Day One

This blog is not a scientific journal, nor a how-to-guide to landscaping with native plants.  It is, rather, a story that chronicles the building of a native landscape, and it would be best be read by starting with the first post and proceeding forward in time to the most recent post, as your time allows. It is the story of what happened — what is happening — as I try to transform a 2.5 acre parcel of “developed” land into a self-conserving native landscape. As well, it is also the story of how this experience has changed and continues to change how I think about and practice landscaping. Though it did not begin this way, it is a lament on the enduring troubles that stem from the destruction of our native woodland in favor of a lawn dominated landscape. It is not a condemnation of developers and builders, but it is a calling out and a plea to stop the unnecessary destruction. This woodland, these trees and all the plants that go with them, this is our homeland. Why, I ask, are we destroying the land that sustains and connects us to this place we call home? Now that we face the damage, what is our role in restoring the land? What will it require and what are the costs? How do we even know what to do? It is perplexing; my conclusion is that, yes, we can and must help. The most important thing we must do, and we can do, is to Let Nature Happen.