One step at a time. For nine years, Sally Wencel has been incrementally working convert her yard into a paradise for pollinators and other animals.
This is an excerpt from the Wild Ones Journal
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Wencel says she was a pretty traditional gardener until 2009 when she completed the Master Gardener program and met others who were similarly interested in environmentally sustainable gardening. “We started a native plant and wildflower special interest group and began educating ourselves about native plants by hosting area experts on related topics,” she says. That group became the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones in 2012.
But last year, Wencel admits she pushed herself since her property was included on a Master Gardeners’ yard tour, and she wanted it to be perfect. “The biggest challenge was that the garden tour was in early June when most native gardens don’t look their best,” she says. “It was an extra hard job to make it fabulous…”
But the years of planting, moving and expanding her gardens paid off, and the response from visitors was enthusiastic. “My Wild Ones buddies took people on educational tours in groups to explain all of it,” she says. “That really made the difference since people understood the why behind my plant choices.”
Retired for two years, Wencel says she normally doesn’t maintain her garden, but rather takes a painterly approach. “Every so often, I look at different parts of the yard, squint and decide I need to trim back that plant or move another one. It’s more of tweaking, rather than maintaining.”
She adds, “I have incrementally enlarged and replanted borders and foundation areas and certainly have not finished the process.” She’s converted her shady backyard into a woodland aided by the maturing of existing small oaks, hickories and maple trees, and not raking and adding back a native understory.
She also “edits” her landscape when conditions change, such as when a neighbor removes a large tree that opens the canopy. “Sometimes it’s because a plant belongs somewhere else, like the smooth dogwood (Cornus amomum) that was only supposed to grow 5 to 8 feet, but that doubled in size, or a flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum) that has been crowded out,” Wencel says. From fall through spring, she moves shrubs to areas of the yard where they will grow better or provide specific functions like erosion control, or adds new ferns, grasses, sedges and perennials to areas that need enhancement.
Wencel says she had no professional help in the garden design or installation. “I just got in touch with my inner landscape designer. Nature has been my guide and I have translated what I see in nearby natural areas into gardens. In fact, I take pictures of those intact plant communities and aim to replicate those communities where there are similar growing conditions.”
However, being on last year’s yard tour caused Wencel to add signs (such as Wild Ones Butterfly Garden, Xerces Pollinator Habitat and National Wildlife Certified Wildlife Habitat) that tell people her yard is pollinator friendly. She’s kept those signs up, and that is helping to educate her neighbors about what she is doing, she says. Her own husband isn’t on the natural landscaping bandwagon, so she knows that she needs to make her yard look “intentional” if he and the other neighbors are going to eventually get on board.
For the past few years, Wencel says she has been experimenting with groundcovers like dwarf cinquefoil (Potentilla canadensis), woodland strawberry (Fragaria virginica), green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) and pussytoes (Antennaria spps) because those less glamorous plants serve an important purpose. “Of course, some groundcovers like phlox (Phloxdivaricata, P.subulata) are brilliant and should be planted because they are excellent spring nectar sources,” she adds.
But Wencel says determining her favorite plant is akin to asking her about her favorite child. “I like to turn that question into what are the best performing and underused native plants, particularly native shrubs since traditional landscapes in my area are dominated by exotic ornamentals.” Native viburnums (V. acerifolium, dentatum, et al) lead the pack, followed by native hollies like winterberry and inkberry (Ilex verticillata, I. glabra), and chokeberries (Photinia pyrifolia, P. melanocarpa).
For those new to natural landscaping, Wencel suggests they go out to natural areas and be inspired. “If you have a shady yard, go to a woodland or state park and look at what plants you see. Then decide what plants you like,” she says.
But you also need to be patient. “You’re not going to get an instant garden full of color,” she says. “Try to put a lot of plants in, and start with plugs vs. paying $20 for one coneflower in a half-gallon container.” She also encourages people to propagate their own plants. “It’s fun and less expensive.”
Thirdly, she recommends that you give yourself a break. “Some plants will die. Look at what you have for soil and light conditions, and then plant accordingly. If you try to put in plants that don’t belong there, weeds are the only thing that will thrive.”
And most importantly, Wencel encourages newcomers to go to Wild Ones meetings and ask members for advice. “Wild Ones members really are a great source of information,” she says.
About the Yard
- The ½-acre property is located in Tennessee’s Ridge and Valley Appalachian physiographic province, less than a quarter mile from Lake Chickamauga, which is part of the Tennessee River watershed.
- The Wencel Turgeson yard includes about 320 species of native plants, including sedges and grasses. Sally has also participated in several dozen native plant rescues in Tennessee and North Georgia, so many ferns and shrubs are from connected ecosystems.
- The yard is composed of several areas that are modeled after natural archetypes – woodland, woodland edge and meadows, both mesic and wet. Each area is densely planted with shrubs and perennials that bloom from early spring through late fall to support pollinators.
- About 80 percent of the yard is permeable surface, minus the house footprint, driveway and front sidewalk.
Written by Barb Benish
Photos by Sally Wencel