Why Make And Maintain A Natural Yard: For The Birds, Bees and Butterflies

Natural yards for the birds, bees and butterflies — and for the pleasure they brings human senses — are nothing new. I personally have created my own natural yard for decades, as has my brother. Where did that inspiration come from? Our forest ranger father, who taught all my siblings that lawns were silly, foolish, […]

Finding Wonderful Hidden Wildflowers: Haiku

It is often so/ that when we clear dross and junk,/ we find wonderful. Using a loping shears to clear underbrush and non-native privet from around the hardwood trees in my back yard reveals an undergrowth of black-eyed susans and other hidden wildflowers. Sometimes you have to burn the grasses and weeds from large fields, […]

The Wildflower Fire Experiment + What Is This Flower?

A couple of months ago, I was mulling over what to do with the long grasses which are covering the north part of my property. I know some of the clumps are non-native and invasive species, while the other grasses seemed to be thatched pretty heavily, not allowing anything to grow. In addition, these grasses […]