Meadows in Disguise

Over seventy plants later, I was floored. It was winter and there were flowers blooming literally under my feet. Lawns everywhere seemingly of just grass were actually bursting with dozens of species of all sorts of plants. Even in winter there were blooms. And these miniscule flowers were feeding tiny bees, hoverflies  (aka "flower bees") and countless miniscule beneficial insects that were adding an extra level of resilience and diversity to the gardens. Many of these species have deeper roots than our classic lawn grasses building deeper drought resilience in the landscape. Many are exceptional soil builders, nitrogen fixers, water holders or nectar providers! For instance, those hoverflies I saw are also known for keeping aphids in check in the garden as well as being pollinators. I also saw tiny wasps (not harmful to humans and almost too small to see) who hunt down garden pests like mini wolves to keep pest populations in check. And gorgeous metallic sweat bees most of us never notice that can come in a rainbow of colors! It was AMAZING! All this life at grass level!

I also saw about a dozen Monarch butterflies while I was there. I don't know if they were overwintering in Texas, were on their way to Mexico or starting their epic northward migration. But many were visiting a lovely white, nectar-rich wildflower called Crowpoison (no idea who gave it such a name) which was also popping up spontaneously through the lawns. Crowpoison is actually in the onion family and not nearly as sinister as its name suggests. Other fantastic plant names I found included: Turkey Tangle Frogfruit, Scarlet Pimpernel, Nakestem Dewflower, Limestone Adder's Tongue (which remarkable was a micro FERN!!!), Tropical Puff, Sunshine Mimosa, Hairyfruit Chervil, Lesser Swine's Cress, Winecup Mallow, and Straggler Daisy! You just can't even make up these names... they are just too good! 

I also saw several short species of bluestem grasses which are host plants for skipper butterfly caterpillars who only eat a select few types of grasses. And surprise, surprise I saw some skipper butterflies ... though they moved too fast to get a good photo... 

So why does Texas have so many good wildflowers? I typed that very question into google expecting an answer such as "because the climate and habitat are JUST right" which is true, too, but the TOP answer that popped up was "...because of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)".

What?! 

Not the answer I was expecting. 

Apparently there are many influences, including Lady Bird Johnson and her wildflower center and initiatives (of the 1960's through 90's), but a big one which I had never fully realized was that since the 1930's the Texas Department of Transportation has been actively spreading thousands of pounds of native seeds every year, then delaying mowing so the incredible flowers can thrive and flourish. It saves money in mowing and fertilizer costs. It is beautiful. These plants are drought hardy, adapted to the local weather and ecosystem, reduce erosion, mitigate flooding, as well as eliminate the need for costly fertilizers, weed control tactics, and sprays (and the pollutant runoff issues that often comes with such products). The wildflowers were and are not there by accident. Many landscapes in Texas have been heavily altered over the last couple centuries, yet it is incredible to me that such intention and stewardship exists for the natural beauty and resilience of Texas's landscapes which provides incredible resilience to communities both humans and non-human on all levels of the ecosystem. 

But can you do? What could you do in your own backyard or local landscapes or roadways?  

One thing is to increase the natural biodiversity AND RESILIENCE of a lawn by seeding in more diversity with compatible, native micro meadowflowers and compatible native grasses which often have deeper root systems than  our traditional lawns. These plants will increase the drought-resistance, pest and disease resilience of a landscape as well as supporting higher ecological diversity. 

Another technique is to simply add one more week inbetween mowing cycles. Instead of mowing every other week, try going 3 full weeks (or more?) between mowing cycles. It may not sound like much, but even this simple adjustment can INCREASE your beneficial insects count, allowing them to complete their life cycles. Go further, if you can, and consider mimicking the Texas Department of Transportation's mowing schedule for all or a strip of your yard. 

And lastly, if at all possible, avoid the "weed" killers, the chemical and synthetic additives (like technicolor fertilizers) which are so often automatically given to lawns like life support systems. The additives are expensive over time, cause a huge impact to our waterways (chemical + fertilizer runoff pollution), and ironically do not always contribute to healthier, more disease-resistant lawn especially in times of stress. If you must fertilizer, choose organic options like planting in winter ryegrass (to build underground biomass) or nitrogen-fixing plants like clover (which used to be in MOST lawn mixes a half century ago!), or organic fertilizers which put more of the focus on building the soil to build. Remember that all too often the designation of "weed" in a name is very often thrown about and given to most of our native wildflowers! I'm looking at you, milkweed, buttonweed, and bitterweed!

And lastly, if you really want to get to know a landscape better, get down to the grass level, wherever you live, take out iNaturalist.org and start snapping pictures of the species you see. Perhaps you will be surprised like I was at just how many species are there, silently adding resilient to even the most unlikely of landscapes.