How Lawn Replacement Brings Beauty, Sanctuary, and Habitat to Summerhome Garden

A gracefully resilient design is an inspirational tool for encouraging a healthier ecosystem

In the humanity of gardening , term likenaturalistic , xeric , andclimate - resilienthave become buzzwords for a horticulture style that practice less water , fosters biodiversity , and adapts to clime alteration . More than just trendy words , these principles can be the foundation for create landscapes that are both environmentally friendly and beautiful .

I ’m a kip down environmental engineer and tend to take a logical , result - focused access to problems . So when the neglected bungalow next room access come up for sale , I bought the belongings . I knew this was the only way to prevent developers from swoop in and couch up a looming , three - story “ modernistic farmhouse ” with almost full lot coverage , a trend that has become all too unwashed in my Denver neighborhood . The crumbling house was unlivable and needed to be demolish , and I knew that carpeting the lot with a traditional lawn was not the good solvent . After some time and research , the solution that made the most good sense was to build an ecologically friendly garden that would be a sanctuary for both the great unwashed and wildlife . Here are a few more contingent about how the idea fare together .

| At a Glance |

Where : Denver , Colorado

Zone:5b/6

Size:1/7acre

Age:5 years

condition : Full sun ; dry to xeric , lumbering clay filth

1.Fountain feature film

2.Crevice garden

3.Kinetic twist sculptures

4.Solitary bee nesting boxful

5.Parking strip show planting

Learn more :

Xeric Gardening

Naturalistic Garden Design in the Shade

Best Low - Maintenance flora

An immersive naturalistic design makes sustainability appealing

I contact horticulturist Kevin Philip Williams while volunteer at Denver Botanic Gardens . Working side by side with him in the wildly beautiful Steppe Garden , I began to understand some of the canonic principles and logistics of sustainable gardening . I tell Kevin about my nascent ideas for building an eco - friendly garden on the mickle I had purchased , and he take on the challenge of build up a planting architectural plan that would transform the dimension into a lush , immersive space brimming with color and life . As the plan for SummerHome Garden exact shape , we knew that it should be open to the public , offer inspiration and information to gardener and property owner looking to replace their lawn with something really extra .

Kevin ’s initial pallet featured 45 metal money of native and clime - adapted plants , all opt for their resilience and power to fly high without supplementary tearing . In May 2020 , over 4,000 plant were installed by team of volunteers , laying the groundwork for what has become a thriving ecosystem . The winding garden path were laid out to invite exploration and draw visitors deeply into the heart of the garden . Thoughtfully placed bench ( photograph left ) tempt people to pause and observe the space from another perspective , and fountains allow for both aesthetic and ecological benefits .

Every year , the volunteers and I sow in additional seeds to fill gap and increase works density . By 2024 the number of species in the garden had grow from 45 to over 125 , creating a active , multilayered tapestry that supports pollinator , stabilizes the soil , and admonish weed . The ever - change display is also a habitat for wildlife like birds , bees , and butterflies .

A crevice garden read pee - wise planting to A fresh level . Pockets of soil between large stones showcase a variety of cacti and other xeric delights . In spring to early summer , this section of the garden is overflowing in the colorful blooms of hybrid barbellate pears ( Opuntiacvs . , geographical zone 3–11 ) and fall upon white spires of yucca peak ( Yuccaspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–10 ) .

course occurring moisture is enough . Grasses , perennials , and problematic bush like this chokeberry ( Aronia melanocarpa , Zones 3–8 ) make efficient consumption of available resources . In nature , adaptable chokeberry is see in home ground stray from swamp and peat bog to dry upland areas and would be an excellent choice to interchange thirstier landscape plants .

A rolling bloom design ensures interest throughout the year , including the restrained calendar month when flowering bulbs take middle stage . These early blunder bring in splashing of color and upright complex body part when the rest of the garden is just come forth from dormancy .

At the center of the garden, plant communities flow together in a lively patchwork. Pathways do not take up very much of the overall space, but they do allow visitors to take a deep plunge into this world of foliage, flowers, and foraging wildlife. As plantings become established, some vigorous self-sowing species are culled to keep their populations in balance, but hardly any weeding has been necessary. Since little extra care or water are given to plants after their first season, the space serves as a community test garden for plants tough enough to thrive through Denver‘s cold winters and hot, dry summers.

Planning for resilience teaches flexibility

Gardens are living mosaics shaped by uncounted interconnect forces . The intentions and actions of people , the behaviors of creature , and the hidden work of fungi and bacteria all meet in unexpected , unpredictable ways . Focusing too closely on any one ingredient can obscure the vivacious dynamics of the whole .

The invention of SummerHome Garden embraces this complexness and thrives on fluidness . Instead of stiff rules , the garden was build around direct rule that advance adaptability . As a result , the landscape evolves and surprises with every time of year .

Inspired by the compactness , arrangements , and compositions found in wild landscape , the edge - to - edge plantings vie and cooperate in adequate measuring . water system conservation was another run principle , which led to an geographic expedition of regional shrublands for design mind . Shrublands cover over 30 % of the westerly North American landscape painting but are often pretermit as breathing in for naturalistic designs in favor of perennial meadows and grassland . Yet shrublands offer remarkable resilience to heat , drouth , and poor soils , as well as many striking forms and textures . incorporate these tough plants reflects the ecological inheritance of our neighborhood while extend a sheer newfangled take on naturalistic design .

Community support has created a sense of place

When we first pop putting plant life in the ground , my urban neighbors were very bewildered . Few understand why I would supplant a potential construction site with wild - looking plantings instead of another house or a ceremonious lawn . Over time , the community ’s peculiarity turned to appreciation . In 2024 alone , more than 2,000 visitors explored the garden , drawn in by its beauty and sense of serenity . We ’ve had everything from memorial services and family photo shoot , to group meditation sessions and children ’s games of tag . These import reflect the garden ’s true purpose : to link people with nature and to each other .

Today , the garden has stimulate a ripple effect . Naturalistic plantings , started with divisions , seedlings , and seed from our garden ’s plants , have take form up throughout the area . Volunteers assist with maintenance , and I am now known as “ that garden lady , ” always happy to leave tours and talk about sustainable horticulture .

Every plant used in the garden was chosen based on its availability through local nurseries or on-line vendors , guarantee that visitor can easily hearten favored plant combinations at plate . Rare or grueling - to - grow plants were intentionally go away out in favor of specie that any gardener — tyro or expert — could effortlessly feel and develop .

Sit for a moment and take in the experience. Natural stone slabs perfectly sized to serve as benches are sited in several spots around the garden. Being down at plant level helps to quiet the mind and allows the senses to be soothed by nature‘s sights, sounds, and scents.

SummerHome Garden attest that lawn replenishment can be more than practical ; it can be breathtakingly beautiful . By embracing sustainable rule , we have created a space that serves as a model for urban gardening , a haven for wildlife , and a source of inspiration for anyone appear to make a convinced environmental shock .

Whether you ’re set out with a diminished backyard or dreaming of a community - exfoliation project , every garden has the potency to transform not only the landscape but also the lives of those who encounter it . It ’s up to us to happen and intercept that potential difference .

| Design Ideas |

Pollinators are at home in this urban oasis. Several water sources are situated around the property (above left) with bricks or stones to allow insects to land and take off easily. A native bee nesting box (above right) is designed to accommodate species that would normally lay eggs in cavities like hollow plant stems or abandoned beetle tunnels in dead logs. Since no organic mulch is used anywhere in the garden, ground-nesting bees have easy access to the soil surface, where they build burrows for laying eggs and overwintering as adults.

Embrace the beauty of chaos with wild systems emulation

The word “ design ” conjure persona of heedful planning and control , but what if a garden ’s solicitation lay in its unpredictability ? A concept known as waste systems emulation flips traditional garden design on its read/write head . It draws inspiration from snapshots of always transfer systems , either rude or homo - made , and uses them as design for vibrant , active plant layout . Here‘s how designer Kevin Philip Williams used this system to develop the planting plan for SummerHome Garden .

A graffiti - covered utility box assist as the spark of inspiration . layer of spray rouge , stickers , and weathering had transformed this urban artefact into a tapestry of human expression and natural decay that no singular being , mortal , or military force could have plan . Amid the chaos , clean-cut patterns emerge — dots , drifts , fleck , and proportionate colour layer with emotion and zip . These elements became the foundation for the garden ’s blueprint .

Distinct zone within the graffiti correspond to specific industrial plant groupings . These communities were then institute using a mix of calculated placement and random seeding , balancing parliamentary procedure with spontaneity to make an ever - changing composition ( bottom photo ) . By incorporating bloom bulbs for outpouring colour and layering plant of different heights and textures , the invention achieves year - rung interest with a sense of wildness .

Shrubs and small trees share space beautifully with other living things. Providing a pretty pop of warm foliage color, Sucker Punch®chokecherry (Prunus×virginiana‘P002S’, Zones 3–8) also furnishes nectar-rich spring flowers and loads of summer fruit that birds can‘t resist. These medium-size trees will eventually grow to about 25 feet tall, creating a shady microclimate in this section of the garden.

Wild systems emulation uses nature ’s inherent chaos as a design prick . The gardens feel alive and are always in motility , celebrate adaptability and evolution . At first , this method creates striking ocular arrangements ; over time , it foster acquire ecosystems where industrial plant grow , contend , and thrive on their own terms . It is a reminder that if we refuse the urge to moderate , nature ’s creativity can expand in a collaboration among plants , gardener , and the environs .

| Earth - Friendly Tips |

Why replace your lawn?

Swapping out a conventional sward lawn for dense , various , climate - adapt flora communities offers significant environmental benefit . Here are a few :

water system conservation : Turfgrass call for high water system use of goods and services , especially in waterless regions like Denver . Working with drouth - large-minded plant reduces water consumption dramatically compared to athirst turfgrass .

Biodiversity : dumb plantings support pollinators , birds , and other wildlife , contributing to a healthy ecosystem .

Carbon requisition : tree , shrubs , and perennials absorb carbon copy dioxide , helpingto mitigate climate change .

reduce care : Once base , sustainable gardens need far less clock time , money , and effort to maintain than traditional lawns .

Lisa Negri is the father of SummerHome Garden in Denver .

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A colorful contemporary sculpture is one of several that have been tucked in among the plant communities to provide an unexpected discovery and a touch of human interest.

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Artistic elements bring playful energy into the mix. A fountain runs in the morning and afternoon, attracting birds and children and adding melodious, refreshing notes to the garden‘s soundscape.

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From the street, it‘s clear that something unique is happening here. The parking strip is overflowing with plants, so even a stroll down the sidewalk has become an immersive garden experience. Neighbors go out of their way to include the garden on their daily walks, and are always impressed by how dramatically different the plant communities look with each passing season. Visitors who are inspired to try “something like this” can start by replacing a few square feet of turf with native and climate-adapted species and know that each plant will have a positive impact in their backyard ecosystem.

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