Kermit must be pleased. It’s actually not all that hard to be green – or at least green-ish.
And that’s a good thing, because gazing out over my backyard this time of year can be both energizing and daunting.
Right about now, most of us have done a little poking around in our yards, cleaning up debris and maybe raking out last year’s dried-up stuff. If you’re truly reckless, like a local journalist I know who shall remain anonymous, you’ve even planted a few pansies and impatiens – the latter one perfectly named for those of us who have a hard time waiting until it’s actually warm enough for such things. I’m hoping not to forget to keep covering them at night, until winter’s tenacious chill finally finds the exit door.
But let’s face it, waiting for spring can be hard work. Then again, so can yard work.
I’m not sure how your lawn looks, but at this point in the season, ours tends to spread out dotted with brown gaps, interspersed with flashy green tufts reminiscent of crazy baby hair. Deep down, I know why this is: that stuff’s really not supposed to be out there at all.
It’s true. Turf grass isn’t a natural thing to use for covering the land around our homes. We do it anyway. It looks so darn nice, after all – and it’s pretty pleasant to walk through in bare feet. Besides, the lush spreads of green smoothness that furnish a generous margin around our homes are what defines suburbia.
Still, it’s not a native plant. It turns out that Kentucky Bluegrass, the foreign turf of choice for many of us, doesn’t really have much to do with Kentucky. Its seed is produced mostly in the Pacific Northwest, and most people who know a lot about such things recognize it as introduced, rather than native. Sure, the introduction happened about four centuries ago, but it wasn’t born here. We love it anyway – despite its needy habits. Season after season, we’re willing to put up with the mowing, the fertilizing, the seemingly never-ending battle with the weed kingdom – if there’s a nice velvety carpet awaiting our bare tootsies on the other side.
“We still are too much in love with lawns and development,” Pat Armstrong told me when our paths crossed a couple of months ago.
You’ve probably driven by Armstrong’s house a lot of times. It’s on Naper Boulevard on the city’s southeast side, a contemporary-style home with a roof covered in native grass, surrounded by a splendid expanse of native plants – and the wildlife that loves those things. Not a blade of Kentucky Bluegrass in sight.
Sure, it takes a bit of elbow grease to achieve a yard like that, and it’s not for everybody. But if you’re like a lot of people who live in this part of the world, you’re open to ideas for putting more plants on the property that feel more at home there. Locally native floras have adapted, over thousands of years, to thriving here. This dazzling array of indigenous plants can handle the ridiculously bone-chilling cold and sweltering drought that have become so frequent in this era of climate change. Their roots stretch deep below ground, no fertilizers needed, to nourish the aquifer and continue flourishing long after the lawn has given up and turned brown once again.
Jim Kleinwachter, who manages the Conservation@Home program at The Conservation Foundation in Naperville, advises taking small steps to turn your yard more truly green.
“The practical stuff would be to make it easier for yourself to mow the lawn that you have,” he said.
That means pulling out square corners to make enlarge existing bed of things other than grass, and creating larger circles around prized trees, which can then be filled with interesting native plants. You can extend these open rings as far as you like.
“(Experts) would suggest something like the drip line, which is a bit much for most people to do,” said Kleinwachter, who thinks a radius of two to 3 feet is perfectly OK.
And it never hurts to feed the soil. Its appetite can feel comparable to that of an adolescent male, who’s pretty much voracious 24/7.
“Our areas are starved for organic material, so we suggest composting, using leaves – shred them, bury them, use them any way you want,” he said.
Another way to adjust your lawn’s environmental footprint is to consider water flow. If there’s a place on the lawn that habitually develops puddles, it might be a cry for help. Pulling out the turf there and putting in something indigenous feels like a logical way to go.
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A butterfly garden or “birdscaping” – a fun word that alludes to planting berry-bearing species like viburnum and serviceberry makes sense as an easy-care strategy, too.
“If it brought you cedar waxwings, or scarlet tanager, then it would be worth it,” Kleinwachter said, noting that the fabulous indigo bunting is also drawn to that sort of native shrub. “There is a reward for the effort that you make.”
It’s nice having such a gracious and knowledgeable guy in town. He’s willing to come by and walk your yard with you and offer suggestions, and it won’t cost a dime. To make that happen residents can call Kleinwachter at 630-428-4500, ext. 115.
“We have a system for helping people, and it’s free,” he said.
It’s tough to top that.
There’s lots more free information to be had at http://www.theconservationfoundation.org.
Twitter @scarlman