By Vicki Saragoussi Phillips
So, you’ve planted your native plant starts and sowed your native plant seeds, what’s next? Remember the five senses?
Don’t forget to take some time to immerse yourself and celebrate your contribution to caring for the planet by creating a sustainable biodiverse habitat in your own landscape. As your garden is growing and showing itself off, be sure to:
Smell: the soil after a rain, or the sweet fragrance of your blooms, ie – chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata) or bergamot (Monarda fistulosa).
Listen: to the birds chirping away as they are munching on the seed heads of your native plant flora or the Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) leaves rustling in the wind.
Taste: If you are 100% positive on the identification of an edible native plant, give it a try! My favorite is the golden currant (Ribes aureum)! Check out this plant list developed for members of the Front Range Wild Ones in 2014 by Brian Elliott. Landscaping with Edible Colorado Native Plants.
Touch: Feel the native grass between your toes or brush up against your legs. One of my favorite things to do is to stroll through my now well-established blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) meadow!
Sight: Observe how the feathery corkscrew seed heads of mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) swirl to the ground or how thesunlight travels through your space throughout the day.
Time spent in nature can be healing, and introducing small pieces of it into our daily lives is one way we can feel more connected and grounded.