December 13, 2024

How Biking Led to No Lawn Native Plants

Biking along country roads, Laura O’Toole fell in love with native bunch grasses. At home, in spring and summer 2023, she ripped out St. Augustine grass and Asian jasmine for native buffalograss, gorgeous bunch grasses and pollinator-beloved perennials that wow both neighbors and wildlife in her HOA.

She and husband Brian bought their hillside property in 2015, mainly for its proximity to a beautiful greenbelt that they often hike. When we headed over in November 2023, daughter Emily was home for Thanksgiving, much to the delight of their precious rescued dogs.

But when they moved in, the “nature” on their back slope was a thicket of Asian jasmine and some fruit trees. Over 7 years, in a process still in progress, Laura pulled it all out and planted native grasses along with perennials and wildflowers that bloom across the seasons.

Her journey into native grasses began while cycling in the Hill Country and at their little ranch in Menard, where she and Brian are rejuvenating native grasses and forbs on over-grazed land. She took a cue from roadside survivors to experiment in her backyard with Lindheimer muhly, Gulf Coast muhly, switchgrass, big bluestem and little bluestem (which already grew in the greenbelt). She also added various grama grasses, buffalograss, Berkeley sedge, and extremely drought tough Alkali sacaton.

In front, she had great success seeding a shade mix of grasses and wildflowers. On the left is a cover crop with wildflowers that will bloom in spring. On the right, she planted a cover crop, various muhly grasses, bull grass, and sand dropseed.

Below the first railroad tie, she planted windmill grass, buffalograss, and some muhlies. At the edge, there’s little bluestem. Adapted purple fountain grass anchors the bottom edge. Near the porch, inland sea oats cluster in the shadiest spot (that also gets sun).

To slow down rainwater runoff from the street, Brian laid railroad ties as curbs to infiltrate water at progressive levels. Stones form a dry creek to further absorb water.

Instead of sheared foundation shrubs, she sparks attention and wildlife habitat with white tridens, Indiangrass, Lindheimer muhly, big bluestem, switchgrass, Berkeley sedge, Gulf muhly, and adapted purple fountain grass (out of view).

“I wasn’t really a gardener,” Laura admitted. “My best friend is a gardener, and she has beautiful vegetable gardens, but she’s a great cook. And so that was kind of her hook. My other good friend had beautiful gardens because she loved beautiful flowers. And that was her hook. I needed a hook, and it couldn’t just be grasses, you know?”

Ultimately, what hooked her in is wildlife—from birds and pollinators to lizards and snakes and mammals. As she created habitat, she found earthworms and beetles. She learned about host plants for butterflies and moths, and how to mingle perennials, annuals, and bunch grasses for year-round beauty. Photo by (then) Austin PBS intern Jaida Newhouse.

A friend told her about Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park—an initiative to connect habitat gardens across the nation to support both migrating and residential wildlife. Laura registered her garden (it’s free), and when delighted neighbors stop by, she passes along her tips and encouragement. “If everybody had just a patch in our neighborhood, on our street, everybody could have bunches of butterflies and bees and, you know, critters to look at,” she said.

“It was so therapeutic for me to rip up all these non-native grasses and the invasive plants to feel like I’m part of the solution inviting wildlife in rather than trying to keep them out,” Laura said. In this shot, see director Ed Fuentes, Laura, and grip Artemis Lesgaux. Foreground is a mix of cover crop and spring-blooming wildflowers. At the curb, fall’s showoffs include Lindheimer muhly, Gregg’s mistflower, and lantana.

With their 30th wedding anniversary on the horizon, Brian promised her a pond, something she’d always wanted. Eric and Ana Arntson of Stonebridge Pond and Waterfall envisioned a miniature Jacob’s Well that blended into the hillside as if it had always been there. Naturally filtered, this biological habitat is safe for the family, the dogs, and all the wildlife that head over to quench their thirst. “It’s been the most fun I’ve had and the best addition to this yard, way, way more than I could have anticipated,” Laura told us. Gulf Coast muhly and Japanese sedge cascade over the stonework.

Heartland Sprinklers set up an irrigation system from the 1350-gallon rainwater collection cistern from
At the heart of Laura’s stewardship philosophy, “We need to learn to live alongside wildlife. And it can be messy. It can look messy at times. It doesn’t look like a golf course, but I think it’s prettier that way. You know, it’s just changing the way you think about it.”

Thanks for stopping by! On our crew that day, here’s Jaida Newhouse, then an intern and now embarking on her career in LA.

She took this photo of the rest of us: director Ed Fuentes, audio/grip Artemis Lesgaux, and audio/grip Steve Maedl.

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