Does chronic pain have you searching for alternative gardening methods? The methods you use are vital to your ability to continue gardening.
Traditional methods are labor-intensive and hard on the back and knees. There are many different methods that are much gentler, and a lot of them fall under the heading of Permaculture. I’ll be exploring the methods that I’ve found useful in upcoming blog posts, but the method I want to discuss today is Wildscaping.
Wildscaping, once established, requires less manicuring than traditional landscaping and uses plants that are native or adapted to your region. These plants require less water, less fertilizer, less trimming, less disease control…in other words, less work.
Wildscaping has the added benefit of providing for your local wildlife.
The Native Plant Society of Texas defines Wildscaping as:
… a way of designing your home’s landscape to attract and benefit wildlife, especially birds and butterflies, by providing the required food, water, and shelter…Wildscaping is also a way each of us can help offset the disappearance of wildlife habitat caused by development.
Your local Master Gardener and Native Plant Societies are great resources for learning about Wildscaping and attracting wildlife.
For me, there are two approaches to Wildscaping:
- One is to encourage the existing native plants on your property to thrive and;
- Two is to design a landscape and bring in native and adapted plants.
I use a combination of both approaches in my garden.
Using existing plants is easiest on the back and knees because you don’t have to move dirt or plant anything. The plants are already established, but they might not be thriving. A little grooming and management can pay off with a thriving eco-friendly garden.
Here are the four steps I use to encourage the native flora:
One: identify what is native and what isn’t.
For example, parts of the county I live in are forested by Chinese Privet. This is a highly invasive shrub that is sold in nurseries. Nothing eats it, no disease kills it, and the birds carry the seeds far and wide, so it proliferates. If I didn’t know this, I might be inclined to let it live, even encourage it. It does bloom every year with an intoxicating scent that attracts bees. But it’s a persistent and vigorous growing pest and will choke out the native plants.
Make sure the plants you’re encouraging belong in your ecosystem and are not alien invaders. Your state will have an online list of invasives and how to identify them.
Two: look at your property for native plants that are out of balance.
When we first moved here, Greenbriar was absolutely choking out the trees in the back. According to Mark “Merriwether” Vorderbruggen, of Foraging Texas:
Greenbriar is one of the best wild foods available as it can be found in immense quantities all year-round, it’s vine tips taste really good, they are very nutritious, and its tubers are a great source of calories.
We didn’t opt for eating the Greenbriar, and after several weeks of vine pulling and being slashed by thorns, we severely reduced its immense quantities, giving our trees some room to breathe!
Bring out of control natives back into balance.
Three: decide on a plan and shape your Wildscape.
The goal is to give it room to be wild, yet blend it in to the overall landscape design, so you’ll need to give it some mild suggestions occasionally to keep it in check.
Set your boundaries for what areas get to be completely wild and trim according to your overall plan.
The border in the pictures above delineates my formal beds from the Wildscaping. In this area, plants like Wingstem, Spiderwort, Inland Sea Oats, American Beautyberry, and Virginia Creeper all thrive with little maintenance.
Four: identify which native plants aren’t there but belong in your Wildscape.
There were three plants, Violets, Redbud trees and American Beautyberry, that didn’t exist on our 1.5-acre lot but were plentiful in the surrounding woods. Maybe the shade from the greenbriar blocked these understory natives. But they thrived in the surrounding woods and I was able to forage on the neighbors’ property and transplant some to my landscape. They have since thrived.
Identify and source native plants that you think should be included in your Wildscape.
Leaving the Wildscape soil undisturbed encourages the native mycelium which is the brain of the soil. Mycelium are like neural networks in the soil that allow plants to communicate better. The better a plant communicates with the soil, the more it will thrive. Preserving and encouraging the native mycelium will help all your plants stay healthy and develop deep roots.
If your lot was entirely disturbed while the house was built, you’ll need to design your Wildscape and import native plants. Heavy equipment and chemical use sterilize your soil. Sterilization creates plants that are dependent on you to micromanage their health and provide for every need. Build healthy soil by bringing in lots of compost and use organic methods of fertilizer. An organic garden with tons of soil life, mulch, and compost allows plants to learn to communicate and meet their own needs, meaning less work for you.
Wildscaping = less maintenance = less pain
Be an observer of the wild areas surrounding your home and watch how nature has done the landscaping. Borrow some of her good ideas!
Foraging could be considered a third approach to Wildscaping. Foraging is a method of growing wild that lets nature do all the work for you. Foraging is the ultimate in no-till food gardening! I’m beginning to experiment in foraging both on my lot and other areas (with permission). The part of my yard I leave wild has several plants I’ve identified as edible. I have yet to see how tasty they are but am willing to experiment.
Modern plants have been altered genetically from their ancestors. Eating wild plants is a change for the palate but also provides vitamins and minerals you might not get from cultivated plants. It’d be great to go out in my yard and harvest something wonderful, tasty, and nutritious that I didn’t have to put any effort into growing. Foraging is a vast subject for a future blog post. If you want to give foraging a try, get a good guidebook. I’m using this one and have identified several of the plants growing in my woods. This book also has recipes!
A good test to use when introducing any wild food into your diet is the universal edibility test found here.
Evaluate your gardening methods and see if you can find less labor-intensive ways to create the results you want. Check out YouTube videos on Wildscaping and Permaculture and discover new gardening techniques. Explore these methods and find the ones that resonate with you.
Work with nature, not against her, both with your garden and your body.
Wildscaping gives you more time to enjoy your gardening adventure while feeding the butterflies and bees!
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