I found “life after the lawn” several years ago. I
have lived in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert all my life, but I let
myself be led astray. When I was younger, I let Easterners and
other assorted city slickers influence me to plant a Bermuda grass
lawn and even a winter rye grass lawn. Both are exotic species
requiring tremendous amounts of water. When I realized what I was
doing, all for vanity, I stopped, and have since let the ground
regain its desert roots. I have lots of mesquite trees that not
only are native, but produce a “bean” annually that both my BLM
wild horse and BLM wild burro eat with relish. They may think they
are back on the range eating those tasty morsels.
Tom Taylor
Mesa, Arizona
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Go native.
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