Monday’s U-T prominently featured an article about San Diego homeowners replacing their lawns with native plant gardens. I think this is a great thing to do, particularly with the water shortage facing us. Whenever I bike up Dale Street and see all the nice lawns I think, if we’re gonna use all that water to farm something I wish we’d grow food. Or at least keep some cattle to eat the grass.
But anyway, if you become one of the lucky people with a native garden, I will share what I learned, which is: hire an expert. I did my first native garden myself, and it just didn’t take, and it looked horrible. A few years later, I tried again by hiring our friend Wes — who is professionally in the native gardens business — to do it, and it came out wonderfully. The garden is well over a year old now, and my yard is full of plants, frangrance, and pollinators.
I regularly check Google Street hoping they will soon replace the old photo of my mangy house with a new photo that shows my nice garden
Also, of course, the big benefit of hiring a local expert is that we keep those increasingly-precious George Washingtons circulating in the ‘hood.
Thanks for the heads up on the article — I’m going to a sustainable urban landscaping conference tomorrow at Cuyamaca College…. maybe Wes will be there? ;^)
Wes is doing our front yard as I write. The new plants will be here very soon. I’m so excited. Native gardens not only save water but are also beautiful. Wes is a great guy too!
Wes did my yard last fall and things are growing in nicely and exploding in size! It seems that water conservation is beginning to be more and more of an issue. Tear out that dead lawn and go native, you’ll love the results I promise. Wes has excellent customer service as well.