Rewilding My Lot

The saga of replacing builder-installed Bermudagrass sod with seeded native grasses is a lengthy one, still ongoing, so I will use several posts to tell the story.

My overall plan for the back yard is to have about one-quarter of it dedicated to native grasses. These grasses put down deep roots, so they should help with water retention and be resilient to drought. They are also food and shelter for birds and insects.

In my Houston garden before, there were plants all the way back to the fence line. That certainly helped to hide the fence, but proved problematic whenever the fence needed work or replacement.

Here, I am planning a layout that is sort of inside out compared to traditional gardens, in that the grass region will go around the perimeter with trees and flowers in the middle. The native grass area will provide a pathway around the back of the garden and access to the fence as needed. I’ll also be able to keep an eye on invading Bermudagrass from neighboring lots. Here’s a rough plan:

The perimeter grasses will be “Thunder Turf”, which is a mixture of Buffalograss, Blue Grama and Curly Mesquite. These grasses are short enough to be a walking surface without having to be mown.

I also want to include an area in the garden for taller prairie grasses, and I’ve chosen Little Bluestem for that.

The native grass project seemed straightforward in my head, but I had never done anything like it before and it will surprise no-one that I encountered wrinkles along the way. However, I also learned a great deal. Future posts will tell the tale.