio / grip Artemis Lesgaux , and audio / grip Steve Maedl .
look on Laura ’s floor !
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