06/20/07 Wildscaping

First there was landscaping, next came xeriscaping, now if you really want to be an "avant- garde" gardener you had better be practicing wildscaping. Wildscaping is basically bird feeding on steroids. It is inviting all the natural kingdom, the birds, bees, bugs, critters indigenous to your neighborhood for a picnic in your backyard. Like any good host you had better serve what your guests like. A true "wildscaper" doesn't fall for every plant labeled "wild" or "native" they thoroughly research the habitat specific to their region but within reason. If I was a literal "wildscaper" I wouldn't set foot in my back yard as it would be filled with sagebrush,rocks and rattlesnakes. The wildscaping movement grew as a response to the devastation reaped by suburbia and the habitat restoration examples set by government and environmental groups like Trout Unlimited or the Issac Walton League. So this summer have fun wildscaping and don't sweat or swat the bee's and bunny's in the garden they are all a part of your new backyard safari