The idea of the new landscape undertaking was to plant only native species and ultimately do away with all conventional lawn surrounding my house. I began with my side yard, covering the grass and weeds with cardboard and spreading layers of wood chips over that. The scrawny “twigs” of bare root shrub and tree plantings I obtained from the soil and water conservation district barely looked alive. By the time I finished prepping and planting, my side yard resembled a miniature clear cut logging site. Not auspicious.
As the year progressed, some plants grew and blossomed, some appeared to die down and later surprised me with renewed growth, and some just flat out died. A work in progress, for sure, but it’s always fascinating to step around the corner of my house and see how my project is unfolding.
Can nature restore what my predecessors spent centuries grooming to our vain human whims? And will my tenth of an acre make a difference in the grand scheme of wildlife preservation? I don’t know, but… it’s a beginning.
bare root crab apple first autumn foliage drops mere inches to ground
What Rhymes with Stanza? 
I like how you ponder if you make a difference in the last paragraph. We must always believe we do, that belief is the true beginning! Nice haibun!
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I agree. Thank you.
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A lovely sentiment and noble project, for sure. I loved your haiku. If a beetle dropped a mic, it wouldn’t make a sound.
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Ha! I love your analogy!
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Wow, this is like walking into a painting, the depths of your prose. We never know what beginnings may store but they are always new ones. Brilliant piece here. 🙂
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Thank you, Lucy.
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I love everything about this haibun…..and mostly the idea that you are planting and cultivating nature! Thank you for posting …. and happy new beginnings to you!
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Thank you for the prompt!
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What a wonderful project. We will all want progress reports!! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you! I will most likely be incorporating my discoveries into future poems. Nature is so inspiring.
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Yes!! Your tenth of an acre makes a huge difference, inspiring thousands of other folks to plant their acreage no matter the size. Cheers!
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Thank you! I’ll keep at it, for sure. 🙂
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I really like your ambition… I do think it makes a difference especially for birds and insects that will be part of your garden habitat. We have a piece of the forest as our garden and I can really see how it pays off… much better to have a meadow than a lawn I think.
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It’s going to take a while, but I think it will be worth it.
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