Planting Natives in Your Yard and on Your Parkway This Year

Now that spring has fully sprung, it’s time for backyard parties, barbecues, bike rides, and more! Something else to look forward to is the gardening season, May and June being the prime months to create your garden. 

You may recognize these pictures capturing the beauty of downtown Chicago, specifically the Laurie Gardens.Part of the charm of the gardens is their embrace of the natural flora that is native to Illinois.

These prairie grasses and flowers are a rare sight since most front yards are covered with monotonous lawn grass, but this summer, you can have your own Laurie Garden.

But how has lawn grass become so abundant? It’s not native to Illinois, not even the Americas, and yet it’s everywhere. In the 18th century, Americans who had the luxury of travelling to Europe saw the lawn as a status symbol, and it was. Large expanses of manicured grass required continuous maintenance and resources, and these wealthy Americans wanted to emulate the same signs of affluence. But in the 21st century, you are the one mowing that lawn, maybe installing sprinklers, spending extra on water, spraying pesticides. 

Instead of those large expanses of grass, now you can extend your native plants to both sides of the sidewalk. Parkways–the grassy patch between the street and sidewalk on your property–are now free to grow whatever native plants you’d like. Before the passage of the Parkway Ordinance, you had to get approval to plant anything other than grass. Now, you may plant whatever you like as long as it doesn’t impede the sidewalk, pose any harm to walkers, or exceed 30”-36” for visibility. 

This change is in tandem with the Climate Ready Oak Park goal of creating pollinator pathways, which are plants that pollinators like butterflies and bees can hop around to in order to sustain themselves, shelter, and keep our plants healthy. Every few months, we see headlines of the devastating population decline of butterflies and bees, so by planting a beautiful native garden for yourself, you are actively fighting against climate change by protecting these threatened and endangered species.

If you’re new to the world of native planting, there are several ways for you to learn and get inspired. For one, take a day trip to the Laurie Gardens and jot down the plant names. If you want to invite specific critters to your garden, the IL Dept. of Natural Resources lays out the necessary conditions and plants for hummingbirds and other pollinators. Want someone to answer your specific questions? Our Climate Coaches do it all and have native planting tips they’re happy to share.

Grass isn’t serving you or the planet so why be stuck with it? This is one of the many ways we as individuals and a community can address climate change. No more mowing, watering, pesticides or fertilizers and you get a beautiful, colorful lawn that both you and pollinators will love.  Your lawn and parkway can have butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and thriving plants that show you care about the natural world.