My first blog post so I have some catching up to do. I'll get right to it. I consider myself a rebel gardener. At least in my town I do. Why? Because all around me are pristine landscapes with (almost) perfectly trimmed hedges, dark green lawns trimmed to around 3" high, and all the leaves raked up and replaced with colored wood mulch of questionable origin around those hedges and shrubs. Nothing wrong with that look, I just prefer going against the local preferences, and creating a more natural look.
I do occasionally use commercial mulch, but no more than a few bags every couple years. I opt instead to chop the leaves that fall for free from our oak, maple, and assorted other trees.
My wife and I have many different types of nut and fruit trees. Walnut, Hazelnut, Cherry, Paw Paw, Persimmon, Beach Plum, Quince, Gooseberry, etc. We have a small area we call our meadow, where I started by letting the grass and whatever else would grow have their day, without mowing. I am now beginning to add my hand to the meadow and have added edibles along the edges, but have left some choice locals to remain, augmented by other natives. I'll cover the meadow and individual fruit trees, and perenniual vegetables in future blogs.
The positives of this approach? A healthier ecosystem with a chorus of different songbirds in the morning and evening, and the evening sky sparkling with fireflies in June and July. Notice I did not say fresh fruit and vegetables. That is because our backyard is a mecca for local wildlife. If it's native to the area, we have it. Fox, groundhogs, raccoons, squirrels, and deer all caught on our trail camera.
My theory is that becasue the majority of our neighbors have those aformentioned "pristine" landscapes, the wildlife congregate on those few "untamed" wild properties. I once watched a squirrel do a few round trips from their nest high up in a pine tree to our peach tree. Each trip carrying a peach in its mouth. The peaches weren't even ripe! By the time I got outside to intervene there was one peach left. I left it for the squirrel. I suppose they earned it.
And so began my journey to make our property a nice place to walk, and to protect at least some of the fruits of my labor from going to the animals.
Those experiences inspired our two coffee/tea mugs, which are among our bestsellers. "I fought the squirrels and the squirrels won", and "I garden so the wildlife can eat". Now I can smile while drinking a cup of tea and watch the squirrels eat my peaches while contemplating my next move. :)
Unashamedly available here:
https://tranquil-gardener.myshopify.com/collections/top-sellers/products/i-fought-the-squirrels-coffee-mug
https://tranquil-gardener.myshopify.com/collections/top-sellers/products/i-garden-so-the-wildlife-can-eat-coffee-mug
Make it a wonderful and fruitful day,
Jim
Tranquil Gardener