Our house was built in 1932. We purchased it from the original owner whose father had farmed the land between Sheridan Road and University, near Forest Hill. According to her son, ours was the only house in the subdivision in which the basement had been excavated using a team of draft horses. Imagine crops and hoof-stock today in this older neighborhood of trees, alleys, streets, brick homes and manicured grass.
In the backyard she had maintained some of the original flowers from her family’s farm. There were trillium, Mayapples, and Jack-in-the-pulpit, along with heirloom roses and an assortment of other old plant varieties. Her yard had been a sort of floristic anachronism amid blocks of bluegrass. The terrace to the lower part of the yard was shored up with curved concrete blocks from her Dad’s silo. Her sense of connection to this land and its history was real and inspiring. Nearly a century old, she finally had to give it up and go live with her daughter, for health reasons. We took on not only ownership, but responsibility for this horticultural legacy.
When we moved to our house, back in 1992, we took with us a lot more than just furniture. Even with all of her interesting plants, there was still ample turf grass that could be replaced. Our van looked like a rolling rainforest on wheels. Trees stuck out like large leafy antlers. The interior was chock-full of plants. We certainly got a lot of odd looks as we slowly drove to our new address that Sunday morning.We brought a sampling of our perennials, shrubs, and trees, most of which are native to Central Illinois.
Plants provide a lot more than just connections to the past, or to the region. There are many side benefits to having a limited-lawn landscape, besides the obvious… reduced need for mowing, fertilizing, weeding, trimming, and raking. For example, because bluebells grow right next to our garage, we always enjoy their azure April flowers and know exactly when to visit the woods, when they often cover valleys with a beautiful blooming blue blanket.
Screening is a valuable function. You can block out the view of roads, wires, fences and buildings by putting in trees and shrubs. Plantings can also act as a frame, focusing the viewer on a vista or area of interest. This could help enhance the “curb appeal” of your property.
Well-placed shrubs or trees soften right-angle edges of buildings, making the overall scenery more aesthetically pleasing. At the same time, they provide cover, food, and a place to nest, for critters, such as songbirds.
In our back yard we used vegetation to literally create the view. In screening out wires and garages along an alley, we now have varied species, textures, and colors, which create an interesting backdrop for whatever might be going on in our own yard. To enhance the look of your landscape try placing taller plants in the back, by a fence or property line, with smaller plants closer in.
During a heavy rain, water accumulates by our back fence, right where the farm pond used to be. In doing a landscape, it’s important to note that plants that thrive in specific conditions would be the best choices in their preferred locations. This is part of what’s called “integrated pest management.” Selecting the correct plant for the conditions results in fewer problems later on, hence less fertilizing, disease problems, and pest treatments. This is one reason to use native vegetation.
Plantings help reduce global warming in two ways. They capture carbon right out of the air to produce leaves, stems, seeds, and roots. Also, by reducing the need to mow, you don’t have to burn as many fossils or spew as much carbon from a smoking power mower. In fact, with less turf, you can get by with a hand pushed reel mower. I’ve used one for a couple of years now, and it’s easy.
We’ve had a lot more than just flowers and foliage. With ample habitat from diverse plants, each year we’ve had wrens and chickadees nesting somewhere in the yard. Chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits make their presence known. Robins and chipping sparrows, mourning doves, and even bumblebees have called our yard home. Countless butterflies have frequented the fragrant flowers, as well as wasps and honey bees. There have also been beetles, preying mantis, crickets, katydids, and fireflies. Species diversity is a key to preventing pest outbreaks. This is what Rachael Carson referred to as the “resistance of the environment.” Think of it as a healthy immune system.
Plants can cool your yard and house. Simply plan where you’d like to have shade and “plant it.” There are many shade trees from which to choose. Local landscape companies can give you pointers. For Central Illinois, I prefer oaks. But remember, that cute baby tree can become a huge TREE. So consider its mature size and provide room to grow. Place some perennials beneath it, and keep turf grass at bay. Turf roots stress trees. To give your tree a good start carefully follow planting instructions, and don’t plant too deep. Remember to give it a good drink when it’s first planted.
For the sake of tree care and ease of garden maintenance, the magic material is mulch. It minimizes weeding, holds moisture, cools soil, replaces turf, and stimulates fine root mass in trees. Mulch beds make maintenance easy. Design them, for example, to accommodate the mower’s turning radius. There is no need to bag fall foliage. Leaves are the perfect supplement to mulch beds. This all makes yard maintenance easy. Either rake (and wet with hose so it won’t blow around), or use a power mower to shoot the leaves onto the mulch bed. This also helps break the leaves into smaller pieces so they compost more quickly. Rule of thumb… mulch should extend from the trunk (not quite touching it) out to the drip line (farthest reach of the branches) more or less, and be around three to four inches deep. Don’t worry if the leaves are initially deep. They break down quickly.
Turf does have a place, but most home landscapes have way too much. Like other landscape features it should be used for specific purposes. Think about how turf grass can serve your needs. It provides a walkway from here to there. Ease of access throughout a landscape can be accomplished with appropriate turf. Also, if you’d like a place for lawn chairs and cookouts, lawn can be part of your design. It accommodates backyard activities such as badminton or bocce ball. One other value has to do with visibility. Turf keeps appropriate lanes of view open. Well planned landscapes enhance the home, essentially adding “rooms.”
Now, after 18 years our flowers frame the house. A chickadee is nesting in a bird house on the garage. Wrens are nesting in the birdhouse hanging on the swamp white oak in the front yard. It’s song reverberates through the front door. Robins are nesting in a small dogwood. Irises bloom against a backdrop of lilac. Hostas and columbine grace the mulch beds under many of our trees. Little green apples are forming on the apple trees.
Our new house is surrounded by turf grass, so we find ourselves contemplating a clean slate. The plusses of a lawn-dominated landscape are outweighed by a diverse, colorful, multi-textured mix of species. To get started we first will sketch the yard and house, and plan in a similar way to laying out the interior of the house. We hope to incorporate a couple vegetative souvenirs to connect our old home to the new.