Earthly Landscapes

Text and photo by Scott Woodbury

So many times, I’ve seen neighborhoods with rows of houses and nothing but turf grass, one after the other, as far as the eye can see. Then something other-worldly comes into view, a lone oasis gleaming with the vibrance of life—a garden full of native plants. It reminds me of that notecard, where a young person on a beach full of starfish is tossing them back into the ocean. An adult nearby says, “you can’t possibly make a difference. There are so many.” And to that, the young person shouts back, mid-toss, “I’m making a difference for this one.”

Meet Fran Glass, a veteran St. Louis Wild Ones member, who has dedicated her retired life to “tossing starfish.” Inspired by Sarah Stein’s book, Planting Noah’s Garden (1997), Fran (and her late husband Richard) planted an other-worldly tree island in their own yard. A tree island introduces some of the elements of a woodland: a canopy tree, understory trees, and ground layer flowers beneath, with the hopes of creating enough habitat to sustain wildlife. At the center of Fran’s tree island is a strapping 25-year-old bur oak tree—which began as a sapling purchased from Forrest Keeling Nursery—spanning the yard and part of the neighbor’s. Beneath its boughs is a spankingnew woodland garden, where nothing but mowed zoysia grass used to be. The diverse understory trees and shrubs include a rare dwarf chinquapin, pawpaw, possum haw, elderberry, redbud and red buckeye, and a tapestry of geranium, celandine poppy, sweet William, and Virginia bluebells at ground level.

In this young pocket woodland, Fran counted four bird nests this past fall, something she sees regularly in autumn, when the branches reveal themselves. While Fran’s tree island is making a difference for birds, it’s also transforming neighbors, one by one. Hers is no longer the only wild garden sprouting up on her block. Some of her neighbors are also taking a walk on the wild side.

Like Fran, I believe that every yard—every sliver of earth—has the potential to reconnect with the natural world, because life is resilient. Our yards can look like intact habitats of the diverse green planet on which we live, rather than the sterile turf surrounding the house next door and the one next to it. But it needs your help. This Earth Day, let your sliver of earth be transformed into the center of beauty and wildlife diversity that it deserves to be.

The Grow Native! program is developing a new woodland garden design, much like Fran’s tree island. Watch for it on the Grow Native! website, and check out a Wild Ones Chapter meeting near you, for great ideas on how you can transform your own yard into something welcoming to all creatures great and small.

Happy gardening y’all!

Scott Woodbury was the horticulturist at Shaw Nature Reserve for 30 years and stepped down from that position in June 2022. He continues to work on contract for Shaw Nature Reserve to carry out native landscaping education, and has launched his own business called Cacalia: Native Garden Design and Wilding. Scott is also founder of the Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter, which financially supports this column. Find suppliers of native plants, seeds, and services at the Grow Native! Resource Guide: www.moprairie.org.