It was not my fault though. It was the iffy Midwest weather and the seemingly insurmountable amount of yardwork.

Around this time of year, I am usually a few steps ahead and have started planting and made mucho progress on the yard and flower beds. Heck sometimes, the gardens are even mulched and look pleasing to the eye like so.

Ugh, maybe it’s getting older, I mean who has the energy and time?

Ni kazi nta fanya ama ni maua na lawn? (If you understood this, mambo!)

So, this year, I am adding some native plants to help reduce the amount of watering and maintenance. There was a local Grow Native sale that was last weekend, and I found some plants that will be going into the beds this week. Didn’t get too many to start with but I think this it’s a good start.

And nerd that I am, of course I did my research. So briefly, what are we talking about? Native plants would be plants that have grown in an area for ages, so these plants have evolved naturally and well adapted to the weather, the soil and the critters found in that area.

Here in the show me state, these include plants like

• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta): A hardy and drought-tolerant wildflower that can thrive in a variety of soil types.
• Missouri primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa): A showy flower that blooms in the summer months and is well-suited to dry, rocky soil types.
• Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea): A popular wildflower with striking pink-purple blooms that is well-suited to a range of soil types.
• Wild indigo (Baptisia australis): A drought-tolerant perennial with striking blue-purple flowers that can thrive in a variety of soil types.
• Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa): A showy wildflower with pink-purple flowers that is well-suited to dry, sandy soil types.

I have only two of these so far and they do very well. I rarely have to water them, and they need little maintenance. So far so good. So, we’ll see what the rest do. Next, planting my herbs. Gotta have those natural herbs!