How to Slowly Make a 'Natives Only' Garden
2022-06-28
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1From VOA Learning English this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2Home gardeners are becoming more educated about the importance of native plants in the ecosystem.
3With a deeper knowledge of native plants, many gardeners are turning to something called "rewilding."
4This is an approach to gardening and landscaping that uses native plants to feed, house, and protect insects, bees, birds, and butterflies.
5Gardening expert Jessica Damiano writes for the Associated Press.
6She explains the ways gardeners are rewilding their property.
7Those ways include:
8getting rid of their lawns (areas with just grass),
9replacing non-native plants with native ones,
10NOT clearing up plants in the fall to keep food and shelter for overwintering birds and insects, and making their property a habitat for wildlife.
11However, other gardeners may worry about having a "messy" garden.
12They also may be worried about the work and cost of completely redoing their garden.
13Other people may be limited by their property agreements or neighborhood restrictions.
14Well, here is some good news: Rewilding does not have to be all-or-nothing.
15It is possible to slowly introduce native plants to a traditional, already-established garden.
16Just one native potted plant that feeds one pollinator will make a difference.
17Including a few natives alongside traditional garden plants - whether in containers or in the ground - will create a more sustainable garden that appeals to helpful insects.
18Here is more good news: Native plants are generally drought-tolerant.
19That means they can survive long periods of time without water.
20If replacing your entire lawn with native groundcover sounds like too big of a job, consider making the lawn smaller.
21You can also put in new plant beds and borders or enlarge existing ones.
22Then you can fill them with plants native to your area.
23This will lead to more bees and butterflies.
24Your flowering plants, fruits, and vegetables will bloom better with the help of more pollinators.
25You will also have less garden work like cutting, weeding, watering, and fertilizing.
26And in the end, you will most likely save money.
27Damiano says that planting native wildflowers is the best idea.
28However, for some people wildflower gardens can look a bit too wild and messy.
29If that is not what you (or your neighbors) want, you can create a border of grass to contain the wildflowers.
30This will keep the garden looking neat.
31Damiano lives near New York City.
32Over the last several years she has slowly rewilded her garden.
33She has less lawn, and the lawn that is left is seeded with clover.
34Clover flower attracts pollinators.
35Clover also fixes nitrogen into the soil. It is a fertilizer you do not have to pay for.
36Damiano writes that she kept her hydrangeas, roses, and lilacs.
37But now, the only new plants she brings home are natives.
38After just a few years, native plants already outnumber non-native plants in her garden.
39That will continue as her old garden favorites die and are replaced with plants that belong in the area.
40Through this process, Damiano says she has discovered many beautiful flowering native plants like Jacob's ladder (Polemonium caeruleum), turtlehead (Chelone obliqua), and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis).
41These all provide food for pollinators.
42With her roses, she planted gayfeather (Liatris spicata), bee balm (Monarda didyma), and milkweed (Asclepias).
43Milkweed serves as the only food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars, she writes.
44In the autumn, she still collects her leaves.
45But she no longer bags them up for the trash collector.
46Now, the dead leaves are used as winter mulch for the garden, and they serve as a winter home for helpful insects.
47Damiano says a complete rewilding of her garden will take several more years to complete.
48And that is fine with her.
49It is another step in the right direction.
50In gardening, as in life, she says her goal is to work toward progress - not perfection.
51And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
52I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2Home gardeners are becoming more educated about the importance of native plants in the ecosystem. 3With a deeper knowledge of native plants, many gardeners are turning to something called "rewilding." This is an approach to gardening and landscaping that uses native plants to feed, house, and protect insects, bees, birds, and butterflies. 4Gardening expert Jessica Damiano writes for the Associated Press. She explains the ways gardeners are rewilding their property. 5Those ways include: 6getting rid of their lawns (areas with just grass), 7replacing non-native plants with native ones, 8NOT clearing up plants in the fall to keep food and shelter for overwintering birds and insects, and 9making their property a habitat for wildlife. 10However, other gardeners may worry about having a "messy" garden. They also may be worried about the work and cost of completely redoing their garden. Other people may be limited by their property agreements or neighborhood restrictions. 11Well, here is some good news: Rewilding does not have to be all-or-nothing. It is possible to slowly introduce native plants to a traditional, already-established garden. 12Just one native potted plant that feeds one pollinator will make a difference. Including a few natives alongside traditional garden plants - whether in containers or in the ground - will create a more sustainable garden that appeals to helpful insects. 13Here is more good news: Native plants are generally drought-tolerant. That means they can survive long periods of time without water. 14If replacing your entire lawn with native groundcover sounds like too big of a job, consider making the lawn smaller. You can also put in new plant beds and borders or enlarge existing ones. Then you can fill them with plants native to your area. 15This will lead to more bees and butterflies. Your flowering plants, fruits, and vegetables will bloom better with the help of more pollinators. You will also have less garden work like cutting, weeding, watering, and fertilizing. And in the end, you will most likely save money. 16Damiano says that planting native wildflowers is the best idea. However, for some people wildflower gardens can look a bit too wild and messy. If that is not what you (or your neighbors) want, you can create a border of grass to contain the wildflowers. This will keep the garden looking neat. 17Damiano lives near New York City. Over the last several years she has slowly rewilded her garden. She has less lawn, and the lawn that is left is seeded with clover. 18Clover flower attracts pollinators. Clover also fixes nitrogen into the soil. It is a fertilizer you do not have to pay for. 19Damiano writes that she kept her hydrangeas, roses, and lilacs. But now, the only new plants she brings home are natives. After just a few years, native plants already outnumber non-native plants in her garden. That will continue as her old garden favorites die and are replaced with plants that belong in the area. 20Through this process, Damiano says she has discovered many beautiful flowering native plants like Jacob's ladder (Polemonium caeruleum), turtlehead (Chelone obliqua), and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). These all provide food for pollinators. 21With her roses, she planted gayfeather (Liatris spicata), bee balm (Monarda didyma), and milkweed (Asclepias). Milkweed serves as the only food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars, she writes. 22In the autumn, she still collects her leaves. But she no longer bags them up for the trash collector. Now, the dead leaves are used as winter mulch for the garden, and they serve as a winter home for helpful insects. 23Damiano says a complete rewilding of her garden will take several more years to complete. And that is fine with her. It is another step in the right direction. In gardening, as in life, she says her goal is to work toward progress - not perfection. 24And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. 25I'm Anna Matteo. 26Jessica Damiano reported this story for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 27_______________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29garden - n. a piece of ground in which fruits, flowers, or vegetables are grown : gardener - n. a person who works in a garden 30landscape - v. to improve the natural beauty of a piece of land : landscaping - n. 31lawn - n. ground (as around a house or in a garden or park) that is covered with grass and is kept mowed 32habitat - n. the place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows 33messy - adj. lacking neatness or precision 34sustainable - adj. of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged 35drought-tolerant - adj. able to survive long periods of time without rain 36bloom - v. o produce or yield flowers : to support abundant plant life 37mulch - n. a material (as straw or bark) spread over the ground especially to protect the roots of plants from heat or cold, to keep soil moist, and to control weeds