Turf To Natives

In Elgin, Illinois an increasing number of homeowners say they are becoming more "green" by giving up green. Instead of maintaining the usual sprawling spread of short, neatly mowed grass, their "lawns" now consist of a mixture of native perennial plants and flowers that require little fertilizing, herbicides, watering or mowing, yet attract a zoo of butterflies, bees and birds.

One guru of this movement is Pat Hill, who wrote a book showing how to "Design Your Natural Midwest Garden" (Trails Books, 2007). Her yard at 626 Orange St. in Elgin was the topic of an article last spring in a Better Homes & Gardens special edition titled "Nature's Garden."

In fact, Hill said, she was so excited by what happened when she converted 80 percent of the yard around her 1927 Sears catalog home into a spread of native plants that she left the real estate business and centered her entire career on her sideline as a landscape designer.

"The magic word now is 'sustainable,' and a prairie garden is sustainable," Hill said. "Once it gets going, you don't have to bring anything in. And nothing leaves."

An acre of grass lawn might have a few robins pecking away in search of worms. But even without counting the brass dragonfly doorknocker, Hill's little 50-by-125-foot yard overpowers a visitor with a vibrant sense of many things alive.

Bumblebees gather pollen from a variety of flowers, some on stalks 3 feet tall. A yellow-winged goldfinch flies by, attracted by thistle seeds. Monarch butterflies flirt with black-eyed susans but seem to prefer a brown, dull-looking species Hill identifies as "Joe Pye weed."