Locate a spot in your yard to feature a Darwin’s Garden. This unique place allows its inhabitants to fight for survival in the natural conditions as they exist. Let your garden have fun and live a little.
Nature Wants to be Natural
I have a section in the back of my backyard we have named, “Darwin’s Garden.” The area earned this name because it is a collection of free growing plants all tossed together. When plants lose their home in the prime gardens due to overpopulation, overgrowth, or other transitionary reasons, those plants find a new home in Darwin’s Garden. From there, it is up to them if they will survive, flourish, or meet their demise.
I do not like to throw things away and the compost bin is not great for prodigious growers, so that is where the garden comes into play. Instead of throwing the plants away, I put them in the garden and let them fend for themselves. They get very little weeding, a moderate amount of light, they get wet when it rains, and things get really dry in the middle of the summer.
The plants, oftentimes, serve as food for the birds and rodents. The dogs love to run through that area. It is highly likely that the plants will get pooped on by all kinds of animals. It’s a tough world, yet some plants thrive on the chaos. This may sound harsh, but, honestly, this is the way nature works most everywhere. Survival of the fittest happens most everywhere save the gardens in your yard.
Let’s Change the Game
Why do I want you to take this approach? I love my more formal gardens around my house. They are clean, weed-free, mulched, and pruned. These gardens are beautiful to look at, but they are not natural. They are planned and the conditions have been manipulated in favor of the beneficial plants I am trying to cultivate. The planned gardens look attractive but lack the real yin and yang of nature. The place where animals and plants battle for territory and survival.
Not Darwin’s Garden. It is as close to nature as I get in my yard. The area flurries with activity. Birds love this area. All types of birds, from cardinals to bluebirds, hummingbirds, blue jays, finches, woodpeckers, and more, are attracted to the food, water, and shelter. Even the squirrels, chipmunks, spiders, and other pollinators join in the fun. Perhaps I should not admit it, but I find it fascinating the way they fight for their territory.
The Struggle is Real
The animals always maintain the option to leave in search of less stressful surroundings. They choose to stay because the area offers so much biodiversity. The plants, however, are the ones with the biggest struggle. They have no other place to go. Some carve out a meager existence, like the solitary coneflower (pictured below). Others, like the Black-eyed Susans and Goldenrod, thrive and advance. Various varieties of hosta, rudbeckia, coneflower, goldenrod, daisy, buttercup, fern, honeysuckle, verbena, wild grapevine, and even poison ivy have a home in the garden. White ash trees are sprouting all over after their parents all perished from the emerald ash borer invasion. Each species has staked out their claim and they all survive to some degree.
At times, against my better judgment, I do intervene to level the odds a bit. I remove poison ivy when I see it. The dogs will bring in the oil if they make contact with the plant, which they very well may do. I also chase starlings, sparrows, and blue jays if they are really acting hostile. It’s
Provide Darwin a Place in Your Garden
I used to worry that it would appear messy or take over my backyard, but neither has happened and it does not appear it will. I keep a small zone between the yard covered with mulch and relatively free from plants. This area serves as the DNZ, or denatured zone. Anything that spills into or past that zone will eventually get cleaned up.
I encourage you to let a place in your yard go a bit. Whether it is a defined garden or a patch of grass in your backyard. Leave the area go and see what happens. I think you will start to see more activity and native plant species to take hold in this area. It will create uniqueness and a curiosity factor to your space and increase the enjoyment factor as you spend time outdoors. I guarantee there will always be something new