Many years ago, the Penneys stopped watering their lawn and caring for the soil. Most of the established non-native plants did well on only rainwater, but the rest of the yard became compacted and overgrown with Bermuda grass.

Janine Penney will walk us through the one-year process that has transformed the compacted dirt yard to a young native garden. She designed the garden with wildlife in mind, with foundation plants that mature to different levels to provide food, shelter and nesting areas. Visitors can’t help but notice the two raised vegetable beds among the native plants, which provide vegetables and edible (non- native) flowers. There is also a small pond with native bog plants.

This talk is part of the 2021 Going Native Garden Tour, which is providing virtual tours throughout the year. Register for the tour at gngt.org to get updates on upcoming tour activities.