Landscaping Alternatives for More Beauty and Habitat with Less Work
You’ve seen this a thousand times before: a great house with a totally forgettable yard — lawn, laurel hedge and a few shrubs in a sea of mulch. Not only is this standard landscape boring, it’s high maintenance and does nothing for birds or pollinators.
Picture instead a garden surrounding that house. You’re drawn in by the tapestry of color. You pause to admire a ladybug crawling steadily across a sun-warmed boulder near the path. In the flowering hedge, house finches sing. Now, damselflies dart by shimmering blue, leaving wonder in their wake. And here on the rosemary bush, look: two different bumblebees — one with an orange rump and the other yellow-faced. In the middle of all this thriving nature is a patio. And on that patio your loved ones sit, relaxing and fully at ease. You join them and feel your worries fade. You are at home.
How can you create this experience in your own yard? You know you don’t want the same old thing, but what are the alternatives?
If you’re looking for:
- a low maintenance yard
- habitat for wildlife like pollinators and songbirds
- a daily dose of nature to ease your stress
Then, this free e-book is for you. In it, I share seven specific alternatives that will help you make smart choices for your Pacific Northwest garden. Have fun with these suggestions. Make them your own. And please let me know how it goes! I love to hear your stories and adaptations.
You’ll also get my monthly essays to inspire, entertain, and deepen your connection to nature through the garden.
“This is just what I wanted to read! If I never hear another lawn mower, weed eater, and leaf blower again I would be happy. I just finished your book, and my thinking is right in line with your approach. I don’t have the knowledge of plants and landscape design that you do, but my desire to have plants that live happily together and encourage bees and butterflies and other creatures to explore and eat correlates with yours. The writing in your book is excellent, by the way. So, you’re a landscape designer AND a writer (with a good sense of humor)!”
Marilyn
— With love, Leslie Davis
