Suburban Savanna – 5

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Continuing my series on progress toward transitioning my yard to a suburban savanna…..

This is only my first summer implementing the strategy, but I am already experiencing some areas that are overgrown…with natives. In a larger space, the tangle would simply be allowed to continue but in my third acre suburban savanna, actions are needed on my part very similar to my actions when it comes to invasives!

Virginia creeper is great near my front door, and I can easily keep it controlled there because I see it all the time. In other places (in a corner of a flower bed behind some crape myrtle and boxwood, for example), it tends to be problematic, and it requires me to get back there to hack it out. I have been cutting only what is on the brick but now I will cut more and hopefully eventually reduce it to a once-a-year job.

My strategy with poison ivy was to leave it unless it was in a place I would likely be without gloves. Now I am rethinking that even though the patch is interesting because it has the poison ivy leaf gall too. I’m going to gear up and clean out that bed…maybe plant some cone flowers there!

Last year I had a clump of White Heath Aster near my driveway, and it is there again this year….and there is clump in my backyard too. I am leaving both since they are great for pollinating insects in the fall – but I don’t want more of them in my yard.  If they come up in more places next year, I will mow them!

I am learning to cope with pokeweed. If it comes up in an empty space, I leave it…but I trim it to keep it low and leafy. It has filled in an area under a window where a non-native cedar died, a slope on the side of the house (reducing the area I mow and holding the soil with its deeper roots, and filling in a corner (it is hiding a place I dump grass clippings too!).

Grapevines seem to be everywhere this year. I don’t mind them in some places…but I will keep them out of my trees. It is going to take some vigilance.

The same is true with the black raspberry canes. They have lovely pale green stems and white underside of the leaves. There are thorns too. I want to leave some of the plants since wildlife like the fruit…but I will be cutting them in places I want to be able to easily access!

I like violets for the ground cover in all my shady areas but they hide young redbuds and maples and oaks that will eventually need to be cut. Hackberries are everywhere – growing with the hollies and in other bushes. I am considering leaving them but also realizing that I will eventually need to cut them down since they are not in places where I want a larger tree!

All these native plants that I am considering controlling and this is my first year thinking about my yard as a suburban savanna!

April 2026 – Overview

May 2026 – Planting Natives

June 2026 – Shade Garden

July 2026 - Water

An Edge around the Native Plant Garden

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Up until a week ago the native plant garden in my front yard was mulch that had been laid down last fall – originally 6+ inches thick – with plants added last spring. Installing something around the edge to define the space required too much back-straining work for me to do myself. I decided to have stone installed, but the work was not scheduled until October; I was thrilled when the company had a cancellation and fit in the work last week!

The two-person crew dug a trench for the stones and finished it in a few hours. Now I can easily do a quick round with the weed-eater and then mow neatly around the garden. I love its irregular shape.

Yard Work in August

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The day was in the 70s rather 90s…a good day for yard work. I had big plans. The latter part of July had been relentlessly hot and/or rainy…so there was a lot to do. And the company that we hired to put some edging around my new native plant bed in the front yard was coming the next week rather than in October (they’d had a cancellation – good for us) which meant I needed to do so clean up of that bed as well.

My first project was to get the Virginia Creeper under control. I don’t like it to get all the way up the brick façade of our house or in the bushes or tangled with the air conditioner compressor/other external ‘boxes.’ It’s going to be a continuing battle but I do like to have enough of it showing now so that when it turns red in the fall, the house will look spectacular!

There is also the bed that has been taken over with poison ivy (with the yellow gall on it). I will wear my protective clothing (including gauntlet gloves) and take it out.

And there is a little bit of weed eating along the fence that needs to be done as well.

Around the edge of the native plant garden there is some encroaching grass which needs to be pulled. Hopefully after the edging is in it will be easier to keep it all under control.

On the way to the back yard the pokeweed has turned into clumps (I had cut them to keep them short). They are deep rooted so good for the slope. The corner of the backyard also had a nice clump. I cut the tallest one to keep it mostly below the fence level.

There was a pokeweed that almost hid the American spikenard when viewed from the  yard (although not from my office window). I cut the poke weed even though stepping into the sea of violets left a hole. Maybe the violets quickly

The pathway I take from my office door to the hummingbird feeder is mostly rocks but the violets are taking off there too. I try to avoid stepping on them. Closer to the feeder (which is suction-cupped to one of my office windows) there is a sad crepe myrtle, thorny black raspberry canes, and grapevine that makes getting to the feeder hazardous in less that yard work garb. I cut back everything but the hosta!

The day turned misty and my back started hurting faster than I expected – before I got everything done. But I made good progress and will be out every day it isn’t raining until I catch up. So much to do….and I need to plan to do it in 30-minute chunks to keep my back happy.

Zooming – July 2026

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All the images in this month’s slideshow are from around Springfield: the Lake Springfield Boathouse, Springfield Botanical Gardens/Roston Native Butterfly House, and my yard. There is a lot to see this time of year! The weather has been hot enough that I make short forays for photography rather than longer hikes.

American Spikenard Buds/Flowers

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The American Spikenard I planted my first summer in Missouri (2023) might be my favorite plant in the whole yard. I see it from my office window. It is thriving with violets as its understory. When I planted it, the violets were mostly between the new plant and the house; once I stopped mowing they have filled half the side yard. I thought that the spikenard had been killed that first winter, but it came back the next spring and has been bigger every yearsince. References say that the plants get 3-5 feet tall but this one is taller!

And it is full of buds/flowers right now. They are not showy as individual flowers, but the cluster is noticeable because of the change in texture from the large compound leaves. The fruits will be even more noticeable this fall because they will be reddish purple.

The American spikenard is not as common as many of the other native plants, but it certainly has worked well in my garden. It should contribute to the lushness of my shade garden as it spreads via it roots or seeds. I planted a second plant this year at the northern end of the shade garden and wonder if the two plants will eventually expand to meet in the middle!

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 25, 2026

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

07/13/2026 Science Daily Why are healthy young non-smokers developing lung cancer? - Younger Americans under age 50 who have never smoked and consume more of fruits and vegetable than average may face a higher risk of developing lung cancer. Commercially grown (non-organic) fruits, vegetables, and whole grains generally contain higher levels of pesticide residues than dairy products, meat, and many processed foods. There is also previous research showing that agricultural workers with long term pesticide exposure experience higher rates of lung cancer. The next phase of the research will involve measuring pesticide levels directly in patients' blood or urine samples. That work could help determine whether certain pesticides are more strongly associated with lung cancer risk than others.

07/09/2026 NWF Blog Spark Joy in Your Outdoor Events by Blending Forest Bathing, Nature Appreciation, and Wildlife Education - Learn more about the practice of forest bathing and to access tips and resources on how to level up your outdoor events this summer through forest bathing, nature appreciation, and wildlife education.

07/08/26 Archaeology Magazine Scythian DNA Study Examines Elite Family Ties - The remains of 38 of the Scythians were recovered from kurgans that also contained elite weapons and gold artifacts, while the other 47 were recovered from smaller kurgans that lacked gold grave goods. The elite Scythians were 11 times more likely to be related to each other than to the other Scythians. Nearly half of the elite individuals in our dataset were female, indicating that women held high social status within Iron Age Scythian society.

07/08/2026 Smithsonian Magazine Sperm Whales Living in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Seem to Have Developed a Distinct Dialect from Those in the West - From Southern drawls to Irish brogues, humans can sound very different while speaking the same language. It turns out that some whales might have similar regional variations in their vocalizations, too. Sperm whales living in different parts of the Mediterranean Sea appear to have their own distinct dialects. Scientists think that about 20,000 years ago, a group of intrepid sperm whales swam into the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea, where they’ve remained ever since. The individuals living in the Mediterranean rarely leave the sea—and other sperm whales don’t often enter the area—so they’re considered a genetically distinct subpopulation.

07/07/2026 Clean Technica New York Now at 8 Gigawatts of Distributed Solar Power - New York has just reached 8 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power capacity in the “distributed” solar market — rooftops and small-scale installations. The state has a target of reaching 10 GW by 2030, and this new milestone puts them ahead of schedule. Just from lowering electricity demand on the power grid during times of peak demand, solar power is estimated to have saved New York $90 million last summer. Greater savings will come this summer.

07/08/2026 Yale Environment 360 What Do We Actually Know About the Microplastics Inside Us? - I know it is easy to say we don’t have enough information yet, but we do know about [the health risks from] these chemicals that are in all the plastics that your food is wrapped in. From that perspective, it is still a good idea to reduce plastics or eliminate them where possible. – Cassandra Rauert

07/07/2026 The Conversation Island life changed how Brazil’s Noronha skink reproduces, but the lizard’s strategy might be failing in a rapidly evolving world - Reproduction occurs during a relatively narrow period of the year, in the dry season. Not all females reproduce annually: our data suggest that many reproduce only every two or even three years. When they do, they produce only two eggs at a time — a very low number for lizards in this group. These eggs, however, are large relative to the mother’s body size, indicating a high investment in each offspring.

05/20/2026 PLOS One Skeletons in the permafrost: Exploring climate-driven heritage loss and occupational health at the early modern whaling burial site of Likneset, Svalbard - Rapid Arctic warming is accelerating the degradation of permafrost-preserved archaeological sites, threatening both cultural heritage and the scientific information it contains. Early modern whaling burial sites on Svalbard are particularly vulnerable due to their organic-rich burial contexts and exposed coastal settings.

Homegrown National Park How to build a mosquito bucket – A non-toxic way to control mosquitos in your yard.

Leaf & Limb 7 Ways to Help Your Trees and Shrubs During (and After) a Drought – My area of Missouri is not in drought right now….but it has been in previous summers. The suggestions in this post can be done any time….and keep trees healthier ahead of the next drought!  

Serendipity Trees

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Serendipity trees are one of the joys of native gardening! I have 3 different kinds in my yard.

The oaks are from ‘squirrel planted’ acorns – probably from my neighbor’s red oak. Most of the time I mow the seedlings but there is one that is growing in the place where we had to cut down a pine (it fell on its own really). The oak is growing well and is no longer much shorter than the plants around it: iris, beautyberry, gray-headed coneflower, and newly planted elderberry. My plan is to enlarge the bed as the oak grows so that most of its leaves will fall in places that will never be mowed! In the front yard, there is a younger seedling in the native plant garden that is shorter than the Missouri evening primrose beside it! It too can continue to grow and the bed can be expanded over time to receive its leaves.

There is a dying redbud near the neighborhood stormwater pond, but it is leaving its progeny all over the neighborhood – seeds probably transported by birds. Some are growing as shrubs near the holly…and other is growing in a good place to provide some nice afternoon shade to our deck in the next few years.

The hackberries are also bird planted; there is a big healthy tree near the dying redbud with lots of seeds that I see on the sidewalk in the fall. I have several that are coming up in the bed with the hollies and with a Japanese barberry. The Japanese barberry is not native and somewhat invasive so I will be cutting it down repeatedly until it dies – making room for the hackberry!

I like the serendipity trees. It akin to a savanna replenishing itself naturally.

Suburban Savana – 4

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Continuing my series on my progress toward transitioning my yard to a suburban savanna…..

This month I am focusing on water. My yard has a sprinkler system that was installed in the late 90s. We get it checked at the beginning of each season and replaced the controller last year so that it doesn’t come on if there was rain recently (prior that that we often manually turned if off earlier in the growing season when our area gets enough rain for plants to thrive).

This year I am watering as I have in years past since so many of the plants are new. Next year I will likely reduce either the duration or the frequency since the plants are native and should thrive without extra water. In subsequent years when most plants are well established, I might simply turn on the sprinklers manually…only when there are very long periods with no rainfall (i.e. in drought conditions).

The only plant that will likely need extra attention is an Kousa dogwood (planted by a previous owner) that is growing in full sun. Even with the watering I do now, it tends to get some dry/brown leaves in summers with high heat and little rain. It’s not a native so obviously is not honed to our Missouri climate! I might put a soaker hose in to specifically provide water to the roots of the tree….or plant some green native ground cover (something like golden ragwort on the north and south, Missouri evening primrose on the western side, violets on the eastern side) under the tree that will keep the soil cooler than the mulch that is currently there.  

In a few years, if something on the sprinkler system breaks enough that it would required replacement – maybe I will decide I don’t need a sprinkler system often enough to warrant the expense!

More about my suburban savanna and blooms for pollinators next month.

Previous Suburban Savanna Posts:

April 2026 – Overview

May 2026 – Planting Natives

June 2026 – Shade Garden

Our Missouri Yard

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There is so much going on in our yard this year that I might do more than one post about it each month. Every time it rained in June – there were mushrooms in and around the native plant garden in the front yard. They were often almost like a living edge…along the margin of the mulch – almost into the grass. A few times there was a clump in the middle of the bed. I love to see them because it means the natural decomposition of the mulch is well underway.

All three of the rattlesnake master plants have stalks. Unfortunately, most of them fall over but they still seem to be developing. I might have seeds and then more plants next year!

The new Missouri Evening Primrose plants are thriving and most have bloomed. The red oak seedling (squirrel planted) that I am leaving is next to one of them. In a few years it might be the tallest of the new plantings although it might be more years before it is taller than the maple. The yarrow (I bought 2 but only one survived) is next to another of the primrose plants; I like the very different texture the yarrow adds to the garden and hope that it will reproduce itself over time…or I will have to buy more!

In sunny, drier garden next to our front door, the day lilies and Virginia sweetspire have finished blooming now…the crape myrtle (out of the picture) is blooming and there are several fall blooming natives there. The violet (ground cover) is lush but will begin to dry out soon unless I remember to water it; the leaves are already not as good to eat as the violets that are growing in my shade garden.

The soapweed yucca appears to be thriving although I need to keep other plant away from it. There is a grapevine growing on the dead Japanese maple in the corner….and I am going to let it continue to grow there…and drive out other plants that are not as hardy.

I noticed a stand of poison ivy in a small flower bed on the west side of the house…and it had something growing on the leaves. After watching a recent webinar on galls, I realized that the growths were caused by the poison ivy gall mite! It also can infect fragrant sumac; I checked the plant I have in my back yard and, so far, it doesn’t have any galls! I need to develop some better techniques to take gall pictures….since now I will be looking for them everywhere I go (particularly on oaks!).

Ten Little Celebrations – June 2026

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The beginning of the month was very hectic….but I recovered in the later weeks. There was a lot to celebrate.

Violet leaves with spaghetti sauce. It’s such a joy to simply walk outside in the back yard and cut a few leaves to eat almost immediately!

Microplastics talk to Missouri Master Gardeners. The audience was not large, but they made up for it in enthusiasm. I celebrated that I’d gotten it done!

Clumps of mushrooms around native plant garden. The edges of the oak mulch are evidently perfect for mushrooms. I celebrated that they looked like a natural ‘edge’ to the bed.

Hummingbird and squirrels and chipmunk seen from my office window. Hurray! We finally have a chipmunk visiting our yard…the first time I’ve seen one here. The hummingbird is coming to our feeder regularly and the squirrels run along the fence tops and through the pine to get to the holly just out of my view.

New glasses. I celebrated new single vision glasses for distance….and really like them for driving.

Hellbender tour. The hellbender conservation lab at the St. Louis Zoo was a great opportunity to see an animal I’d heard about but never seen….and the two flamingos on nests were another sight to celebrate.

Audubon Center at Riverlands. It was too hot to truly enjoy Riverlands and confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers…but I celebrated that it will make a great birding trip for next winter.

Telecon about data centers in Missouri. I celebrated an interesting telephone conference on data centers in Missouri; I now feel more knowledgeable about the issue.

Yellow and white wildflowers between Missouri and Texas. The yellow and whites along the roadside are the colors of summer along my route…celebrating the season.

Glorious summer yard. There are so many good things happening in my yard – so many reasons to celebrate native plants!

Yard Work – June 2025

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This time of year, all the grasses are growing well. I have reduced the amount of yard with grass…but mowing is still the most time consuming form of yard work for me over the whole season.

My goal is to cut back on the area I mow and skew the ‘yard work’ toward establishing my native plant gardens. My shade garden is close to being the way I want it. Recently I’ve cut down pokeweed and pulled poison hemlock that was growing in the area near the young pawpaw trees. I took a picture of the compost pile the day after I added the debris from that effort. The stems of the pokeweed are still identifiable by color. The more delicate curls of vegetation are the poison hemlock.

In the new native plant garden in the front yard, I am digging out dandelions that are growing through the mulch….keeping the area clear for the native plants to spread and fill the space.

The area under the shortleaf pine was crowded with pokeweed up to the lower branches. I cut quite a few down and will let them rot where they fell!

On the plus side, I discovered some blackberries growing under the pokeweed!

The hackberry that was growing in the yew hedge was cut back – I don’t want a tree growing there. I couldn’t get to the root so it will likely return.

My goal in June is to do as much as I can to get the yard in great shape so there won’t be much aside from mowing in the hotter part of the summer.

Suburban Savanna – 2

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Last month was my first post about my goal to turn my yard into a suburban savanna. The series continues this month.

I’ve done the planting for the year already.

The last new plant was a free smooth sumac from the Earth Day Music Festival that I planted in the corner of the yard where oak leaves (neighbor’s tree) accumulate, and the dandelions have very large leaves. I hope it will eventually fill that corner of the yard.

I have discovered a sturdy red oak seeding (squirrel planted) in the bed that I made after a pine fell. I am letting it grow. There will be elderberry and beautyberry along with iris and naked lady lilies around its base. It will be a long time before the oak will be big enough to make shade an issue. I anticipate that the progression of this garden will be the most interesting of the yard.

The panicled aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum that came up next to my driveway last summer is there again – and is larger. I am letting it grow since it is a fall bloomer and was full of pollinating insects last fall.

Goldenrods, rudbekias, and other asters are coming up in the yard too. I mow them in the front yard – keeping up the ‘look’ that the HOA wants for now – but I mow around them in the back and will let them bloom.

Our sprinkler system is over 25 years old and is fixed to begin the season…but might need to be replaced as more of the underground components fail (or leak). The further I get in the transition to native plants, the less watering the yard will require. I am going to water the native plant garden in the front yard this season to help the plants get established, but it might not need it in 2027! The decision to keep a sprinkler system might be driven more by our perception of how variable the rains will be as the climate continues to change than what the native plants require.

Next month I will write about the shade garden which is the most developed part of my suburban savanna.

Previous Suburban Savanna Posts:

April 2026

Our Missouri Yard – May 2026

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May was full of new growth in our yard.

In the front yard…the Kousa Dogwood bloomed…and began to fade. The Missouri Evening Primrose near the mailbox began to bloom. In the new native plant garden, the new plants (like the Ratttlesnake Master and Elderberry) began to thrive; there was a robin’s egg in the mulch under the maple there. The Virginia creeper was lush and green filling the spaces in the flower bed near the house and climbing over everything. There were some asters that came up in one bed on their own in spaces near some daylilies. In the side yard a clump of lambs ear and poke weed were in the same place as last year – not specifically planted but seemed to thrive in that spot.

The shade garden at the side of the house includes young pawpaws (one purchased from Ozark Soul last year, 2 from seeds of a pawpaw from the Roston Native Butterfly House, and 3 from seedling I bought from MDC). The American Spikenard presides over an expanse of violets (I’ve been harvesting the violet leaves to eat as leafy greens). The allium bulbs I planted the first fall we lived in the house bloomed in April and are forming seeds now. The hostas (not native) sometimes provide a contrast with nearby violets. The Eastern White Pine that makes the lower part of the shade garden may produce cones this year – if it does it will be the first time.

In the back yard….The Witch Hazel will probably grow rapidly this year; it did have a few blooms last winter but has no seed pods. The hollies are blooming (delighting bees). The garden where a pine once stood has lambs ear…some elderberries…and an oak seedling (squirrel planted); it will be interesting to see how it develops. The columbines along the fence have a few blooms but are fading….and the irises are done for the year. Some of dandelions seem huge and I wonder if they are a variety grown for greens; I will start to harvest them! The Fragrant Sumac that was the first native plant that I purchased is taking over a space near the patio; I need to keep the Japanese honey suckle away from it….otherwise let it do its thing!

May growth points to 2026 being a great year for my developing yard!

Daughter’s April Yard

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I am enjoying my daughter’s yard through her occasional pictures and when I am at her house. Early in April, she sent me pictures of the plants in her garden by the driveway. She was uncertain if the second one (not blooming) was a weed or something they had planted.

The small red buckeye we had seen in her yard last summer was up and had one cluster of blooms.

Later in the month the young tree had grown more than a foot and had two bloom clusters. Hopefully the hummingbirds are finding the flowers.

The bloom stalks were visible in two yuccas. Penstemons, azaleas, clematis, and yellow wild indigo were already blooming.

Several plants in the shady part of the yard (including oak leaf hydrangea and American spikenard were looking good too.

Her house was built in the 50s so many of her trees are quite large – particularly an oak, a river birch, and an Eastern Hemlock. Her yard has more shade than mine…and she is slowly adding more natives to the mix of perennials in the few sunny places.  

Our Missouri Yard – April 2026

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A lot was happening in my yard in April – beyond the planting of the native plants in my front flowerbed.

Early in the month was the maximum bloom time for dandelions, violets, fragrant sumac and daffodils.

A week or so later the crested iris and columbine were blooming.

The Kousa dogwood (Asian) and false shamrock Oxalis trangularis (South American) were also blooming.

The irises bloomed in several places in the yard. I cut some of them and enjoyed creating some macro images.

The Missouri evening primrose near my mailbox that was planted last spring is growing well – but not yet blooming. Once it starts it will probably have a lot of flowers.

The Virginia Creeper is looking good as the groundcover in my front flower bed.

I planted two more native plants near the end of the month: a red buckeye that I got from a Master Naturalist friend to replace the one that froze (and was killed) a few weeks before) and a smooth sumac that I picked up as a give away from a table at the Earth Day Music Festival in Springfield.

The American spikenard that I see from my office window is on its third season and is almost as tall as me. It dies back to ground level in the winter (i.e. it is not a woody plant) but the roots get more substantial as time goes by and it has been bigger every year I’ve had it.

I’m pleased with the way the yard is shaping up for 2026!

Pawpaw and Elderberry Seedlings

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I ordered Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and Elderberry Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) seedlings from Missouri’s George O. White State Forest Nursery (a service provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation)….and they came last week! There were 10 seedlings for each species – the plan was for me to plant half of them in my yard and my daughter getting the rest for hers.

The box came in the evening, and I opted to plant the next day. They came in a box wrapped in paper backed plastic held in place with ties. The tops of some were showing at the top.

There was an instruction sheet that got a little damp even though it was outside the wrapping. The seedlings themselves had been packed with damp moss. They were labeled – the pawpaw is the darker bark/roots and the elderberry – aside from being lighter in color – had leaves beginning to emerge.

Digging the 10 holes was work; the day was cool but very humid. I planted 3 elderberry in the front yard native plant garden (these were the only easy holes because they were in mulch!), all the pawpaw in an area of my backyard that will become my pawpaw patch (it already had one plant that I purchased last fall), and the other 2 elderberry at two places in my back yard. It had rained not long before I planted, and rain was in the forecast, so I packed down the soil around them and let nature take over.

I finished up and took the remaining seedlings to my daughter…left her to dig her own holes. It was an exhausting day.

I hope at least half of what I planted survive….would be thrilled if more did. Getting seedlings this way was less expensive than buying that many plants from at native plant sales, but I am not as confident about their survival.

Slime Mold in the Oak Mulch

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I started my native plant garden last fall with a thick layer of wood chips – primarily oak from my daughter’s tree trimmers. I’ve only recently planted into it. When planting, I observed that while the surface looked dry, it was moist just below the surface. There were some areas of crust on the surface that I wondered about. Then the yellow splotches of slime mold appeared after a rain…..and a few days later dried out and became crusts like I had seen earlier.

It’s good to have natural cycles playing out in my yard…and molds are part that often go unnoticed. My goal now is to observe frequently….enjoy the garden’s evolution.

Suburban Savanna - 1

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Shortly after I started the 9-month Missouri Woodland Mentor series back in January, I started pondering whether the sterile suburban yards (highly fertilized, sprayed with pesticides, rigidly trimmed, full of non-native plants, toxic to most wildlife) could be transformed into something with a positive impact on the natural environment. It seemed to me that the definition of a savanna fit closest to what suburbs looked like on the surface: grass interspersed with trees providing less than 30% canopy cover.

There are some qualities of a suburb that would work against it becoming a full-fledged savanna:

There is too much impervious surface: streets, houses, sidewalks, driveways…which means that water will run off more quickly. There are often water retention ponds in newer developments to collect run off – somewhat slow the flow.

The building of the houses and infrastructure often is a severe disruption to the land: scraping off topsoil and hauling it away, removing almost all vegetation, and planting of turf. Sometimes there are a few trees planted by the builder – but they are not necessarily natives.  It takes a long time to recover from that disruption. It is the starting point for neighborhoods to progress toward a suburban savanna.

Even with those challenges, there are things I am already doing to nudge my yard toward the savanna goal:

  • I don’t spray pesticides or herbicides….and I don’t fertilize.

  • I don’t mow the fall leaves in my back yard until late spring (let the moths and insects emerge.

  • The non-native trees to Missouri (a Kousa dogwood and an eastern white pine and a variety of holly) are not going to be cut down…but I am planting more native woody plants: pawpaw, fragrant sumac, spice bush (hosted spice bush swallowtail caterpillars last summer), red buckeye, elderberry, and Ozark witch hazel. A red maple and shortleaf pine are the two native trees that were already growing in my yard. The forsythia and Japanese barberry will eventually be dug up.

  • The violets that were contained in a bed on the east side of the house when I moved here have been allowed to spill out taking over half the grass/moss area of that side yard. I have noticed more birds finding food in the debris from the violets over this past winter – even that small change has made a difference to birds.

  • I have planted a native plant garden in the middle of my front yard. As it matures – I will extend it so that there will be less ‘turf’ remaining.

  • Last summer I avoided mowing patches of clover I found growing in the year as a step toward improving the quality of the soil.

  • I am learning to recognize goldenrod, asters, and Rudbekia coming up in my yard that I can simply mow around!

I will post next month about my progress transforming my yard into a suburban savanna. My focus currently is on my yard …but I will take every opportunity to encourage others in my neighborhood to begin the process as well.

Planting Native Plants in the Front Yard

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I waited a day or so to plant the young plants – when the nighttime temperatures would not be dipping into the 30s again. I planted into the oak mulch that I had put down last fall. As I made the hole for the first plant, I noticed that the surface was dry but underneath for very moist. There were worms and small grubs and white fungus hyphae. The new plants are going to love it. Of course, this also means that plants I don’t want there were going to love it too….I will need to recognize and pull as they appear!

I planted 8 plants on the first day:

Wild Blue Indigo Baptisia australis and Cream wild indigo Baptista bracteate

Rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium and Golden ragwort Packera aurea

Missouri Evening Primrose Oenothera macrocarpa and Nodding Onion Allium cernuum

Yarrow Achillea millefolium and Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium

The Soapweed yucca Yucca glauca was planted the following day in a bed where I had to remove rocks and landscaping cloth. The bed is not covered by our sprinkler system and some of the plants previously there had not done well with the dry conditions.

Now that this first round of plants is in the ground, I am in monitoring mode….to water if it doesn’t rain enough and to pull weeds. I am expecting some elderberry seedlings that I will add to the front garden….and some pawpaw seedlings that will join one I planted last year in my back yard (completing the pawpaw patch).

Backyard Greens

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My backyard greens are ready to eat! I won’t be buying arugula or spinach again until the late fall. Since I don’t put any chemicals on my yard – they are safe to harvest/eat just before I need them.

Right now, the dandelions are full of blooms and I pick mostly flowers – although there are a few leaves too. I generally use them in stir fry since cooking reduces the bitterness of the leaves. The flowers are tasty cooked or fresh!

I use violet leaves like arugula. The flowers are edible – but only available in the spring. They are easy to harvest and seem to replenish themselves quickly. The violet patch has gotten bigger each year we have lived in our house – once I stopped mowing the area where they were spilling out of the flowerbed. They will be the ‘carpet’ under the American Spikenard and the small Red Buckeye and pawpaw and spicebush.

The dandelions are not native…but they are attractive to pollinators and their roots are deep – they hold the soil. So – I am OK with them in my yard. The violets are native and I am encouraging them to grow as far out into the yard as they want. They have taken over about a third of the yard area on the east side of the house; there they get morning sun but once the neighbor’s River Birch gets its leaves the area get less sun even in the morning; the violets thrive in that environment!

I am enjoying the green bounty of my backyard!