Subject: Eco-Turf
Date: Aug 27 16:23:11 2004
From: pslott - VariedThrush at comcast.net


Hi All,
Been busy, then sick this summer, so I haven't had a chance to say
anything. However, other birders have been interested in the experiment
with my lawn that has brought in more variety in insects and that I hope
will bring more variety in birds eventually.
Alan spread a bag of "Eco-Turf" seed on our small lawn last Oct. 15
to try it out and to try to revive the area that basically died after
last summer's drought. (We've never watered grass in the 14 years we've
been here, but we use rain barrel water for containers and new
plantings.) I purchased it at Sky Nursery in Seattle after reading an
article in the paper on the water retention qualities of the seed mix
that contains the grasses and broadleaf plants you might find in a
natural meadow. It also said the new turf wouldn't need to be mowed.
With the March-April drought this year, I decided to water occasionally
(about an inch every week or two above 70?F with no rain) to keep the
new seedlings alive. We were rewarded with small, 1" simple blue
flowers for over two months starting in late April. (I'm no expert in
IDing plants. Sorry.) The meadow-like appearance was very charming to
me. Alan did his usual springtime mowings, but not unless the lawn was
above 4", as the package recommended. We abandon mowing in the summer
because our meager, and formerly non-existent, waterings don't create a
need.
A few weeks ago, I got a great look at a Western White butterfly on
the newly flowering yarrow. This is a species I'd only seen in the
mountains before. At about 1000' above the beach at Carkeek Park in the
city of Seattle, this was quite a welcome surprise. Looking around,
there were lots of bug critters I did not recognize. Come to think of
it, we have had more birds than usual this summer, particularly families
and juveniles. (Mostly BC and CB Chickadees and GC Kinglets, however
one female Robin built two nests in our tiny yard and fledged 6
hatchlings, the last just on the 10th of this month.)
We're an Urban Wildlife Refuge with the state and I like to tell
folks that our birds are the only pesticides we need. If I get an
infestation of aphids on my big leaf maple, or in my lilies, I just hang
tight and when I look again a few days later, I usually can't find a one.

Patricia Lott
Seattle