“Rose bushes. Expansive lawn. A wide array of ornamental trees, hedges, and bushes. As a homebuyer, what was there not to like about inheriting such a mature and well-tended garden? Plenty! Beyond the expensive waste of precious water, the landscaping was the waste of a great opportunity to create a truly welcoming suburban oasis of another kind. How wonderful it could be to be a habitat of not just beauty, but also abundance and symbiosis for both humans and all wildlife from the microorganisms up. Gone would be the need for the lawn tractor and all the insecticides and artificial fertilizers left behind in the shed. Over the weeks and months, I started by gathering large quantities of cardboard from the county dump and soon had sheet mulched almost the entire lawn. Vegetation that no longer served the higher purpose was removed and chipped into thick mulch that soon covered the cardboard layer. Truckload after truckload of free woodchips from the tree service were added to a mountain of purchased compost. It became my summer-long fitness program with wheelbarrow to spread the carbon and other nutrients to restore health to the soil. It was astounding how quickly things transformed. It was as if I had put a giant welcome mat out to the natural world. Within seconds of popping some native plants into the ground, a butterfly appeared out of nowhere, and other pollinators wasted little time in making themselves at home. With all the December and January rains, all the seedlings from the wildflowers I had sown are poking forth, along with the garlic. The winter vegetable bed is a gourmet’s delight. The new fruit trees can hardly wait to put out their buds. The greywater system has been installed and hopefully the roof rainwater catchment system will follow in the coming months. When people come by to look, I can only say, ‘Come back in Spring and then you will see for yourself.’” – Joel Brokaw
