Wherever you live, make it a refuge
Do you enjoy where you live, or is it just where you live?
Would you like more privacy and a more natural setting?
this website is about making it happen
EXPERIENCE CHANGE
Naturalize, without upsetting the neighbors or zoning code enforcement
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Start small: add water to your home environment. Just about everyone--birds, neighbors, even code enforcers--love water features. Add something as small as a table top fountain, as modest as a 24-inch diameter tub, or as large as the pond of your dreams, and you will be amazed at how differently you feel about the place you call home.
Next step: choose a small area of your lawn to naturalize. Ideally this centers around your water feature, but it can also stand alone. Simply quit mowing an area and see what grows, or think big, plan it, and go for it! |
Basics For Naturalizing The Place You Call Home
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ADD WATER, THE MORE THE BETTER
LEARN ABOUT YOUR GROWING ZONE USE NATIVE PLANTS WHEN AT ALL POSSIBLE RULE #1: RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN |
LEARN ABOUT MOSQUITO FISH
BEFORE YOU PLANT, DO A BLOOM CALENDAR DON'T CALL IT A WEED; IT'S A WILDFLOWER BE BOLD, BUT KNOW YOUR ZONING CODES |
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EXPLORE THE GROUNDS
The Natural YardIf you have a traditional modern grass lawn, you have a green desert devoid of life, dangerous chemicals underfoot--and a constant year-round maintenance problem. Replace it with a natural lawn--we chose Ladino clover because it met zoning requirements—and you bring life to your property, like this white-tail doe and her week-old fawn. You also free yourself from having to mow, water, and fertilize to keep it green.
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If we can do it, you can do it
Our one-acre property is surrounded by this...
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...yet in our natural yard we have this...
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Our one-acre property is surrounded by a metropolitan area with a population of more than 300,000 people.
We are two miles from a downtown area of 25,000 people and within the city limits of a metro area of 100,000 people.
Yet we have created a natural space with more than 100 species of birds, five deer that live in our yard mostly full-time,
a quarter-mile cedar mulch running trail--and we have more privacy than when we lived on five acres in a rural setting.
And--as we transitioned from a traditional high-maintenance, chemical-laden lawn to a natural yard, our lawn care declined from hours each week to minutes. We aren't landscaping experts, but we have ideas that can work for you.
We are two miles from a downtown area of 25,000 people and within the city limits of a metro area of 100,000 people.
Yet we have created a natural space with more than 100 species of birds, five deer that live in our yard mostly full-time,
a quarter-mile cedar mulch running trail--and we have more privacy than when we lived on five acres in a rural setting.
And--as we transitioned from a traditional high-maintenance, chemical-laden lawn to a natural yard, our lawn care declined from hours each week to minutes. We aren't landscaping experts, but we have ideas that can work for you.