BACK TO NATURE

“We’ve basically become farmers now,” is a sentence James McGuire never thought he’d say about himself and partner Crystal Fritz. However, after buying a home in Highland Park three years ago and restoring their lawn with native plants—he, a communications consultant, and she, a personal assistant, have rolled up their sleeves and gotten their hands dirty courtesy of Mother Earth.

“We had been gardening together on the patio of our Chicago condo for years as a hobby, but we didn’t have any real property to care for,” McGuire recalls. “So, when we got to Highland Park and realized we’d have to do all of this lawn care, I asked myself why not do so using native plants? I loved the idea of attracting more birds and wildlife to our property, and I’d been reading how native plants could help us do this.”

McGuire, who has been an avid birder in his adult life, did extensive research on what it would take to make over his traditional lawn to a landscape alive with native plants. He drew much of his inspiration from Dutch landscape architect Piet Oudolf who has written in depth about this topic. McGuire was particularly intrigued by how Oudolf considered sun exposure when selecting the native plants and how Oudolf ’s landscape plans used layered plants for added texture.

“Any time people hear ‘native yard or native garden,’ they think it’s going to look like weeds,” McGuire explains. “It became very important to us to prove to ourselves that native gardening can be designed, well landscaped, and stunning if it’s done right. So instead of randomly putting things out on our lawn, we needed to have some concept and purpose in how we wanted it. When our yard is in full bloom, it looks like an old English garden with blossoms everywhere—very lush. We paid a lot of attention to design, and we’ve been obsessed this winter about how we’re going to extend the design this summer.” The couple have captured their beautiful work on an Instagram account they started called @pigsprairie, lovingly named after their dog, Pig.

McGuire and Fritz plan to remove all of the traditional grass in their front yard, up to the city of Highland Park’s easement, this spring.

“The city has been so supportive of our efforts,” adds Fritz. “Our house sits in the middle of a main thoroughfare for our neighborhood, and we have so many people stop and say how much they love what we’re doing or they ask questions. Even the children will stop and talk to us because they see something special happening here. Foxes, possums, raccoons—the impact on attracting wildlife has been huge. So many bunnies. So many birds. Dragonflies, butterflies … it’s been really wonderful.”

McGuire and Fritz’s home was included on a native garden tour last summer. And two different wildlife organizations—the National Wildlife Federation and Openlands Chicago—have certified their property as a national wildlife habitat.

“The movement of native planting is really catching on, largely because of the discussion around climate change,” McGuire says. People are asking themselves what they can do to improve their carbon footprint? The single best thing they can do with their property is to plant native.”

McGuire and Fritz have done all of the work on their property themselves—a labor of love but still laborious. Yet, they know they are eliminating the need for a lot of yard maintenance in the long term. “We mow about half as often as most people, and we barely need to water except for when the plants are new,” McGuire observes. “The other thing I try to sell people on is leaf management. People are obsessed with raking their leaves, blowing their leaves, getting rid of their leaves. Allowing leaves to be is by far the most important thing you can do for your lawn— not to mention the reduction in noise pollution when leaf blowers are no longer needed. Leaves break down over winter and just become soil. They also provide habitat to bees and insects who lay their eggs in them over the winter. When you eliminate the leaves, you’re upsetting the life cycle for insects we need.”

There are many nurseries throughout the Chicagoland area that carry native plants and have multiple plant sales from early spring into the summer. And, over the past several months, the duo has been winter sowing hundreds of native plants from seedlings in covered containers in their backyard. By having these plants make their way from seeds in the winter, they will be very hardy come spring.

Fritz says that by using native plants, the couple has created their own little national park. “It’s funny how people will travel great distances to see nature,” she reflects. “But we’ve been able to bring nature to us. We have four seasons of interest. We just sit out in our chairs with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and enjoy our garden. The birds are singing. It’s like a little paradise.”