Why not lawns?
Can you imagine your yard being a place where birdsong is never drowned out by the roar of machinery? A place where maintenance is more a process of discovery than annihilation of all but one species of plant, and fossil fuel-guzzling machines are replaced with hand tools and the spreading of mulch? Such a landscape offers so much more than the monotonous and labor intensive grass lawn. In the mixed perennial border, early bulbs herald the promise of Spring, braving late snows and gusts of wind to open buds that shine like the sun. As the weeks of Spring unfold into Summer, waves of color sweep across the yard, blending gold to white, blue to purple and splashing orange and pink. Soon the shrubs and trees put out their displays in turn, and the spreading leaves paint the world in endless shades of brilliant green. As the high summer annuals keep the bees busy, the berry bushes and vegetables reach their peak of productivity. Late flowers share the autumn glory with bountiful fruit and nuts, and leaves turn russet, gold and crimson. Nature prepares for the resting season by blanketing the earth with layers of these leaves. The weather turns colder, and still a few plant species use this window of opportunity to announce themselves to the world , and hold tight against the frosts of winter, that we may enjoy greens in the cold season.
