Hello all!
Spring 2017 has sprung and you can see pics and descriptions of my native plant gardens here:
https://www.pinterest.com/winterberyfarm/my-native-garden-in-suburbia/ 'Normal' suburban gardening can be difficult in any season with neighbors that may be as close as just a couple of steps away from your front door or as far away as a very short jaunt through your side yard. No matter the size of your garden or yard, you can decrease your carbon footprint, save some money, and increase your joy depending on your need for grass. Have you ever gotten up on a beautiful SAturday morning and wished you could get out and enjoy the weather? But instead you have to mow the grass or spread grass food or herbicides to keep your lawn perfectly green? All of that fertilizer and grass food costs money and eventually finds its way into our groundwater BUT what if you could walk out your front door and survey your gardens as you get in your car to take off for the weekend? What if.....you could save all of that money you spend on grass food and pesticides to use on vacations or even just for a weekend getaway? Would those green, green, overfed lawns look as nice? or would you give up hours of mowing, feeding, and killing pests to spend elsewhere?
Enter the idea of suburban gardens that take a lot less work while taking care of our fragile habitat. You can start small with just a few native flowering shrubs to replace those solid green evergreens that you have as your 'landscape design' surrounded by more green in your lawn or you can do what I did and remove your grass to develop your own little woodland that can be self-sustaining after the initial planting.
This first entry in my quest to share my love of suburban gardens instead of suburban yards will just give you a few ideas of what you can achieve in a small, simple front garden full of native trees, shrubs, and wonderful spring ephemerals. Below are just a few pics of my tiny front garden that is located in a huge housing development in suburban Delaware. When we moved in there was the usual grass lawn and green 'meatball' shrubs lined across the front of our home that was built in the late 1980's. Today this same area is full of trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and those amazing spring ephemerals along with several species of animals and birds - including hawks, peregrine falcons, and at least one owl that has been seen from time to time around dusk. We don't mow, feed, or spray chemicals to keep everything going nor do we rake or bag up our leaves to protect that green, green grass. Check out the pics below for an idea of what can be accomplished here and then be sure to click on this link for more pics on my Pinterest site:
https://www.pinterest.com/winterberyfarm/my-native-garden-in-suburbia/
Enter the idea of suburban gardens that take a lot less work while taking care of our fragile habitat. You can start small with just a few native flowering shrubs to replace those solid green evergreens that you have as your 'landscape design' surrounded by more green in your lawn or you can do what I did and remove your grass to develop your own little woodland that can be self-sustaining after the initial planting.
This first entry in my quest to share my love of suburban gardens instead of suburban yards will just give you a few ideas of what you can achieve in a small, simple front garden full of native trees, shrubs, and wonderful spring ephemerals. Below are just a few pics of my tiny front garden that is located in a huge housing development in suburban Delaware. When we moved in there was the usual grass lawn and green 'meatball' shrubs lined across the front of our home that was built in the late 1980's. Today this same area is full of trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and those amazing spring ephemerals along with several species of animals and birds - including hawks, peregrine falcons, and at least one owl that has been seen from time to time around dusk. We don't mow, feed, or spray chemicals to keep everything going nor do we rake or bag up our leaves to protect that green, green grass. Check out the pics below for an idea of what can be accomplished here and then be sure to click on this link for more pics on my Pinterest site: https://www.pinterest.com/winterberyfarm/my-native-garden-in-suburbia/
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