A long time ago, there were no fences, dams (beavers have an exemption), parking lots or large-scale developments.
Now, it’s a rare sight to see pristine, untouched wilderness, whether it is a high mountain peak, a desert vista or a raging river.
Even when you make it out to the backcountry, you access it via a man-made trail and find signs that other humans have been there before you, and quite recently. Fire rings, established camp sites devoid of plant life, and sometimes human waste and other nasty signs that someone was not educated in Leave No Trace. You can even find invasive plants in the high country, displacing native species that serve as forage for large game, birds and insects.
Let’s head 40 miles back to town and into your backyard. You may be tempted to leave it natural, but what does that really mean? You have a house, a driveway, a fence — all signs of human presence that are certainly not natural. The native biodiversity has been quashed by large equipment moving dirt and materials around. If you strive for a natural or native yard, you are going to have to work for it.
None of us are exempt from this, so I will use my own property as an example. If I were to let it go “natural,” I would have a stand of millet, cheatgrass, ragweed, musk thistle, prickly lettuce, kochia and redstem filaree. The open space adjacent to my property is filled with sego lilies, prairie smoke, penstemon of all kinds, wild onion and Indian rice grass. There is a sharp contrast to the plant community in my yard and what’s just across the street.
Some of the weeds in my yard are serving a purpose, holding the soil and adding organic nutrients back into the dirt, and until I have a plan to replace them with either grasses, wildflowers or xeriscaping, they can stay. The invasive species like cheatgrass, redstem filaree and musk thistle need to be managed.
If left to its own devices, cheatgrass will quickly spread and rob the early-season moisture from native plants like penstemon and they will go dormant until the cheatgrass is removed or dies back completely after several years. Redstem filaree can quickly colonize bare ground and create a monoculture which will not yield to the succession of native species. Musk thistle produces up to 100,000 seeds and sometimes more. These seeds can persist between 20 and 50 years before germinating, making its ultimate eradication difficult.
When a natural yard is desired, you will need to have vision and a solid work ethic. You will also need to understand plant communities and what belongs and what doesn’t.
Introduced species can be included if they are not invasive, but be sure your property hosts a few native species to better benefit local pollinators and wildlife.
To plan for your natural yard, take a stroll through an open space near your home and get an idea of what plants are doing well there. Take pictures of meadows, trees and rocks, and decide how best to incorporate these natural features into your landscape.
Decide what “unnatural” features you want — like a vegetable garden, a fence or a patio — and think of how to seamlessly blend these into a natural setting.
Without work and planning, a “natural” yard is the furthest thing from the truth. It is a testament to the power of mankind to permanently alter the landscape without regard for the species and ecosystems that were there first.
Archuleta County Weed and Pest is your local resource for managing noxious weed populations and controlling other pests.
