Out With the Concrete Pavers, In With the Plants

Even a small planting of natives can provide habitat for wildlife in crisis. Where concrete pavers once sat in our yard, flowers now bloom. The post Out With the Concrete Pavers, In With the Plants appeared first on Zero-Waste Chef.

Dec 2, 2024 - 15:22

0 0

Out With the Concrete Pavers, In With the Plants

Every small section of a yard—or campus, or park, or commercial grounds—planted with natives provides habitat for wildlife in crisis. And if you don’t know where to start with planting natives, start small (and also, go here).

Two years ago, I pulled up concrete pavers covering a 3-foot by 4-foot spot in our backyard. A few months later, I added soil and started to randomly plant in the liberated spot. What a difference two years makes!

Before I could remove the pavers, I had to declutter this space. I didn’t take a before picture but it looked like a junkyard climbing up the corner walls. (Go here to read about an easy 5-a-day decluttering system.)

Twelve painted over concrete pavers have been painted a terra cotta color

Removing and unloading the concrete pavers

These pavers had been here since we moved into the house in 2001 and had been painted over I don’t know how many times. I had assumed they were stuck together and that I’d need a crowbar to remove them. But I needed it to pop out just the first one. The rest came out easily (although they weighed quite a bit).

After posting the pavers in my Buy Nothing group, they went immediately. If you have stuff you think no one wants, try posting it in your local Buy Nothing group. I’ve given away other home improvement types of materials through Buy Nothing, such as ceramic tiles, light fixtures and even cans of paint.

Concrete pavers being removed from a small area in a yard — These pavers went immediately after I posted them in my Buy Nothing group

These pavers went immediately after I posted them in my Buy Nothing group

Sand in an area that had been filled with concrete pavers — The wooden gate you can partially see in the top right also went quickly on Buy Nothing

Random plantings

This spot below the kitchen window gets practically no sun so I needed shade-loving plants. And before I could plant, I needed soil. So I asked for a literal pile of dirt for Christmas that year. Santa dumped soil directly into the driveway rather than dropping off many plastic bags of it. (Go here for more plastic free gardening tips.)

A pile of soil sits in a driveway — I must have been on Santa’s nice list

After moving some soil to the new bed (the rest went into raised beds), I threw down wildflower seeds I had on hand. Several survived. Native California poppies also blew over as well as nasturtiums (not native but better than concrete). My daughter MK planted blue lobelia which apparently is an annual but refuses to die (also not native…the bed is a work in progress…).

In the spring of 2023 I planted a tiny native Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii) plant (the green ground cover down below). It loves the shade and the water I toss onto it occasionally from the top of the kitchen’s Dutch door. This fall, I plan on planting one or two more native plants in this spot. I’ll see what the nursery offers when the fall plants become available next week.

Plants growing in a small flower bed — After (the basket is a cat shelter)

This small makeover won’t land me in the pages of say, Better Homes & Gardens, and I wasn’t going to post anything about it at all until I came across the before pictures last week. (Actually I was in Better Homes & Gardens this month but as a kitchen “eco-warrior.”)

We’ve removed two additional larger sections of concrete in the yard and would like to replace the rest of it at some point. But for now, this looks much better. And it cost almost nothing. Seeing this cluttered spot used to stress me out. Now, as I look out and watch the bees buzzing and the hummingbirds hovering, I smile.