Willman-Hammar Yard: Letting Nature Lead

 We moved to Mount Prospect in 2008, bringing with us a love of gardening inspired by my mother’s green thumb. Our yard was mostly turf, traditional landscaping, yew bushes, junipers, and plenty of rocks and obstacles. I began simply by planting favorites from my mother’s garden and our previous home, including wild geraniums, black raspberries, delphiniums, tulips, and hostas.

Year after year, the landscape changed. The yews and landscaping obstacles were the first to go, and we began adding more native plants from local nurseries. I also experimented with free native landscaping plans from Better Homes and Gardens to learn how different plants could grow together. What started in one corner gradually spread throughout the yard.

I now call my approach “Chaos Gardening.” With help from friends and neighbors, visits to forest preserves and botanical gardens, and plenty of wandering online, my knowledge—and the variety of plants in the garden—has continued to grow. The gardens have happily exploded and remain a work in progress. They are barely groomed at times, especially since my husband and I travel extensively, but a little chaos can be pretty wonderful.

Our yard is a mix of native and non-native plants. Native plants are the better choice, but if a non-native survives my lack of care and isn’t harmful, it stays. I also let unfamiliar plants grow for a while just to see what they become. More and more native plants appear on their own, and we’ve even allowed the gardens to spread into the lawn.

We also have a wildflower parkway garden, a newer south-side garden that continues to be an experiment due to its hot, dry conditions, raised beds, and an aeroponic Tower Garden for vegetables and greens.

Things are always changing, and I try to keep everything from becoming a complete jungle. I also encourage people to shop my yard—thinning plants is necessary and always appreciated!