Looking for ways to reduce lawn care and yard work? Prefer a more natural environment to a high-maintenance lawn? Want to save time, money, reduce your workload while beautifying your yard? If so, you’ll be pleased to join in on the rewilding trend. Learn what it is and why you should consider the changeover.
What the heck is rewilding?
Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration that encourages biodiversity and reestablishment of natural processes. It is essentially returning an area to a wild or more natural state. Contrary to popular belief, the practice is not just for wild forests, deserts or wetlands. People are now introducing rewilding to home outdoor areas including rural areas, suburbs, and cities.
What does it mean in terms of landscape design?
In landscape design, rewilding refers to the intentional practice of reintegrating natural plants into an environment and returning outdoor spaces to their natural state. For example, rather than forcibly planting a high maintenance lawn, one would introduce plants specific to a region that are bound to naturally thrive in that environment.
Why reintroduce native plants?
Native plants are hearty and resilient and are more likely to thrive. As a major bonus, they do not require intense upkeep or the high costs of lawn maintenance/service. Native plants typically require minimal watering to establish. Unlike lawns, they do not need weekly mowing, daily watering, or use of pesticides. Thus, replacing lawns with low maintenance natural plants is a big win, saving time and money and creating a healthier environment.
How do I begin?
Native plants are hearty, resilient, and beneficial for the environment. Read up on plants and do your homework to learn which ones are native to where you live. From Kremp.com, “Select species that naturally occur in your region and match the site conditions. Seek native flowering plants to support pollinators, including native grasses and sedges for sheltering birds.” They suggest aiming for biodiversity, including a mix of wildflowers, ferns, vines, shrubs, and trees. Questions? Visit garden centers near you offering advice from local horticulturists. Plant nursery tip: Always carefully inspect plant roots to avoid pot-bound plants and those containing pests and diseases.
Embracing the rewilding trend
The “less lawn and more natural plants” concept can transform a tired or fussy landscape. Rewilding can be used in urban settings, particularly in neglected or high maintenance areas. The rewilding trend may also replace concrete or other unnatural manmade structures. In turn, this can transform parks and public areas into something spectacular. Since natural plants grow easily and successfully and only require slight maintenance, people from rural areas, the burbs, cities and beyond are encouraged to give back small portions of high-maintenance lawns or properties to nature to create healthy, flourishing, attractive, and prosperous ecosystems.
I could have written this with four words. Let the weeds take over.
Musaiga, you are too funny, and partially true. The difference is YOU pick the “weeds” and landscape with them.
Nature uses the fastest growing weeds (not necessarily the prettiest ones) to prepare barren ground for plants that grow slower and have more stringent needs. These plants do the same and prepare the soil for the next level of plants. And so it goes; or grows if you care for puns.
If you look at the wild meadows and marshy areas not overly wet there are some most beautiful and colorful plants.
Doing this will make the insects a plague upon us!