MOST AMERICAN YARDS

don’t reflect their ecolog-

ical condition. The plants

need to be treated with fer-

tilizer because the soil’s not

right. They want water the

weather doesn’t provide. Wild-

life disappears because they

no longer have food to eat. All

this creates more labor for

homeowners, the humans

in this ecosystem, because

they’re working against nature

instead of with it.

“A garden that’s planted

purely by aesthetic decisions

is like a car with no engine,”

says Larry Weaner, founder

and principal of Larry Weaner

Landscape Associates in Glen-

side, Pennsylvania. “It may

look beautiful, the stereo

works great, but you’re going to

have to push it up the hill.”

A yard should have an

engine. You just have to grow

plants adapted to your land-

scape and work with wildlife

instead of trying to control it,

which will foster diversity and

stability in your local ecosys-

tem. More than ornaments,

plants have functions in a

regenerative system. When

you engage the natural land-

scape, you reconnect to your

region and your ecosystem,

and create a piece of land that

reflects its place. Here’s how.

The great likelihood is that

you’re going to be adapt-

ing to the conditions you

already have. Those condi-

tions might not appear to

be “optimal” in the tradi-

tional horticultural sense.

But plants grow in the wild

without fertilizer. Survi-

vors adapt, learning to love

even marginal soil. They

also forge relationships

with other plants, animals,

and the microbiology of the

soil. These relationships

become the foundation of

a sustainable and resilient

landscape.

Get to know

your climate

Temperatures, average

rainfall. Look up where you

fall on the USDA’s Plant

Hardiness Zones and Kop-

pen Climate Classification

M

STEP 1

Under-

stand

Your

Land

In order to understand your land, you have to understand the land that surrounds it.

(^74) July/August 2019 _ PopularMechanics.com