Space for life

It is hard to remember how it all started, changing our lawn grass to native perennials and wild flowers. Perhaps it was the increasing awareness of the climate and ecological crisis in our everyday life. Thanks to all the research and writing that scientists and advocates have done in the last few decades, there has been a great deal of information and support available throughout this process of building a space for life. The learning process is a steep one, and there is still much to learn. A lot of native perennials are slow to establish, and many have died or are struggling in our yard of mature trees and hard clay soil, or perhaps just due to poor preparation. But we are glad to have gradually made some positive changes. We saw a few monarch butterfly larvae on our swamp milkweed last year and this year common blue butterflies and an American robin catching a Virginia Tiger moth. There are so many grasshoppers that we cannot cross the yard without making them fly around; and so many kinds of insects we have never seen before. We are grateful for what nature has given us and are glad to have the opportunity to share our joy through the My Space for Life Garden program.