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Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot

392 points by sohkamyung 4y ago

banga 4y ago
Another good resource for those interested: https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1 https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1 I'm not affiliated, just have high regard for Tallamy's work.
bmitc 4y ago
After getting a house with a decent sized yard and trees, I have been having a lot of fun with planting native plants. While my neighbors are cutting down trees, which is honestly hard to watch, and paying landscapers to plant non-native plants, I'm spending a lot of time researching and planting native plants. It is honestly one of the more fulfilling things to walk outside and see all sorts of bees, butterflies, moths, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and birds living their lives. They all work so hard that it is inspiring. I'm looking forward to spring again for this exact reason. I sort of disagree with the article though. I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. Just because you have a lot of activity around a plant doesn't mean it's the right activity. You could be attracting non-regional and non-native species which is generating the activity. And honestly, native plant species are easy. If you plant them in the right place, they will grow very easily and strongly with minimal care. Then you can collect their seeds. I am really hoping that all the milkweed we're planting brings more monarchs. Last year, we saw a couple. I like Douglas Tallamy's books Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope.
- throw_away1525 4y ago
  I think you're right about the natives and the 'right kind' of activity. Native species, especially the ones at risk, are more likely to be specialists. And of course, they specialize in the native plants. Invasive species, on the other hand, are more likely to be generalists. That's why they become invasive in the first place. And they'll be happy to visit those non-native plants.
- ilyt 4y ago
  Yeah, I also don't understand appeal of "just a square of land filled with immaculate lawn and not much else. It's essentially space wasted for nothing.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    Agreed. I've heard manicured lawns described as deserts but that that is actually not fair to deserts, the implication being that deserts are a healthier ecosystem than manicured lawns. I still have a lawn in the front and back covering parts of the property. I did plant non-native grass last fall. I'm not sure I'm happy about that from an ideal standpoint, but I chose grass that is very drought resistant and needs basically no maintenance and looks fine when allowed to grow taller. I mixed in some mini-clover, which is also non-native, but it's a new species that is supposed to make the grass even more drought tolerant, provides natural fertilization, and supports pollinators. We'll see how it goes. I also plan to not mow as much, although last year with the drought, I barely mowed at all. I don't use chemical fertilizers and used only natural fertilizers. I have heard this approach described as feeding the soil and not feeding the grass. One of the fertilizers I used showed some fungus growing on the grass, which I was happy about. I hope to keep evolving things and reclaiming parts of the lawn that we never use or want. It's nice as you reclaim it with plants and trees, because it's decreasing maintenance burden.
  - hinkley 4y ago
    I saw a comedy set a long time ago with a line to the effect “the lawn was brought to us by the same pretentious assholes who got beheaded during the French Revolution”.
  - rootusrootus 4y ago
    Some of us like to have a bit of open lawn for outdoor activities that need some space. I've still got dozens of trees, shrubs, wildflowers and such, but there's an area of just grass that is really nice to have. I can't remember the last time I saw a lawn around here that didn't have a boatload of additional plants as well. I assume this must happen in other parts of the country/world, or it's a meme. If you want to go completely wild with your own back yard, I understand, but I don't see the appeal of that either.
- pascalxus 4y ago
  but you also need some balance. alot of native species don't taste very good and some aren't even edible.
  - bavent 4y ago
    Don’t taste good and aren’t edible for you maybe, but all my local bugs and critters seem to love the ones I’ve planted.
- pamelafox 4y ago
  Agreed! I've been gradually replacing the invasive plants with native plants, and for the most part, native plants are doing really well. We have one side of the yard with bad soil from an ivy infestation, but with enough soil amendment, I think it'll be fine. If you're in the bay area, https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/ https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/ is a great resource - you can tour gardens and find garden designers. Calscape.net also a great resource, plus the native nurseries like Oaktown and Watershed.
- taeric 4y ago
  Native plants may be easy; but by that measure, invasives are where its at. :D That said, bringing down trees is always odd to me. Definitely bring down any that pose a risk to your house. But otherwise, seems more effort than it is worth. I should probably be a lot better at pruning, as that is a ton of work. And, while intellectually I know the answer is that you are unlikely to kill the tree, I am always worried about that to the point that I don't prune enough.
  - xyzzyz 4y ago
    Depends on your goals. I’d love to have some big towering trees around me, but I also love gardening and laying in the sun. One big tree in an inopportune could shade my entire yard.
    - taeric 4y ago
      Note that posing a risk doesn't just mean "if giant tree were to fall toward house it would be a problem." Obviously, you should monitor the health of any giant tree nearby, but by and large healthy trees growing tall is not an immediate concern. Moreover, some of those trees would be perfectly healthy if you kept them pruned to a safer height. So, posing a risk is more on trees that are likely to fall over and do major damage. Or those that have root systems that are too close to your foundation and going to cause issue in that way. All of this is said as someone that loves giant trees nearby. Seeing eagles and such nest at the top of trees that are hundreds of feet tall is very cool. Edit: Also consider fire hazard to the house, depending on where you live.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    I'm still not totally certain how to "manage" the trees in our yard. We are in a quite woody area with huge trees. I contacted an arborist place last year and plan on paying them to come out and teach me about the trees on my property. The previous owners cutdown some huge trees, but luckily mainly concentrated on the trees that were super close to the house. It's possible remaining trees could hit the house, and they are actually relatively likely to snap off at some point due to the wind. But I think it's relatively unlikely it will happen and we have insurance if it does. I could remove the possibility and also completely remove ticks as well if I transformed the yard into concrete, but that is of course completely self-serving. My neighbor recently had a tree crack and slightly hit his house. I can't see any real damage from my point of view, but I can only describe it as him waging war against trees on his property afterward. He removed 99% of the remaining trees on his yard (these are huge trees), including ones that couldn't hit his house even if they broke at the base of the trunk (which they never do). Another house that has sit empty for a year and a half recently cutdown all its trees. Literally all the trees. All that's left is a graveyard of stumps, which makes it look like a warzone from WWI or something. There was probably 50 trees cutdown. There's no way I'm cutting down the oaks, and I'm unlikely to cutdown any tree, even if it's dead since even those support insects, owls, woodpeckers, and other birds.
- jlglover 4y ago
  I completely agree with most of your points. I have a spot in my garden where I want to plant a large native tree, probably an oak. I would love to plant all natives, except that they quickly get eaten by deer in my neighborhood. Even many "deer resistant" varieties like coneflower and beebalm. Of course, this make no sense, since deer and native plants should have evolved to survive beside one another. I think this contradiction is because the local deer population is just much much higher than the historical levels, since they have no natural predators here. My neighbors say they weren't a problem until recent decades. I was somewhat skeptical, except that I see many plant varieties thriving in the 2012 Google streetview shots that would not be feasible to grow today.
  - is_true 4y ago
    You could buy a bow and do some management. It's really interesting. There's a YouTube channel, seek one.
    - jlglover 4y ago
      I live on a medium-sized lot within the limits of a city, so bow hunting is not allowed in my yard.
      - is_true 4y ago
        Maybe somewhere close. Near where I live they had to start paying people to hunt because off all the accidents caused by deer
      - bluGill 4y ago
        Are you sure? In some cities it is allowed. The city might say it is not allowed, but the state has different rules that overrule whatever the city says. Of course you do still need to be safe in your hunting, and that can be tricky.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    We have deer as well that keep eating certain plants. I am drawing a blank on which ones, but they kept growing back rather quickly. We are going to take into consideration this year and perhaps plant them in less convenient spots, more quantity, or something else when it comes to mind, like some sort of deer sprinkler project that targets them. Haha. Although it is quite annoying as they were eating two of my favorite plants I got last year, I'm not too bothered by it. I'm going to buy more and try what I mentioned above and see if it helps at all. They leave the milkweeds alone, probably for obvious reasons, and the milkweeds are the happening place for basically all the insects. It is crazy how popular they are. There are other plants they also leave alone. I think it's going to just be trial and error since they don't seem to like all the native plants, just some of them.
- onos 4y ago
  I don’t really understand the logic behind native only, beyond the desire not to introduce a plant or creature that would monopolize their environment.
  - Loughla 4y ago
    In my experience, it's multi-faceted. First, is the ease of integration. Native plants are, well, naturally better suited for your area. If you select a flower that grows natively in your area, it will be okay as long as you match the sun requirements. Second, they take less maintenance. Less water and little- to no-fertilizing, because they're already well suited to the climate and soil. Third, is that they are almost guaranteed not to be invasive. And finally, you don't have to worry about introducing anything toxic to the native fauna inadvertently. If it's toxic, they already do not eat it. For me, it was that they are super easy to take care of, and thrive under conditions that would murder "standard" sorts of landscaping plants. I'm forgetful, and a watering schedule is just not an option for my poor, poor brain.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    What do you not understand about it? Just trying to address any specific questions you might have. Here's some bullet points I've collected in my head. I'm not an expert and am still learning. See the links below. Planting native plants: - reduces watering and fertilization needs, if not removing them, because native plants are built for the area they're planted in - attracts native insects, which further attracts native predators like birds, mammals, and other insects. Non-native plants can attract a lot of activity, but it can be harmful to the overall ecosystem, as non-native pollinators are not evolved to interact with the regional ecosystems and are thus far less effective - Non-native plants can not only monopolize the environment, but they can be highly detrimental to the soil, stripping it of nutrients - Native plants are developed primarily locally and thus reduce emissions compared to having to ship around non-native plants everywhere to all the big box stores and nurseries - Ecosystems contain individual species that evolved together. By replacing entire plant systems with non-native plants, you interrupt the system. This is not good because things get of whack. Things evolve but not in healthy ways, such as often encouraging non-native wildlife. - Pollinators are extremely endangered but extremely important, not to just their local ecosystems but to humans as well. They are what allows our agriculture to be successful. It doesn't make any sense to smoke them out. - Native plants are more efficient at carbon capture. https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter https://www.monarchgard.com/what-we-believe.html https://www.monarchgard.com/what-we-believe.html https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ Honestly, the only reason to plant non-native plants is vanity.
- deleted 4y ago
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- frereubu 4y ago
  If you haven't already, you might enjoy learning about permaculture. This is a short and easily-accessibile introduction - two of its originators, David Holmgren and Su Dennett, talking about how they designed their house according to its principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1BjW2kSNs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1BjW2kSNs The part of your comment which prompted the comparison was "... native plant species are easy. If you plant them in the right place, they will grow very easily and strongly with minimal care." This is one of the principles of permaculture - based on the land you have available (and it can be as small as a balcony off a flat) spend some time working our what works where based on your plot and plant that, rather than struggling to get something working where it doesn't belong.
  - LegitShady 4y ago
    I had a neighbour who did a permaculture front yard that was ridiculously beautiful, but unfortunately the tall grasses etc became a haven for rodents which caused problems for multiple neighbours. Sometimes there are good reasons why a regular grass yard might be ok.
    - bmitc 4y ago
      That's an example of part of the problem though. By originally cutting everything down and destroying the ecosystem, it pushed out the predators that would keep the rodents in check. We have rodents here for sure, but there are also foxes, coyotes, fisher cats, hawks, raccoons, bobcats, and owls.
      - LegitShady 4y ago
        I dont want coyotes and bobcats around my house. neither does anyone who has pets or livestock. There's a reason they were pushed out. We still have owls and other birds of prey. We have raccoons and they are annoying and can damage property.
        nibbleshifter 4y ago
- jmspring 4y ago
  I did this when I bought a house in Santa Cruz. Planted a bunch of natives, in particular bushes that flowered at different times of the year - ceanothus, manzanita, etc. I happily had bees and other insects around the yard almost all the time. It's worth doing. Funny thing, monarch butterflies (and the caterpillars) seem to prefer the non-native Milkweed to the native variety.
  - pamelafox 4y ago
    Which milkweed did you plant? I find that our Monarchs love narrow-leaf milkweed but HATE showy milkweed. They have to be absolutely desperate to nibble on it. Both are technically native, but clearly one of them is tastier.
    - bmitc 4y ago
      The milkweed that I planted is common milkweed and swamp milkweed. I find swamp milkweed to be prettier, but they both seem extremely popular and they seemed to bloom at different times, which is a nice benefit. (I'm not certain about the bloom times as I'm going only on a year's experience.)
  - kccqzy 4y ago
    In my yard, I didn't plant any milkweed but I found them growing on its own. Or at least, Google Lens told me it's milkweed. How do I know if they are native or not? How do I know if they are harmful or beneficial to the ice system, and whether I should remove them or let them grow? Where do you get this knowledge?
    - bmitc 4y ago
      I use the app PictureThis (https://www.picturethisai.com/ https://www.picturethisai.com/) and then supplement it by researching the online on various sites. I don't have any particular sites to offer offhand, as I'm still figuring everything out myself. Another thing I have considered is buying some books from local native plant societies and organizations. They publish books that contain pictures and information of regionally native plants. They also have plant sales every year, where they sell native plants that have been grown by themselves or by known third-parties. In general, I have tried taking an additive approach. I have only removed plants that I knew for a fact, through the app and subsequent research, were non-native and particularly damaging.
- deleted 4y ago
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- hammock 4y ago
  What’s the size of your lot?
  - bmitc 4y ago
    It can be small or big. Checkout Benjamin Vogt's work: https://www.monarchgard.com/portfolio.html https://www.monarchgard.com/portfolio.html In particular, his house is on a small lot typical of suburban sprawl neighborhoods. https://www.monarchgard.com/uploads/6/7/1/6/67169427/pxl-20211026-194006615_orig.jpg https://www.monarchgard.com/uploads/6/7/1/6/67169427/pxl-202...
- drewcoo 4y ago
  > planting only native plants . . . could be attracting non-regional and non-native species Native plants do that, too. Invasive species thrive on that, in fact. Horticulture is more complicated than just "eating local." Ok, so a good diet is also more complicated than eating local. > native plant species are easy Absolutely! And if you're in a place that can flood or has droughts or sometimes has wild temperature spikes, those are plants that have adapted to the environment. They live through tough times that kill the plants that haven't adapted.
- wcarron 4y ago
  > I sort of disagree with the article though. I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. Just because you have a lot of activity around a plant doesn't mean it's the right activity. You could be attracting non-regional and non-native species which is generating the activity. I disagree. Native plants are great, but so are tomatoes or some bell and habanero peppers. You're projecting your personal opinions on what makes a garden good. To some, a good garden is defined by its native-plant biodiversity. To others, it's getting fresh herbs for salads at dinner. To others it is something else. It's not an either-or thing. You can plant many things and reap varying benefits.
  - djtriptych 4y ago
    Is it fair to call it personal opinion if it's also the ecologist consensus viewpoint?
    - RHSeeger 4y ago
      Of course. To some people, that viewpoint is what defines it as good. For others, it's beauty. For others, it's pure diversity. For others, it's minimizing the work involved. The choice of what is considered "good" here is a very personal thing.
      - djtriptych 4y ago
        Still, it's dismissive to place it into a class of personal opinion, when the colloquial understanding, especially here, is that there is no expectation of evidence behind it. I think a fairer term here is 'argument'.
    - wcarron 4y ago
      The other comment covered my thoughts mostly. Ecology is important. But I can't eat Blackfoot daisy. Not all gardens are there for ecosystem health. Some are for utilitarian purposes.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    I was distinguishing plants from crops. I think it's perfectly fine to be growing non-native vegetables and fruits that you'd like to eat or sell.
- Natsu 4y ago
  > I am really hoping that all the milkweed we're planting brings more monarchs. Last year, we saw a couple. The numbers went up a bit during Covid, surprisingly. I wish we could do something about the general downward trend, there are far, far fewer now than there were even 30 years ago.
- colechristensen 4y ago
  There are invasive plants and there are non-native plants and these things aren't necessarily the same. You do you with your yard but not everybody has to be so strict. There are plenty of non-native plants that have very low risk of becoming invasive which do a lot for biodiversity and are nice to look at.
- taftster 4y ago
  You should write a book, or at least blog, about the experience. This would be good reading and much appreciated to some of us. I'd definitely read.
- mikesabbagh 4y ago
  Douglas Tallamy is my new hero
- ascotan 4y ago
  I've been using the "Seek" app for plan identification and I'm floored to the amount of overgrown ornamentals from Asia everywhere. It seems like landscapers love to put non-native exotic grasses, trees, and shrubs all over the place.
- hunglee2 4y ago
  this is great - more people should take this approach. Individual efforts like this might be enough to help native species hang on in face of government indifference. I'm reminded of that story of the survival of the Chinese Alligator, which I believe is mainly down to the efforts of a single woman who protected the nest sites which happened to be on her farm, and raised the hatchings beyond year 1 before release back to the wild. Every little bit matters!
- hosh 4y ago
  Native plants and species are already suited to the area, so it is a great place to start. What I am finding though, is that the main difference between an invasive species, and a native species that is vigorous, is that the native species has a lot of interactions with other species within the local biome. And invasive species does not, so runs unchecked without a predator, or does not provide any benefits for other species. If they did, they would be “native”. Over time, the biome will adapt, and interactions will start arising. There very much are circumstances in which an invasive, resilient species is the right thing. For example, Jerome, Arizona, is an old copper mining town with a devastated ecosystem. Tailings from the copper mine poisoned the land. It’s at a steep incline, with severe erosion. Houses had been sliding off the slope. When the mine shut down, and the population dropped to about 100 residents, fhe mayor at the time brought in an invasive tree called the Tree of Heaven to save the town. That mayor hired an aircraft to seed it all around Jerome. This tree is invasive, difficult to kill once established, drives out other species, and produces copious amount of seeds. Crucially, it can survive soil that has been poisoned by the mining tailing. It grows everywhere in Jerome — and holds what soil is there. This terrible, aggressive plant is helping to remediate a land trashed by human activity. https://youtu.be/Oayt7eru2nc https://youtu.be/Oayt7eru2nc
- kaitai 4y ago
  The Nature Conservancy had a recent article in its magazine about the change in bloom time for many natives (based on temperature) and the difficulty that can cause for migrating birds and for animals (whose schedules may be based on length of day). For this reason, I am moving away from native-only to a more utilitarian approach. (And don't get me wrong, I have scores of native plants in my very small yard.) I am thinking more about native-nearby plants and plants that may feed wildlife at adjacent times. So maybe it's best to have several types of milkweed that bloom at different times, as someone else noted below. I'm in the Midwest and I'll also note the adage that many of our natives follow "sleep, creep, leap". Year 1, you'll be like "damn is this stuff even growing, this sucks" and year 2 you'll say "well I guess it came back? maybe?" and year 3 you'll say "it's starting to look nice here!" I'm also taking a slightly heterodox approach in that I am mixing in non-native edibles with glee (I've got at least 6 kinds of berry bush for instance, some native some not). The weight is still on natives, but I've been influenced by, who, Todd Hemenway?? who pointed out that the ecological impact of shipping berries from far-away lands is much worse than the ecological impact of having berry bush that's well-behaved and not native. Similarly, there are very few non-native plants I try to abolish anymore. Instead to the best of my ability I eat them. It is extraordinary how many plants can be eaten. From Japanese knotweed (cook it like rhubarb in sweets, or stir-fry) to hops to daisies (eat young like arugula) to garlic mustard (great pesto) to hostas (nice asparagus-like flavor when roasted or sautéed young). I'm not introducing these, not at all, but when they appear I don't get xenophobic, I get dinner. Which also sounds kind of creepy. But what I mean is that I'm not digging up my echinacea to use the roots medicinally; I don't have enough plants to do so sustainably yet -- but I sure am serving 6 linear feet worth of hostas at a dinner party.
  - hosh 4y ago
    Yup. It’s more about the connections the inhabitants of an ecosystem has to each other. Something that yields something edible or useful for humans is also a part of this. Our role as humans is not some ideal, “untouched”, “pristine” Nature, as if human activity and design necessarily spoils Nature. I think a more sensible perspective is that humans are stewards of the land, and there are yields for humans and the non-human inhabitants. It’s that our civilization has been terrible stewards, not that we are incapable of being good stewards. We can care for the land and people, and still get our fair share.
- hackernewds 4y ago
  > I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. Why?
- smallerfish 4y ago
  > I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. I disagree. Billions of birds fly around the world every year with seeds in their gut. Plants are constantly, naturally, migrating in territory. "Native" plants are plants which were in a given place (in this example the US) before an arbitrary date (for the US, very roughly 1500), when we started keeping track of local flora. The climate is observably changing, and what was "native" in 1500 may not be applicable to a local ecosystem anymore. Trees are already suffering in some ranges, and ranges are moving north. Note that there is a difference between "non-native" (arbitrary) and "invasive" (measurable). Planting invasives (whether native or non-native) should be discouraged because they have the potential to disrupt ecosystems by completely filling niches. Planting non-invasive non-natives is harmless, and if well considered can be beneficial to your local ecosystem.
WaitWaitWha 4y ago
I suggest to add a bee home (bee house, bee hotel) to your garden. It is simple, last several years, it can be as small as a bird house, and can be a fun weekend project with the kids. (It can also be purchased.) Please, do not get honey bees, unless willing to take care of them - just like with any animal husbandry. I love them, I am a beek, but I find too many abandoned or swarms from people who bought into the idea that they need to save the world through bee hives. Just resist the urge, unless you have time and willingness to do proper beekeeping.
- RegularOpossum 4y ago
  I've got multiple bee homes for all different sizes. Showing off our orchid bees to visitors is one of my favorite yard activities.
- Wonnk13 4y ago
  So the idea with the bee home is the bees come to me? As opposed to me buying honeybees and a hive? I'm asking out of genuine ignorance not trolling, as I'd love to have bees by my planter box, but I don't have the time to be a bee keeper and and don't want to kill the little guys.
  - 11235813213455 4y ago
    probably better to get honey from a local beekeeper (and/or local fruits, which are even better for us, with their fiber)
    - criddell 4y ago
      Definitely. In North America, honey bees are non-native, invasive species. If you want to help the bee population, pick a species native for your area.
  - throw_away1525 4y ago
    They won't be honeybees, they'll be other types of bees like mason bees. But yes, they will come to you.
cookieswumchorr 4y ago
i always do it with my refrigerator
- dylan604 4y ago
  I don't think the spores that you are cultivating in your fridge would necessarily qualify as native plant species. that's more of a science experiment
  - ilyt 4y ago
    More like biological weapon in the making
    - dylan604 4y ago
      it could be the next penicillin type of discovery. at least that's how I justify the state my fridge has been in a couple of times in my youth
- iForgotMyPW 4y ago
  [flagged]
revx 4y ago
We replaced our front yard with native plants and I love it. Plan to do this with my back yard as soon as I can afford it. I specifically chose a house in a part of our city with no HOA because I don't ever want to go back to monoculture of grass. Such a waste of space.
- MR_Bulldops 4y ago
  I did this last year and it was incredibly satisfying. If I amrunning errands and near a nursery I'll stop by and get a new plant or two. Slowly filling it in and watching all the nature is nice. Our back yard is about 4x bigger, but I'll be tackling that shortly too! Our neighborhood is a mix of lawns, manicured landscaping, and natural gardens. Lawns are slowly becoming less frequent.
Decabytes 4y ago
I've always had a dream to buy a plot of land and homestead. But I have family that is getting older and needs my help more often. The though of being far away from essential services like Hospitals is not ideal. Also I'm still too early in my career to make that move. So, more recently I've been thinking of an idea I call "urban homesteading", which is just based off the idea of not waiting until the perfect circumstances to start something. Nothing about living in the suburbs prevents me from doing like 80% of what I would do homesteading. I can still... 1. Can/Preserve/Dehydrate/Vacuum seal Food 2. Build up a supply of essential non perishable food 3. Grow food I can eat in a garden 4. Build things with the materials I have instead of buying them 5. Fix and repair old stuff I have instead of buying new stuff 6. Reduce my reliance on City Water, Electricity, Gas, while still enjoying the benefits Sure I might not have the most space or privacy having neighbors on all sides but so what. I don't have a big backyard, but I don't really need one as there is a large park 3 minutes from my front door that I can walk to. Other than enough space for a small deck and grill I can devote the rest of my backyard to a garden. I'm slowly building up towards this, but I'm starting slowly so that it isn't overwhelming
- dylan604 4y ago
  I'm all for this, and I too have been attempting this at various levels. However, the one thing that I have come to respect is that farming to be self sustainable is capital H hard. To grow enough to sustain just you and your family means a much larger plot would be required than I originally appreciated. Weather is a huge factor on whether your plants will yield enough, and it is something absolutely out of your control. After that, you have pest control from insects to animals. The more effective you want to be about those just increases the costs of everything. I've considered turning part of my yard into a larger garden plot, but since it's a rental, it's hard to want to expend the effort. So I've stuck with container gardening with a few raised beds. I haven't quite gone the level of canning (not enough yield for that), but I have been drying the herbs I grow. This winter was the first time that I've used them for soups, and will be doing this at a larger volume this year.
- justajot 4y ago
  Yes!! I love the awareness here.
morgango 4y ago
So, not unrelated was a post from reddit where someone built a little better environment for a frog in their yard: https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/11czhbt/guy_makes_insane_house_for_a_frog/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/11czhbt/g... and they ended up with a zoo. While whimsical, it shows very how adjusting your environment just a little bit can really attract wildlife.
- bmitc 4y ago
  That's hilarious. Like what you said, that's really amazing about how small changes propagate. It's crazy how wildlife finds stuff. They know what they're doing.
  - coffeebeqn 4y ago
    Just shows what deserts our (sub)urban spaces have become to the local creatures
- twoquestions 4y ago
  Thank you for posting this, it really made my day :)
rini17 4y ago
Nice and I have it, including pond with frogs! Earned me solid concrete walls from all sides though, neighbors are concerned about weeds.
pascalxus 4y ago
Personally, I like to plant as many different types of fruit trees, fruit vines and berries as I can and as much diversity as I can. But, I find sticking just to natives is kinda limiting. It's nice to prefer natives but I wouldn't be too religious about it.
- dylan604 4y ago
  Just ensure that what non-native you do get is not an invasive species. There are websites you can check if the type of plant you are looking to plant is considered invasive or not. After learning about this, I was surprised by the number of invasive plants being sold at nurseries. I've learned which local nurseries are more trustworthy of being able to trust any plant they are offering.
- coffeebeqn 4y ago
  Most regions do have tens of fruits and berries to choose from but some are hard to find. I don’t think most Apple or raspberry or peach trees are invasive so it’s not really that big of a deal to get some you like
  - clbrmbr 4y ago
    Around me there’s a (non-native) pear tree (Prunus calleryana) which is the primary tree in old neglected fields with poor soil. I wouldn’t mind if it bore edible fruit, but alas those hard little pears are astringent to the point of being painful. The Eleagnus umbellata I don’t mind however, as they build the soil and the berries are delicious and produced in copious amounts. The bear like them, too.
angst_ridden 4y ago
When I bought a place in the LA area, the house had neatly trimmed lawns and flowers planted with perfect spacing around the borders in both the front and back yards. Over the past twenty years, it's been converted into a wild, exuberant mix of flowers, fruit trees, and native plants. We do irrigate with drip-lines. We have a lot of butterfly host plants, and it is now a veritable Disney-film-happy-place filled with birds and bees and butterflies (and aphids and spiders and salamanders). There are a few chairs and benches scattered around, and I sit outside and read or code on pleasant days. I spend a lot of time taking macro photos of bugs and flowers. Several of our neighbors loathe us, saying that our yard is a mess and lowers property values. Their pesticide-ridden lawns are perfectly green, even in the Summer, and they are only ever outside to instruct their gardeners where to direct the leaf blowers. Most people walking by are enchanted by the wildness and the animal life. Kids, particularly, are thrilled when they see the butterflies, or get to pick cherry-tomatoes or berries off the vines.
- theNJR 4y ago
  Also in the LA area. Would love to see some pictures!
- phist_mcgee 4y ago
  Thank you for do your small part in improving biodiversity.
ernestipark 4y ago
Semi related, but I firmly believe everyone with a yard should have chickens. 4 chickens can feed a family with more eggs than they'll ever need, you'll almost never throw food scraps out again, and you'll keep harmful methane producing waste out of landfills.
- voisin 4y ago
  I concur wholly. We have wanted to do this forever and last year bought 5 acres on the edge of town. We are now up to 28 chickens (26 hens, 2 roosters) and run a small egg CSA. It’s been amazing for reducing food waste, yielding high quality compost, enjoyment for us and our kids and people walking by, a small step toward local food resiliency, and it earns a tiny profit. We’ve just ordered another 40 day olds for delivery in a few weeks, and are plotting to get some ducks too.
- chasd00 4y ago
  i had an across the street neighbor in Dallas that basically had a mini-farm in their backyard. An actual "up at 5 to milk the goats, feed, and eggs before work" type farm. I did enough of that in HS growing up in the sticks with odd jobs at dairies, elevators, and other farm type work. No thanks, dues are paid :)
- CatWChainsaw 4y ago
  Keeping commensals under control should be a top priority. Salmonella and Campylobacter are not welcome additions to my meals.
lasermatts 4y ago
I wrote a book about my experience taking my concrete filled back yard to one full of life over the pandemic! Gardening in an urban setting presents unique challenges but it's super rewarding! Link to my book (for anyone interested): https://a.co/d/crd2HcD https://a.co/d/crd2HcD Super excited to see articles on big sites talking about the importance of biodiversity!
fillskills 4y ago
I am cofounder of a startup called HealingGardens.co. We are trying to help biodiverse urban gardens make revenue with an airbnb like model. If anyone here has an urban garden and would like to list it on our marketplace, we would be glad to review or help. If you have questions or want to work on something with us please feel free to reach out at abhi at healinggardens.co
thatfunkymunki 4y ago
I saw an awesome video of someone doing something like this at their property https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LvaX748pVI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LvaX748pVI . I was really impressed with how much the local ecosystem took to it, so rapidly
hnbear 4y ago
There are also some interesting larger projects focused on insect health and diversity like Brighton (in the UK) mandating Bee Bricks: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/bee-and-swift-bricks-mandated-in-brighton-and-hove-england/ https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/bee-and-swift-bricks-mandate... These are similar in design to the bee/insect hotels you find, but build as a brick, with the holes facing out, allowing insects a place to nest, and to fight the loss of bee populations.
- voisin 4y ago
  The only issue is that I am pretty sure you need to clean them out every so often. I don’t think mason bees will take over another bee’s nest.
throwawaaarrgh 4y ago
When I made one 8x2.5 high density raised bed on my stoop in Philly, I got: Birds, squirrels, butterflies, moths, wasps, caterpillars, praying mantis, aphids, worms, grubs, ants, ladybugs, bees, and more. I grew tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, basil, thyme, oregano, lavender, bee balm, broccoli, lettuce mix, and beans, and had ornamenral flowers to attract pollinators. I'd set up a chair and just watch like it was the nature channel. Every time a bee would come visit, I would rejoice. The whole city melted away and I was plunged into a tiny living ecosystem. Absolutely the best investment I've ever made for my quality of life.
tambourine_man 4y ago
https://archive.is/FGLCS https://archive.is/FGLCS
seatac76 4y ago
I don’t have the privilege of a backyard but I’ve been doing square foot gardening on my balcony for about 3 years. Have been using Merlin Bird ID to track birds that have visited the garden + bird feeder. I have so far logged 23 species which took me by surprise. The number of insects and birds visiting regularly is truly humbling, anecdotal but the premise of the article certainly rings true to me.
ilamont 4y ago
This is more about community urban gardens than backyard habitats, which are different on several dimensions, such as tree cover, water access, and sunlight. Nevertheless it dovetails nicely with a discussion late last year, "I built a wildlife pond" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33952437 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33952437). Even man-made habitats which incorporate plants and features that are amenable to plant and animal life will flourish, and attract animals that its creators never envisioned whether it's bees looking for flowers or mammals drinking at the pond.
glennericksen 4y ago
There's was a story in Smithsonian magazine a few years ago (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist...) about an ecologist who more or less did what this article proposes, increasing the biodiversity in his backyard. He called his project a "Homegrown National Park". Tallamy's Suggestions: 1. Shrink your lawn (replace grass with plants that create habitat) 2. Remove invasive plants (native plants support more animal biodiversity) 3. Create no-mow zones around trees (accommodates insect life cycle) 4. Equip outdoor lights with motion sensors (lights can disturb animal behavior)
acabal 4y ago
Planting native plants is very rewarding, and you don't need a lot of space to do it, either. The only space for greenery in our condo, located in a major urban center, is a small strip of mud at the side of the building. A few years ago I seeded it with native plants, and they grew spectacularly. Spring through fall we have colorful native flowers that attract a huge amount of bees of various species, butterflies, and other pollinators - in the middle of a giant city! It's a great feeling to step outside and see flowers and greenery that belong, covered in busy life that was never there before! You don't need a lot of space, and you can do it in a city too.
v8xi 4y ago
Living in the Bay Area, I adore the tall grasses growing on the eastern foothills - you get a nice close-up taking e.g. I-680 to Livermore - and would love to replace much of my yard with the native grasses, but I don't even know where to begin in identifying what species they are, and where to get seed.
- coffeebeqn 4y ago
  There are nurseries that specialize in native plants in most cities.. definitely in the Bay Area
autokad 4y ago
city gardens things make no sense (when it comes to eating said items). Soil in cities can become contaminated by various pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and automobile exhaust. These contaminants can have harmful effects on human health and the environment. I'm in favor of gardens, but eating the food? gosh that's a bad idea
- xen2xen1 4y ago
  Put down a layer of mushrooms a few times and scrape them off?
- xen2xen1 4y ago
  https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/sustainability/2022/02/03/mycoremediation-how-fungi-can-repair-our-land/#:~:text=Mycoremediation%20is%20a%20method%20that,a%20lot%20of%20different%20pollutants https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/sustainability/2022/02/03/mycorem....
chasd00 4y ago
on behalf of your neighbors, please keep mosquito habitat to a minimum.
farmerrishi 4y ago
Funny that these ideas are still making "news". I feel like I'm surrounded with people who figured out a long while ago that human's are and have always been necessary to the health of our ecosystems. Our current sad state of affairs is caused not by human intervention, but by human neglect of our relatives on this planet. 99% of human cultures have been gardeners, cultivating land to increase diversity, energy, and abundance. Colonization fucked that up on a worldwide scale, and created this new narrative of humans in opposition to Earth. I've been working with a partner to change that by connecting people to urban gardens where they can see "human care of Earth" in action. Its called healinggardens.co . Check it out.
Joel_Mckay 4y ago
"biodiversity hotspot" a.k.a. Rodent + Insect farm for the rest of the neighborhood to complain about. Maybe move out of urban centers if you want agriculture. Most rodents are nocturnal, and will damage/infest surrounding structures. Gross, but true. Have a great day =)
neonnoodle 4y ago
During the process of buying our house, one of the disclosures was that the house has a huge inground swimming pool, but some aspect of the plumbing was broken, and nobody knew how much it might cost to repair. So, as-is. Nobody in our house swims, and the costs of repairing and running the pool would be excessive. At first I thought about having it drained and either removed or converted to some kind of outbuilding space. Then it occurred to me, I shouldn't just dispose of a water-bearing structure! The thing is engineered to safely contain thousands of gallons! We kept it. The pool hadn't been used in several years prior to the sale of the house, which was perfect because the chlorination had long since evaporated. Thus a readymade freshwater pond. I started adding native plants and sheltering areas to the shallow end. Frogs were already in residence for mating season but now several species live there full time. Tons of insects: backswimmers, water skimmers, caddisfly, mayfly, damselfly and dragonfly larvae, bladder snails, giant water beetles. Ducks and herons visit. Purple martins and flycatchers hang out at dusk. People often ask about mosquito control, and so far it hasn't been an issue. I believe this is due to a combination of the water depth (mosquitos prefer very shallow and still water like puddles), circulation speed, and predation of the mosquito larvae by everyone else. Because there are marginal plants, predatory insects can transition from their aquatic larval stage to adulthood (they need stalks to climb up out of the water). The pond has become one of the great joys of my life--seeing the seasons change through the lifecycles of the species, watching bees forage on pickerel rush flowers, hearing frogs sing at night.
- chime 4y ago
  Would you be open to sharing a photo or two of the pond? I would love to show it to my kids.
- SCUSKU 4y ago
  I spent part of my childhood in rural Japan and during the summers would fall asleep to the sound of hundreds of frogs croaking in the rice paddies. It was a great lullaby for me, it sounds like a great thing to have in your backyard!
  - hackernewds 4y ago
jhoogland 4y ago
Check out https://healthyyards.org https://healthyyards.org for a treasure trove of information. (Disclosure: this is my mom’s initiative, and I am a momma’s boy.)
jhoogland 4y ago
Check out healthyyards.org for a treasure trove of information. (Disclosure: this is my mom’s initiative, and I am a momma’s boy.)
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pseudotrash 4y ago
This article gave me no useful advice. I got a garden and would love to know what I should put there living in the north of Italy. The article didn't mention, except using dome of the space to store compost. No advise on what to plant. Just feel-good advise by morons for morons. It's like it was written by "Marjory the Trash Heap" from fraggle rock herself. Thought you were dead Marjory!!!
InCityDreams 4y ago
>Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot I did. Fucking gangster father-in-law came and mowed the lot down...12ft+ to 3" in less than a couple of hours. Fair play to the dude - he thought I was un- able/ willing to do the chopping. When he got it that I wanted it all to grow he was very, very apologetic, and from thereon, did so. Neighbors hated me.
iForgotMyPW 4y ago
[flagged]
slowhand09 4y ago
I prob have 20 kinds of weeds, 20 native species of plant. I've had whitetail deer, eastern red fox, river otter, snapping turtles, box turtles, muskrat, brown rat, bald eagle, turkey vulture, black vulture, crow, osprey, blue heron, white heron, green heron, snowy egret, redtail hawk, sparrow hawk, tons of songbirds, racoon, possum, black squirrel, grey squirrel, chipmunk, multiple water snake species, rough green snake, ring-tail snake, black racer, milk snake, worm snake, blue-belly skinks, toads, frogs, eels, blue crabs, sand crabs, horseshoe crabs, shrimp, oysters, clams, multiple species of jellyfish, rays, skates, pipefish, striped bass, catfish, crappie, bluefish,... I'm pretty sure I've missed several. Where should I start to become biodiverse?
exabrial 4y ago
Tried this before. Turns out my neighborhood association hates "biodiversity"
clbrmbr 4y ago
When starting my medicinal herb garden I created a spreadsheet to compute a score for each species I was considering, taking food and medicinal value plus native/invasive/non-invasive alien into account. One thing to keep in mind is, a plant can be invasive in one region, but totally harmless in another. Just because it is a problem in Florida doesn’t mean you must avoid it in Vermont.
hosh 4y ago
I’m glad to see these ideas starting to get into the mainstream. From homeowners opting out of monospecies lawns, to people apply permaculture design to urban spaces, to guerilla gardeners reclaiming abandoned urban wastelands, there are a lot of practical ideas around.
29athrowaway 4y ago
How to shift the blame from corporations to people with 1 square inch backyards.
raffraffraff 4y ago
My wife puts a lot of effort into this type of thing. She reads about declining species in Ireland - butterflies, moths, birds in particular - and plants weeds, wildflowers and bushes that they live on. It's almost like magic, or Minecraft, that we suddenly have goldfinches, cinnabar butterflies (and their lovely caterpillars) and lots of amazing moths that we've never seen before. How did they find out about those weeds so quickly? It's like they got auto-generated by the system. It's addictive.

392 points by sohkamyung 4y ago

Another good resource for those interested: https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1 https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1 I'm not affiliated, just have high regard for Tallamy's work.

bmitc 4y ago

After getting a house with a decent sized yard and trees, I have been having a lot of fun with planting native plants. While my neighbors are cutting down trees, which is honestly hard to watch, and paying landscapers to plant non-native plants, I'm spending a lot of time researching and planting native plants. It is honestly one of the more fulfilling things to walk outside and see all sorts of bees, butterflies, moths, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and birds living their lives. They all work so hard that it is inspiring. I'm looking forward to spring again for this exact reason. I sort of disagree with the article though. I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. Just because you have a lot of activity around a plant doesn't mean it's the right activity. You could be attracting non-regional and non-native species which is generating the activity. And honestly, native plant species are easy. If you plant them in the right place, they will grow very easily and strongly with minimal care. Then you can collect their seeds. I am really hoping that all the milkweed we're planting brings more monarchs. Last year, we saw a couple. I like Douglas Tallamy's books Bringing Nature Home and Nature's Best Hope.

throw_away1525 4y ago
I think you're right about the natives and the 'right kind' of activity. Native species, especially the ones at risk, are more likely to be specialists. And of course, they specialize in the native plants. Invasive species, on the other hand, are more likely to be generalists. That's why they become invasive in the first place. And they'll be happy to visit those non-native plants.
ilyt 4y ago
Yeah, I also don't understand appeal of "just a square of land filled with immaculate lawn and not much else. It's essentially space wasted for nothing.
- bmitc 4y ago
  Agreed. I've heard manicured lawns described as deserts but that that is actually not fair to deserts, the implication being that deserts are a healthier ecosystem than manicured lawns. I still have a lawn in the front and back covering parts of the property. I did plant non-native grass last fall. I'm not sure I'm happy about that from an ideal standpoint, but I chose grass that is very drought resistant and needs basically no maintenance and looks fine when allowed to grow taller. I mixed in some mini-clover, which is also non-native, but it's a new species that is supposed to make the grass even more drought tolerant, provides natural fertilization, and supports pollinators. We'll see how it goes. I also plan to not mow as much, although last year with the drought, I barely mowed at all. I don't use chemical fertilizers and used only natural fertilizers. I have heard this approach described as feeding the soil and not feeding the grass. One of the fertilizers I used showed some fungus growing on the grass, which I was happy about. I hope to keep evolving things and reclaiming parts of the lawn that we never use or want. It's nice as you reclaim it with plants and trees, because it's decreasing maintenance burden.
- hinkley 4y ago
  I saw a comedy set a long time ago with a line to the effect “the lawn was brought to us by the same pretentious assholes who got beheaded during the French Revolution”.
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  Some of us like to have a bit of open lawn for outdoor activities that need some space. I've still got dozens of trees, shrubs, wildflowers and such, but there's an area of just grass that is really nice to have. I can't remember the last time I saw a lawn around here that didn't have a boatload of additional plants as well. I assume this must happen in other parts of the country/world, or it's a meme. If you want to go completely wild with your own back yard, I understand, but I don't see the appeal of that either.
pascalxus 4y ago
but you also need some balance. alot of native species don't taste very good and some aren't even edible.
- bavent 4y ago
  Don’t taste good and aren’t edible for you maybe, but all my local bugs and critters seem to love the ones I’ve planted.
pamelafox 4y ago
Agreed! I've been gradually replacing the invasive plants with native plants, and for the most part, native plants are doing really well. We have one side of the yard with bad soil from an ivy infestation, but with enough soil amendment, I think it'll be fine. If you're in the bay area, https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/ https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/ is a great resource - you can tour gardens and find garden designers. Calscape.net also a great resource, plus the native nurseries like Oaktown and Watershed.
taeric 4y ago
Native plants may be easy; but by that measure, invasives are where its at. :D That said, bringing down trees is always odd to me. Definitely bring down any that pose a risk to your house. But otherwise, seems more effort than it is worth. I should probably be a lot better at pruning, as that is a ton of work. And, while intellectually I know the answer is that you are unlikely to kill the tree, I am always worried about that to the point that I don't prune enough.
- xyzzyz 4y ago
  Depends on your goals. I’d love to have some big towering trees around me, but I also love gardening and laying in the sun. One big tree in an inopportune could shade my entire yard.
  - taeric 4y ago
    Note that posing a risk doesn't just mean "if giant tree were to fall toward house it would be a problem." Obviously, you should monitor the health of any giant tree nearby, but by and large healthy trees growing tall is not an immediate concern. Moreover, some of those trees would be perfectly healthy if you kept them pruned to a safer height. So, posing a risk is more on trees that are likely to fall over and do major damage. Or those that have root systems that are too close to your foundation and going to cause issue in that way. All of this is said as someone that loves giant trees nearby. Seeing eagles and such nest at the top of trees that are hundreds of feet tall is very cool. Edit: Also consider fire hazard to the house, depending on where you live.
- bmitc 4y ago
  I'm still not totally certain how to "manage" the trees in our yard. We are in a quite woody area with huge trees. I contacted an arborist place last year and plan on paying them to come out and teach me about the trees on my property. The previous owners cutdown some huge trees, but luckily mainly concentrated on the trees that were super close to the house. It's possible remaining trees could hit the house, and they are actually relatively likely to snap off at some point due to the wind. But I think it's relatively unlikely it will happen and we have insurance if it does. I could remove the possibility and also completely remove ticks as well if I transformed the yard into concrete, but that is of course completely self-serving. My neighbor recently had a tree crack and slightly hit his house. I can't see any real damage from my point of view, but I can only describe it as him waging war against trees on his property afterward. He removed 99% of the remaining trees on his yard (these are huge trees), including ones that couldn't hit his house even if they broke at the base of the trunk (which they never do). Another house that has sit empty for a year and a half recently cutdown all its trees. Literally all the trees. All that's left is a graveyard of stumps, which makes it look like a warzone from WWI or something. There was probably 50 trees cutdown. There's no way I'm cutting down the oaks, and I'm unlikely to cutdown any tree, even if it's dead since even those support insects, owls, woodpeckers, and other birds.
jlglover 4y ago
I completely agree with most of your points. I have a spot in my garden where I want to plant a large native tree, probably an oak. I would love to plant all natives, except that they quickly get eaten by deer in my neighborhood. Even many "deer resistant" varieties like coneflower and beebalm. Of course, this make no sense, since deer and native plants should have evolved to survive beside one another. I think this contradiction is because the local deer population is just much much higher than the historical levels, since they have no natural predators here. My neighbors say they weren't a problem until recent decades. I was somewhat skeptical, except that I see many plant varieties thriving in the 2012 Google streetview shots that would not be feasible to grow today.
- is_true 4y ago
  You could buy a bow and do some management. It's really interesting. There's a YouTube channel, seek one.
  - jlglover 4y ago
    I live on a medium-sized lot within the limits of a city, so bow hunting is not allowed in my yard.
    - is_true 4y ago
      Maybe somewhere close. Near where I live they had to start paying people to hunt because off all the accidents caused by deer
    - bluGill 4y ago
      Are you sure? In some cities it is allowed. The city might say it is not allowed, but the state has different rules that overrule whatever the city says. Of course you do still need to be safe in your hunting, and that can be tricky.
- bmitc 4y ago
  We have deer as well that keep eating certain plants. I am drawing a blank on which ones, but they kept growing back rather quickly. We are going to take into consideration this year and perhaps plant them in less convenient spots, more quantity, or something else when it comes to mind, like some sort of deer sprinkler project that targets them. Haha. Although it is quite annoying as they were eating two of my favorite plants I got last year, I'm not too bothered by it. I'm going to buy more and try what I mentioned above and see if it helps at all. They leave the milkweeds alone, probably for obvious reasons, and the milkweeds are the happening place for basically all the insects. It is crazy how popular they are. There are other plants they also leave alone. I think it's going to just be trial and error since they don't seem to like all the native plants, just some of them.
onos 4y ago
I don’t really understand the logic behind native only, beyond the desire not to introduce a plant or creature that would monopolize their environment.
- Loughla 4y ago
  In my experience, it's multi-faceted. First, is the ease of integration. Native plants are, well, naturally better suited for your area. If you select a flower that grows natively in your area, it will be okay as long as you match the sun requirements. Second, they take less maintenance. Less water and little- to no-fertilizing, because they're already well suited to the climate and soil. Third, is that they are almost guaranteed not to be invasive. And finally, you don't have to worry about introducing anything toxic to the native fauna inadvertently. If it's toxic, they already do not eat it. For me, it was that they are super easy to take care of, and thrive under conditions that would murder "standard" sorts of landscaping plants. I'm forgetful, and a watering schedule is just not an option for my poor, poor brain.
- bmitc 4y ago
  What do you not understand about it? Just trying to address any specific questions you might have. Here's some bullet points I've collected in my head. I'm not an expert and am still learning. See the links below. Planting native plants: - reduces watering and fertilization needs, if not removing them, because native plants are built for the area they're planted in - attracts native insects, which further attracts native predators like birds, mammals, and other insects. Non-native plants can attract a lot of activity, but it can be harmful to the overall ecosystem, as non-native pollinators are not evolved to interact with the regional ecosystems and are thus far less effective - Non-native plants can not only monopolize the environment, but they can be highly detrimental to the soil, stripping it of nutrients - Native plants are developed primarily locally and thus reduce emissions compared to having to ship around non-native plants everywhere to all the big box stores and nurseries - Ecosystems contain individual species that evolved together. By replacing entire plant systems with non-native plants, you interrupt the system. This is not good because things get of whack. Things evolve but not in healthy ways, such as often encouraging non-native wildlife. - Pollinators are extremely endangered but extremely important, not to just their local ecosystems but to humans as well. They are what allows our agriculture to be successful. It doesn't make any sense to smoke them out. - Native plants are more efficient at carbon capture. https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter https://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-matter https://www.monarchgard.com/what-we-believe.html https://www.monarchgard.com/what-we-believe.html https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ Honestly, the only reason to plant non-native plants is vanity.
deleted 4y ago
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frereubu 4y ago
If you haven't already, you might enjoy learning about permaculture. This is a short and easily-accessibile introduction - two of its originators, David Holmgren and Su Dennett, talking about how they designed their house according to its principles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1BjW2kSNs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1BjW2kSNs The part of your comment which prompted the comparison was "... native plant species are easy. If you plant them in the right place, they will grow very easily and strongly with minimal care." This is one of the principles of permaculture - based on the land you have available (and it can be as small as a balcony off a flat) spend some time working our what works where based on your plot and plant that, rather than struggling to get something working where it doesn't belong.
- LegitShady 4y ago
  I had a neighbour who did a permaculture front yard that was ridiculously beautiful, but unfortunately the tall grasses etc became a haven for rodents which caused problems for multiple neighbours. Sometimes there are good reasons why a regular grass yard might be ok.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    That's an example of part of the problem though. By originally cutting everything down and destroying the ecosystem, it pushed out the predators that would keep the rodents in check. We have rodents here for sure, but there are also foxes, coyotes, fisher cats, hawks, raccoons, bobcats, and owls.
    - LegitShady 4y ago
      I dont want coyotes and bobcats around my house. neither does anyone who has pets or livestock. There's a reason they were pushed out. We still have owls and other birds of prey. We have raccoons and they are annoying and can damage property.
      - nibbleshifter 4y ago
jmspring 4y ago
I did this when I bought a house in Santa Cruz. Planted a bunch of natives, in particular bushes that flowered at different times of the year - ceanothus, manzanita, etc. I happily had bees and other insects around the yard almost all the time. It's worth doing. Funny thing, monarch butterflies (and the caterpillars) seem to prefer the non-native Milkweed to the native variety.
- pamelafox 4y ago
  Which milkweed did you plant? I find that our Monarchs love narrow-leaf milkweed but HATE showy milkweed. They have to be absolutely desperate to nibble on it. Both are technically native, but clearly one of them is tastier.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    The milkweed that I planted is common milkweed and swamp milkweed. I find swamp milkweed to be prettier, but they both seem extremely popular and they seemed to bloom at different times, which is a nice benefit. (I'm not certain about the bloom times as I'm going only on a year's experience.)
- kccqzy 4y ago
  In my yard, I didn't plant any milkweed but I found them growing on its own. Or at least, Google Lens told me it's milkweed. How do I know if they are native or not? How do I know if they are harmful or beneficial to the ice system, and whether I should remove them or let them grow? Where do you get this knowledge?
  - bmitc 4y ago
    I use the app PictureThis (https://www.picturethisai.com/ https://www.picturethisai.com/) and then supplement it by researching the online on various sites. I don't have any particular sites to offer offhand, as I'm still figuring everything out myself. Another thing I have considered is buying some books from local native plant societies and organizations. They publish books that contain pictures and information of regionally native plants. They also have plant sales every year, where they sell native plants that have been grown by themselves or by known third-parties. In general, I have tried taking an additive approach. I have only removed plants that I knew for a fact, through the app and subsequent research, were non-native and particularly damaging.
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hammock 4y ago
What’s the size of your lot?
- bmitc 4y ago
  It can be small or big. Checkout Benjamin Vogt's work: https://www.monarchgard.com/portfolio.html https://www.monarchgard.com/portfolio.html In particular, his house is on a small lot typical of suburban sprawl neighborhoods. https://www.monarchgard.com/uploads/6/7/1/6/67169427/pxl-20211026-194006615_orig.jpg https://www.monarchgard.com/uploads/6/7/1/6/67169427/pxl-202...
drewcoo 4y ago
> planting only native plants . . . could be attracting non-regional and non-native species Native plants do that, too. Invasive species thrive on that, in fact. Horticulture is more complicated than just "eating local." Ok, so a good diet is also more complicated than eating local. > native plant species are easy Absolutely! And if you're in a place that can flood or has droughts or sometimes has wild temperature spikes, those are plants that have adapted to the environment. They live through tough times that kill the plants that haven't adapted.
wcarron 4y ago
> I sort of disagree with the article though. I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. Just because you have a lot of activity around a plant doesn't mean it's the right activity. You could be attracting non-regional and non-native species which is generating the activity. I disagree. Native plants are great, but so are tomatoes or some bell and habanero peppers. You're projecting your personal opinions on what makes a garden good. To some, a good garden is defined by its native-plant biodiversity. To others, it's getting fresh herbs for salads at dinner. To others it is something else. It's not an either-or thing. You can plant many things and reap varying benefits.
- djtriptych 4y ago
  Is it fair to call it personal opinion if it's also the ecologist consensus viewpoint?
  - RHSeeger 4y ago
    Of course. To some people, that viewpoint is what defines it as good. For others, it's beauty. For others, it's pure diversity. For others, it's minimizing the work involved. The choice of what is considered "good" here is a very personal thing.
    - djtriptych 4y ago
      Still, it's dismissive to place it into a class of personal opinion, when the colloquial understanding, especially here, is that there is no expectation of evidence behind it. I think a fairer term here is 'argument'.
  - wcarron 4y ago
    The other comment covered my thoughts mostly. Ecology is important. But I can't eat Blackfoot daisy. Not all gardens are there for ecosystem health. Some are for utilitarian purposes.
- bmitc 4y ago
  I was distinguishing plants from crops. I think it's perfectly fine to be growing non-native vegetables and fruits that you'd like to eat or sell.
Natsu 4y ago
> I am really hoping that all the milkweed we're planting brings more monarchs. Last year, we saw a couple. The numbers went up a bit during Covid, surprisingly. I wish we could do something about the general downward trend, there are far, far fewer now than there were even 30 years ago.
colechristensen 4y ago
There are invasive plants and there are non-native plants and these things aren't necessarily the same. You do you with your yard but not everybody has to be so strict. There are plenty of non-native plants that have very low risk of becoming invasive which do a lot for biodiversity and are nice to look at.
taftster 4y ago
You should write a book, or at least blog, about the experience. This would be good reading and much appreciated to some of us. I'd definitely read.
mikesabbagh 4y ago
Douglas Tallamy is my new hero
ascotan 4y ago
I've been using the "Seek" app for plan identification and I'm floored to the amount of overgrown ornamentals from Asia everywhere. It seems like landscapers love to put non-native exotic grasses, trees, and shrubs all over the place.
hunglee2 4y ago
this is great - more people should take this approach. Individual efforts like this might be enough to help native species hang on in face of government indifference. I'm reminded of that story of the survival of the Chinese Alligator, which I believe is mainly down to the efforts of a single woman who protected the nest sites which happened to be on her farm, and raised the hatchings beyond year 1 before release back to the wild. Every little bit matters!
hosh 4y ago
Native plants and species are already suited to the area, so it is a great place to start. What I am finding though, is that the main difference between an invasive species, and a native species that is vigorous, is that the native species has a lot of interactions with other species within the local biome. And invasive species does not, so runs unchecked without a predator, or does not provide any benefits for other species. If they did, they would be “native”. Over time, the biome will adapt, and interactions will start arising. There very much are circumstances in which an invasive, resilient species is the right thing. For example, Jerome, Arizona, is an old copper mining town with a devastated ecosystem. Tailings from the copper mine poisoned the land. It’s at a steep incline, with severe erosion. Houses had been sliding off the slope. When the mine shut down, and the population dropped to about 100 residents, fhe mayor at the time brought in an invasive tree called the Tree of Heaven to save the town. That mayor hired an aircraft to seed it all around Jerome. This tree is invasive, difficult to kill once established, drives out other species, and produces copious amount of seeds. Crucially, it can survive soil that has been poisoned by the mining tailing. It grows everywhere in Jerome — and holds what soil is there. This terrible, aggressive plant is helping to remediate a land trashed by human activity. https://youtu.be/Oayt7eru2nc https://youtu.be/Oayt7eru2nc
kaitai 4y ago
The Nature Conservancy had a recent article in its magazine about the change in bloom time for many natives (based on temperature) and the difficulty that can cause for migrating birds and for animals (whose schedules may be based on length of day). For this reason, I am moving away from native-only to a more utilitarian approach. (And don't get me wrong, I have scores of native plants in my very small yard.) I am thinking more about native-nearby plants and plants that may feed wildlife at adjacent times. So maybe it's best to have several types of milkweed that bloom at different times, as someone else noted below. I'm in the Midwest and I'll also note the adage that many of our natives follow "sleep, creep, leap". Year 1, you'll be like "damn is this stuff even growing, this sucks" and year 2 you'll say "well I guess it came back? maybe?" and year 3 you'll say "it's starting to look nice here!" I'm also taking a slightly heterodox approach in that I am mixing in non-native edibles with glee (I've got at least 6 kinds of berry bush for instance, some native some not). The weight is still on natives, but I've been influenced by, who, Todd Hemenway?? who pointed out that the ecological impact of shipping berries from far-away lands is much worse than the ecological impact of having berry bush that's well-behaved and not native. Similarly, there are very few non-native plants I try to abolish anymore. Instead to the best of my ability I eat them. It is extraordinary how many plants can be eaten. From Japanese knotweed (cook it like rhubarb in sweets, or stir-fry) to hops to daisies (eat young like arugula) to garlic mustard (great pesto) to hostas (nice asparagus-like flavor when roasted or sautéed young). I'm not introducing these, not at all, but when they appear I don't get xenophobic, I get dinner. Which also sounds kind of creepy. But what I mean is that I'm not digging up my echinacea to use the roots medicinally; I don't have enough plants to do so sustainably yet -- but I sure am serving 6 linear feet worth of hostas at a dinner party.
- hosh 4y ago
  Yup. It’s more about the connections the inhabitants of an ecosystem has to each other. Something that yields something edible or useful for humans is also a part of this. Our role as humans is not some ideal, “untouched”, “pristine” Nature, as if human activity and design necessarily spoils Nature. I think a more sensible perspective is that humans are stewards of the land, and there are yields for humans and the non-human inhabitants. It’s that our civilization has been terrible stewards, not that we are incapable of being good stewards. We can care for the land and people, and still get our fair share.
hackernewds 4y ago
> I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. Why?
smallerfish 4y ago
> I think one should actually take a relatively hardline approach to planting only native plants. I disagree. Billions of birds fly around the world every year with seeds in their gut. Plants are constantly, naturally, migrating in territory. "Native" plants are plants which were in a given place (in this example the US) before an arbitrary date (for the US, very roughly 1500), when we started keeping track of local flora. The climate is observably changing, and what was "native" in 1500 may not be applicable to a local ecosystem anymore. Trees are already suffering in some ranges, and ranges are moving north. Note that there is a difference between "non-native" (arbitrary) and "invasive" (measurable). Planting invasives (whether native or non-native) should be discouraged because they have the potential to disrupt ecosystems by completely filling niches. Planting non-invasive non-natives is harmless, and if well considered can be beneficial to your local ecosystem.

WaitWaitWha 4y ago

I suggest to add a bee home (bee house, bee hotel) to your garden. It is simple, last several years, it can be as small as a bird house, and can be a fun weekend project with the kids. (It can also be purchased.) Please, do not get honey bees, unless willing to take care of them - just like with any animal husbandry. I love them, I am a beek, but I find too many abandoned or swarms from people who bought into the idea that they need to save the world through bee hives. Just resist the urge, unless you have time and willingness to do proper beekeeping.

RegularOpossum 4y ago
I've got multiple bee homes for all different sizes. Showing off our orchid bees to visitors is one of my favorite yard activities.
Wonnk13 4y ago
So the idea with the bee home is the bees come to me? As opposed to me buying honeybees and a hive? I'm asking out of genuine ignorance not trolling, as I'd love to have bees by my planter box, but I don't have the time to be a bee keeper and and don't want to kill the little guys.
- 11235813213455 4y ago
  probably better to get honey from a local beekeeper (and/or local fruits, which are even better for us, with their fiber)
  - criddell 4y ago
    Definitely. In North America, honey bees are non-native, invasive species. If you want to help the bee population, pick a species native for your area.
- throw_away1525 4y ago
  They won't be honeybees, they'll be other types of bees like mason bees. But yes, they will come to you.

cookieswumchorr 4y ago

i always do it with my refrigerator

dylan604 4y ago
I don't think the spores that you are cultivating in your fridge would necessarily qualify as native plant species. that's more of a science experiment
- ilyt 4y ago
  More like biological weapon in the making
  - dylan604 4y ago
    it could be the next penicillin type of discovery. at least that's how I justify the state my fridge has been in a couple of times in my youth
iForgotMyPW 4y ago
[flagged]

revx 4y ago

We replaced our front yard with native plants and I love it. Plan to do this with my back yard as soon as I can afford it. I specifically chose a house in a part of our city with no HOA because I don't ever want to go back to monoculture of grass. Such a waste of space.

MR_Bulldops 4y ago
I did this last year and it was incredibly satisfying. If I amrunning errands and near a nursery I'll stop by and get a new plant or two. Slowly filling it in and watching all the nature is nice. Our back yard is about 4x bigger, but I'll be tackling that shortly too! Our neighborhood is a mix of lawns, manicured landscaping, and natural gardens. Lawns are slowly becoming less frequent.

Decabytes 4y ago

I've always had a dream to buy a plot of land and homestead. But I have family that is getting older and needs my help more often. The though of being far away from essential services like Hospitals is not ideal. Also I'm still too early in my career to make that move. So, more recently I've been thinking of an idea I call "urban homesteading", which is just based off the idea of not waiting until the perfect circumstances to start something. Nothing about living in the suburbs prevents me from doing like 80% of what I would do homesteading. I can still... 1. Can/Preserve/Dehydrate/Vacuum seal Food 2. Build up a supply of essential non perishable food 3. Grow food I can eat in a garden 4. Build things with the materials I have instead of buying them 5. Fix and repair old stuff I have instead of buying new stuff 6. Reduce my reliance on City Water, Electricity, Gas, while still enjoying the benefits Sure I might not have the most space or privacy having neighbors on all sides but so what. I don't have a big backyard, but I don't really need one as there is a large park 3 minutes from my front door that I can walk to. Other than enough space for a small deck and grill I can devote the rest of my backyard to a garden. I'm slowly building up towards this, but I'm starting slowly so that it isn't overwhelming

dylan604 4y ago
I'm all for this, and I too have been attempting this at various levels. However, the one thing that I have come to respect is that farming to be self sustainable is capital H hard. To grow enough to sustain just you and your family means a much larger plot would be required than I originally appreciated. Weather is a huge factor on whether your plants will yield enough, and it is something absolutely out of your control. After that, you have pest control from insects to animals. The more effective you want to be about those just increases the costs of everything. I've considered turning part of my yard into a larger garden plot, but since it's a rental, it's hard to want to expend the effort. So I've stuck with container gardening with a few raised beds. I haven't quite gone the level of canning (not enough yield for that), but I have been drying the herbs I grow. This winter was the first time that I've used them for soups, and will be doing this at a larger volume this year.
justajot 4y ago
Yes!! I love the awareness here.

morgango 4y ago

So, not unrelated was a post from reddit where someone built a little better environment for a frog in their yard: https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/11czhbt/guy_makes_insane_house_for_a_frog/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/11czhbt/g... and they ended up with a zoo. While whimsical, it shows very how adjusting your environment just a little bit can really attract wildlife.

bmitc 4y ago
That's hilarious. Like what you said, that's really amazing about how small changes propagate. It's crazy how wildlife finds stuff. They know what they're doing.
- coffeebeqn 4y ago
  Just shows what deserts our (sub)urban spaces have become to the local creatures
twoquestions 4y ago
Thank you for posting this, it really made my day :)

rini17 4y ago

Nice and I have it, including pond with frogs! Earned me solid concrete walls from all sides though, neighbors are concerned about weeds.

pascalxus 4y ago

Personally, I like to plant as many different types of fruit trees, fruit vines and berries as I can and as much diversity as I can. But, I find sticking just to natives is kinda limiting. It's nice to prefer natives but I wouldn't be too religious about it.

dylan604 4y ago
Just ensure that what non-native you do get is not an invasive species. There are websites you can check if the type of plant you are looking to plant is considered invasive or not. After learning about this, I was surprised by the number of invasive plants being sold at nurseries. I've learned which local nurseries are more trustworthy of being able to trust any plant they are offering.
coffeebeqn 4y ago
Most regions do have tens of fruits and berries to choose from but some are hard to find. I don’t think most Apple or raspberry or peach trees are invasive so it’s not really that big of a deal to get some you like
- clbrmbr 4y ago
  Around me there’s a (non-native) pear tree (Prunus calleryana) which is the primary tree in old neglected fields with poor soil. I wouldn’t mind if it bore edible fruit, but alas those hard little pears are astringent to the point of being painful. The Eleagnus umbellata I don’t mind however, as they build the soil and the berries are delicious and produced in copious amounts. The bear like them, too.

angst_ridden 4y ago

When I bought a place in the LA area, the house had neatly trimmed lawns and flowers planted with perfect spacing around the borders in both the front and back yards. Over the past twenty years, it's been converted into a wild, exuberant mix of flowers, fruit trees, and native plants. We do irrigate with drip-lines. We have a lot of butterfly host plants, and it is now a veritable Disney-film-happy-place filled with birds and bees and butterflies (and aphids and spiders and salamanders). There are a few chairs and benches scattered around, and I sit outside and read or code on pleasant days. I spend a lot of time taking macro photos of bugs and flowers. Several of our neighbors loathe us, saying that our yard is a mess and lowers property values. Their pesticide-ridden lawns are perfectly green, even in the Summer, and they are only ever outside to instruct their gardeners where to direct the leaf blowers. Most people walking by are enchanted by the wildness and the animal life. Kids, particularly, are thrilled when they see the butterflies, or get to pick cherry-tomatoes or berries off the vines.

theNJR 4y ago
Also in the LA area. Would love to see some pictures!
phist_mcgee 4y ago
Thank you for do your small part in improving biodiversity.

ernestipark 4y ago

Semi related, but I firmly believe everyone with a yard should have chickens. 4 chickens can feed a family with more eggs than they'll ever need, you'll almost never throw food scraps out again, and you'll keep harmful methane producing waste out of landfills.

voisin 4y ago
I concur wholly. We have wanted to do this forever and last year bought 5 acres on the edge of town. We are now up to 28 chickens (26 hens, 2 roosters) and run a small egg CSA. It’s been amazing for reducing food waste, yielding high quality compost, enjoyment for us and our kids and people walking by, a small step toward local food resiliency, and it earns a tiny profit. We’ve just ordered another 40 day olds for delivery in a few weeks, and are plotting to get some ducks too.
chasd00 4y ago
i had an across the street neighbor in Dallas that basically had a mini-farm in their backyard. An actual "up at 5 to milk the goats, feed, and eggs before work" type farm. I did enough of that in HS growing up in the sticks with odd jobs at dairies, elevators, and other farm type work. No thanks, dues are paid :)
CatWChainsaw 4y ago
Keeping commensals under control should be a top priority. Salmonella and Campylobacter are not welcome additions to my meals.

lasermatts 4y ago

I wrote a book about my experience taking my concrete filled back yard to one full of life over the pandemic! Gardening in an urban setting presents unique challenges but it's super rewarding! Link to my book (for anyone interested): https://a.co/d/crd2HcD https://a.co/d/crd2HcD Super excited to see articles on big sites talking about the importance of biodiversity!

fillskills 4y ago

I am cofounder of a startup called HealingGardens.co. We are trying to help biodiverse urban gardens make revenue with an airbnb like model. If anyone here has an urban garden and would like to list it on our marketplace, we would be glad to review or help. If you have questions or want to work on something with us please feel free to reach out at abhi at healinggardens.co

thatfunkymunki 4y ago

I saw an awesome video of someone doing something like this at their property https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LvaX748pVI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LvaX748pVI . I was really impressed with how much the local ecosystem took to it, so rapidly

hnbear 4y ago

There are also some interesting larger projects focused on insect health and diversity like Brighton (in the UK) mandating Bee Bricks: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/bee-and-swift-bricks-mandated-in-brighton-and-hove-england/ https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/bee-and-swift-bricks-mandate... These are similar in design to the bee/insect hotels you find, but build as a brick, with the holes facing out, allowing insects a place to nest, and to fight the loss of bee populations.

voisin 4y ago
The only issue is that I am pretty sure you need to clean them out every so often. I don’t think mason bees will take over another bee’s nest.

throwawaaarrgh 4y ago

When I made one 8x2.5 high density raised bed on my stoop in Philly, I got: Birds, squirrels, butterflies, moths, wasps, caterpillars, praying mantis, aphids, worms, grubs, ants, ladybugs, bees, and more. I grew tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, basil, thyme, oregano, lavender, bee balm, broccoli, lettuce mix, and beans, and had ornamenral flowers to attract pollinators. I'd set up a chair and just watch like it was the nature channel. Every time a bee would come visit, I would rejoice. The whole city melted away and I was plunged into a tiny living ecosystem. Absolutely the best investment I've ever made for my quality of life.

tambourine_man 4y ago

https://archive.is/FGLCS https://archive.is/FGLCS

seatac76 4y ago

I don’t have the privilege of a backyard but I’ve been doing square foot gardening on my balcony for about 3 years. Have been using Merlin Bird ID to track birds that have visited the garden + bird feeder. I have so far logged 23 species which took me by surprise. The number of insects and birds visiting regularly is truly humbling, anecdotal but the premise of the article certainly rings true to me.

ilamont 4y ago

This is more about community urban gardens than backyard habitats, which are different on several dimensions, such as tree cover, water access, and sunlight. Nevertheless it dovetails nicely with a discussion late last year, "I built a wildlife pond" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33952437 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33952437). Even man-made habitats which incorporate plants and features that are amenable to plant and animal life will flourish, and attract animals that its creators never envisioned whether it's bees looking for flowers or mammals drinking at the pond.

glennericksen 4y ago

There's was a story in Smithsonian magazine a few years ago (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist...) about an ecologist who more or less did what this article proposes, increasing the biodiversity in his backyard. He called his project a "Homegrown National Park". Tallamy's Suggestions: 1. Shrink your lawn (replace grass with plants that create habitat) 2. Remove invasive plants (native plants support more animal biodiversity) 3. Create no-mow zones around trees (accommodates insect life cycle) 4. Equip outdoor lights with motion sensors (lights can disturb animal behavior)

acabal 4y ago

Planting native plants is very rewarding, and you don't need a lot of space to do it, either. The only space for greenery in our condo, located in a major urban center, is a small strip of mud at the side of the building. A few years ago I seeded it with native plants, and they grew spectacularly. Spring through fall we have colorful native flowers that attract a huge amount of bees of various species, butterflies, and other pollinators - in the middle of a giant city! It's a great feeling to step outside and see flowers and greenery that belong, covered in busy life that was never there before! You don't need a lot of space, and you can do it in a city too.

v8xi 4y ago

Living in the Bay Area, I adore the tall grasses growing on the eastern foothills - you get a nice close-up taking e.g. I-680 to Livermore - and would love to replace much of my yard with the native grasses, but I don't even know where to begin in identifying what species they are, and where to get seed.

coffeebeqn 4y ago
There are nurseries that specialize in native plants in most cities.. definitely in the Bay Area

autokad 4y ago

city gardens things make no sense (when it comes to eating said items). Soil in cities can become contaminated by various pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and automobile exhaust. These contaminants can have harmful effects on human health and the environment. I'm in favor of gardens, but eating the food? gosh that's a bad idea

xen2xen1 4y ago
Put down a layer of mushrooms a few times and scrape them off?
xen2xen1 4y ago
https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/sustainability/2022/02/03/mycoremediation-how-fungi-can-repair-our-land/#:~:text=Mycoremediation%20is%20a%20method%20that,a%20lot%20of%20different%20pollutants https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/sustainability/2022/02/03/mycorem....

chasd00 4y ago

on behalf of your neighbors, please keep mosquito habitat to a minimum.

farmerrishi 4y ago

Funny that these ideas are still making "news". I feel like I'm surrounded with people who figured out a long while ago that human's are and have always been necessary to the health of our ecosystems. Our current sad state of affairs is caused not by human intervention, but by human neglect of our relatives on this planet. 99% of human cultures have been gardeners, cultivating land to increase diversity, energy, and abundance. Colonization fucked that up on a worldwide scale, and created this new narrative of humans in opposition to Earth. I've been working with a partner to change that by connecting people to urban gardens where they can see "human care of Earth" in action. Its called healinggardens.co . Check it out.

Joel_Mckay 4y ago

"biodiversity hotspot" a.k.a. Rodent + Insect farm for the rest of the neighborhood to complain about. Maybe move out of urban centers if you want agriculture. Most rodents are nocturnal, and will damage/infest surrounding structures. Gross, but true. Have a great day =)

neonnoodle 4y ago

During the process of buying our house, one of the disclosures was that the house has a huge inground swimming pool, but some aspect of the plumbing was broken, and nobody knew how much it might cost to repair. So, as-is. Nobody in our house swims, and the costs of repairing and running the pool would be excessive. At first I thought about having it drained and either removed or converted to some kind of outbuilding space. Then it occurred to me, I shouldn't just dispose of a water-bearing structure! The thing is engineered to safely contain thousands of gallons! We kept it. The pool hadn't been used in several years prior to the sale of the house, which was perfect because the chlorination had long since evaporated. Thus a readymade freshwater pond. I started adding native plants and sheltering areas to the shallow end. Frogs were already in residence for mating season but now several species live there full time. Tons of insects: backswimmers, water skimmers, caddisfly, mayfly, damselfly and dragonfly larvae, bladder snails, giant water beetles. Ducks and herons visit. Purple martins and flycatchers hang out at dusk. People often ask about mosquito control, and so far it hasn't been an issue. I believe this is due to a combination of the water depth (mosquitos prefer very shallow and still water like puddles), circulation speed, and predation of the mosquito larvae by everyone else. Because there are marginal plants, predatory insects can transition from their aquatic larval stage to adulthood (they need stalks to climb up out of the water). The pond has become one of the great joys of my life--seeing the seasons change through the lifecycles of the species, watching bees forage on pickerel rush flowers, hearing frogs sing at night.

chime 4y ago
Would you be open to sharing a photo or two of the pond? I would love to show it to my kids.
SCUSKU 4y ago
I spent part of my childhood in rural Japan and during the summers would fall asleep to the sound of hundreds of frogs croaking in the rice paddies. It was a great lullaby for me, it sounds like a great thing to have in your backyard!
- hackernewds 4y ago

jhoogland 4y ago

Check out https://healthyyards.org https://healthyyards.org for a treasure trove of information. (Disclosure: this is my mom’s initiative, and I am a momma’s boy.)

jhoogland 4y ago

Check out healthyyards.org for a treasure trove of information. (Disclosure: this is my mom’s initiative, and I am a momma’s boy.)

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

pseudotrash 4y ago

This article gave me no useful advice. I got a garden and would love to know what I should put there living in the north of Italy. The article didn't mention, except using dome of the space to store compost. No advise on what to plant. Just feel-good advise by morons for morons. It's like it was written by "Marjory the Trash Heap" from fraggle rock herself. Thought you were dead Marjory!!!

InCityDreams 4y ago

>Turn your backyard into a biodiversity hotspot I did. Fucking gangster father-in-law came and mowed the lot down...12ft+ to 3" in less than a couple of hours. Fair play to the dude - he thought I was un- able/ willing to do the chopping. When he got it that I wanted it all to grow he was very, very apologetic, and from thereon, did so. Neighbors hated me.

iForgotMyPW 4y ago

[flagged]

slowhand09 4y ago

I prob have 20 kinds of weeds, 20 native species of plant. I've had whitetail deer, eastern red fox, river otter, snapping turtles, box turtles, muskrat, brown rat, bald eagle, turkey vulture, black vulture, crow, osprey, blue heron, white heron, green heron, snowy egret, redtail hawk, sparrow hawk, tons of songbirds, racoon, possum, black squirrel, grey squirrel, chipmunk, multiple water snake species, rough green snake, ring-tail snake, black racer, milk snake, worm snake, blue-belly skinks, toads, frogs, eels, blue crabs, sand crabs, horseshoe crabs, shrimp, oysters, clams, multiple species of jellyfish, rays, skates, pipefish, striped bass, catfish, crappie, bluefish,... I'm pretty sure I've missed several. Where should I start to become biodiverse?

exabrial 4y ago

Tried this before. Turns out my neighborhood association hates "biodiversity"

clbrmbr 4y ago

When starting my medicinal herb garden I created a spreadsheet to compute a score for each species I was considering, taking food and medicinal value plus native/invasive/non-invasive alien into account. One thing to keep in mind is, a plant can be invasive in one region, but totally harmless in another. Just because it is a problem in Florida doesn’t mean you must avoid it in Vermont.

hosh 4y ago

I’m glad to see these ideas starting to get into the mainstream. From homeowners opting out of monospecies lawns, to people apply permaculture design to urban spaces, to guerilla gardeners reclaiming abandoned urban wastelands, there are a lot of practical ideas around.

29athrowaway 4y ago

How to shift the blame from corporations to people with 1 square inch backyards.

raffraffraff 4y ago

My wife puts a lot of effort into this type of thing. She reads about declining species in Ireland - butterflies, moths, birds in particular - and plants weeds, wildflowers and bushes that they live on. It's almost like magic, or Minecraft, that we suddenly have goldfinches, cinnabar butterflies (and their lovely caterpillars) and lots of amazing moths that we've never seen before. How did they find out about those weeds so quickly? It's like they got auto-generated by the system. It's addictive.