September 14 , 2024
Less Lawn, More Wildlife, Lessons Learned
Not so long ago , Natalie McAnarney took a hard look at her new backyard . Its stark lawn and blank fence lacked personality and did n’t invite much interaction . An Army Veteran and a doctor assistant , she knows the health benefits of spend time outdoors . So , she explored how to grow a garden with native and adapted plant . “Initially , I just wanted things to be pretty , and then I desire it to be pretty and sustainable . And then eventually I got to the place where I wanted to support the wildlife , ” she told us last November on a nippy , misty break of the day . But that did n’t pass overnight . When Natalie and her hubby bought their house near Killeen in 2019 , it came with a builder level yard . With a full - sentence job , an active untried family , and a antecedence - apt budget , she select things one whole tone at a time . First on the list : a long , broad terrace with hatful of well-to-do furniture , since the whole family loves to be outdoors . Next come the hardscape where she beautifully unite dissimilar materials and warm chromaticity from patio tile and brick to Oklahoma flagstones on the crushed granite path . blade edging keeps a mulched , young recurrent bottom from spilling . To fix a fresh perennial layer along the star sign , Natalie choose stacked stones . In 2020 , she started embed . Plants have changed and she keeps editing ( as we all do ! ) . A fond list from our sojourn : ‘ Little Gem ’ magnolia as an evergreen anchor , along with lantana , potted chrysanthemum , crossvine , butterfly iris , dwarf crape Vinca minor , butterfly iris , crossvine , purple skullcap , turk ’s cap , and whale ’s lingua agave . She added a small water spring for birds , butterflies , and bee that stop by for a meal on flowers or seeded player . On the right , the yellowness is drought - hard native repeated zexmenia . “Just sitting out here is such an oasis away from , you know , the busy liveliness , ” she said . Now aBell County Master Gardener , Natalie ’s creatingYouTube videosandInstagramposts to document her challenge and successes . Austin PBS intern Jaida Newhouse and Natalie swapped works and tech tips . Photo by location assistant Katie Nelson . Fluff - fluff Charlie supervised director Ed Fuentes . pic by Jaida Newhouse . Natalie does n’t shy away from her fault to assist others invalidate the pitfall . And she ’s always learning , include from booster Jean and Dan Flores – great gardeners themselves . Natalie continues to whittle the lawn , mostly by digging , since her St. Augustine grass is pretty well-off to reverse up . She has also solarized it ; there are many proficiency , fromplastictosheet composting . To see to it runoff , she trenches the border to accumulate and infiltrate rain . As a shaver , this was always my problem ! I continued this practice in my own garden for old age , since it ’s a tidy facial expression and an unobtrusive borderline between beds and lawn . But suspiration : unless you keep up with it , nature encounter , and your trench settles back into the soil . Along the way , Natalie agnize that she was creating a sense of enclosure , a garden “ that feels like a fully grown squeeze . ”So , she dug out all-encompassing margin to embrace the fence , going for curving lines to offset straight lines . Her plants are still untested , but eventually they will surround the family with bloom , aroma , and seasonal changing leafage colours . This spot hosts a Chinese pistache , Salvia leucantha , S. greggii , and various perennials , including gloaming - flower chrysanthemums . Small tree ‘ Forest Pansy ’ redbud and Texas Cercis canadensis ( just out of sentiment ) shower early spring with rich pink - red flowers . On this side , hummingbirds head to desert willow tree ’s tubular pink flush all summertime . In fall , bumblebees surge Salvia leucantha , here with vetiver and Gulf muhly – all tremendous habitat plants . she ’s get desert willow , Salvia leucantha , vetiver and Gulf muhly – all rattling home ground plant from peak to shelter . That ’s ‘ Blue Sentry ’ yucca in a container . The Texas Cercis canadensis glance out at far end .
Recently , she tot up her garden to Doug Tallamy ’s onlineHomegrown National Parkregistry . I registered my garden , too ! It ’s free and you’re able to sign on with just a few plants . From their internet site : “ The Biodiversity Map is an interactive , community - based visual tool that tracks the entire area use up by native plant life . It is design to be the epicentre of biodiversity regeneration by consolidate and amplify all the extraordinary work being done by person and organization across the US and Canada . ”“I do feel , as a nurseryman , that I have some point of responsibleness of doing this well , because it impacts the nutrient vane beyond my yard , ” Natalie say . “ So I decidedly desire to see more about how to steward what I have here , in a way that does n’t harm that food internet at all . ”Speaking of aboriginal plants and wildlife habitat : Register now for a super duper Native Plant Society of Texas symposiumOctober 10 – October 12 ! This twelvemonth it ’s in New Braunfels , but there ’s an on-line option , too . They ’ve got a great lineup of speakers , include John Hart on pocket prairies Saturday good afternoon . NOTE : Registration ends September 23 .
watch out Natalie ’s story now ! ( Broadcast on November 9 to honor Veteran ’s daytime – correspond local listing . )
Thanks for stopping by ! Linda
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