My cousin's kid changed how I see my own backyard

We were at a family cookout in Columbus last summer and my 8 year old niece asked why I had a 'dead green carpet' instead of a garden. She meant my lawn. She said her class planted milkweed for monarch butterflies and asked if she could plant some at my house. I told her it was just grass, but her simple question stuck with me. I looked it up and a single milkweed plant can support up to 10 monarch caterpillars. This spring, I turned a 10 by 10 foot corner of my yard into a native plant patch. Has anyone else made a small switch like that after a kid pointed something out?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_simon13d ago

Honestly, that's a really cool story. I read an article about how these tiny changes in yards add up to a huge help for bugs and birds. Tbh, your niece was spot on about the dead green carpet thing. It's wild how kids just see stuff we've stopped noticing. Good on you for actually doing something about it. That little patch probably feels like a whole jungle to the butterflies now.

ruby4502d ago

Yeah, my neighbor went full clover lawn last spring. The bees went nuts for it, like constant buzzing all summer. It stays green without much water, and you only have to mow it a few times. Best part is it feels soft under your feet, not prickly like some grass. Took some getting used to seeing all the little flowers, but now I prefer it.

jesse_fisher13d ago

Tried clover instead of grass, way less work.