Sara Okonkwo
Takoma Park, MD · ¼ acre backyard
I turned a 1990s Kentucky bluegrass lawn into a certified wildlife habitat over four years. Mostly native plants now. The yard basically runs itself — I mostly just watch.
native plantsbirdspollinatorsmid-atlanticcertified wildlife habitat
When we moved in, the backyard was a flat green rectangle of Kentucky bluegrass. It looked fine. It was also completely dead — nothing lived in it because nothing could.
I started with one bed of natives along the fence. Then another. Four years later the lawn is gone, replaced by a layered mess of oak, serviceberry, goldenrod, and native grasses. The first year I saw a single bumblebee. Last summer I counted eleven species of bee in one afternoon.
The best part is how little I do now. Native plants that belong here don't need me. I water nothing. I mow nothing. I mostly just sit on the back step and watch what shows up.
Sara Okonkwo’s impact on backyard.bio
What their content has driven.
+31.8
acres of habitat restored by their followers
8,940
native plants put in the ground
34
members improved their yard score this month
19
new species arrived in followers’ yards
“The views don't matter. The yards do.”
how to
The three native plants I would start with
Mid-Atlantic yard, full sun to part shade. If you only put in three things this year, make it these three — here's why.
7 min
yard tour
Eleven species of bee in one afternoon
A slow walk through the summer beds identifying every pollinator I could find. If you think a bee is a bee, this one is for you.
10 min
how to
How I killed my lawn (the slow, lazy way)
No herbicide, no sod-cutter, no rented machine. Just cardboard, mulch, and one growing season of patience. This is the method I'd recommend to anyone starting out.
8 min
12 species in Sara Okonkwo’s yard
Northern CardinalAmerican GoldfinchCarolina WrenRuby-throated HummingbirdEastern BluebirdCommon Eastern Bumble BeeMonarch Butterfly+ 5 more