"Forest Floor" Maintenance Free Landscaping

Here is a little followup to our maintenance free FREE backyard. We have decided to call this landscaping style "Forest Floor". How ya like that?

We landscaped the other side of our house and used up the remainder of the chipped up tree pile. This is the side of the house that our guest room and boys room look out onto. Right now, it looks kinda plain. Better than weeds and standing water! In a few years, we are considering planting blueberry bushes on this side of the house. My husband cheered when he came home because it means no more mowing on that side of the house. We have had difficulty with drainage on this side of the yard. There seems to be standing water after a storm. The very cool thing about Forest Floor Landscaping is that the chipped up trees soak in an amazing amount of water. It also doesn't float away like bark would. We had a nice rain storm this week, and the other side of the house that had previously been landscaped with Forest Floor held up beautifully. It was so neat to walk on it after it rained. It wasn't mushy, muddy or wet after the storm. Bonus - it smelled amazing! I always take a deep breath when I walk outside.

 

There is something beautiful about returning land to the way God intended it to be. It has attracted some beautiful house finches to my yard. They bounce around in it and go from garden box to garden box and eat the bugs. The nest-building birds also appreciate the fine selection of building materials. It is neat to watch them pick up something and then toss it aside. They are looking for the perfect piece for their nest. We should have some finely crafted nests around here!