The first thing that led me to seek outside help was actually the massive infestation of Kudzu on our property. At the time I was still very new to learning about invasive and native plants, but the Kudzu was beginning to weigh down some of the large mature trees near our home, and it was more of a safety issue that led me to seek help. The first consultation with Dylan is what sold me on choosing to work with The Rewilding Collective. Dylan really took his time to explain the process, and helped me think beyond just invasive removal as he talked about how my property could be transformed into a great native habitat which I had not even really considered. We had a few plants in mind that we definitely wanted to add, and then Dylan gave input for other plants to help complement the ones we wanted. There were so many options for plants that I had never even heard of, but Dylan helped envision what they plants would look like together and how they would grow together to create not only a beautiful garden, but a wonderful habitat for wildlife. The biggest thing is that originally I just saw the need for removing invasives, and just thought of planting random flowers and such, but The Rewilding Collective helped me think about my yard as a habitat and introduced me to different ecosystems like grasslands, woodland edges, and helped me realize that I could do so much more than just random plantings. 

Probably some of the biggest surprises were the grasses and sedges. Being someone with no landscape experience and very little knowledge of plants, I had never thought of grasses as being something beautiful, but Dylan really pushed for plants like splitbeard bluestem and some other sedges, and I'm glad that he did as I've really come to appreciate their beauty and purpose. There's been so many changes. This is the 3rd year with our woodland meadow, which is the largest project we've worked on with The Rewilding Collective, and each year has been different based on the ever changing weather patterns. One year the calico beardtongue were 4ft tall, the next year they're 2ft, it's been very interesting to see what plants will shine each year or which ones will take more of a backseat. The balance is near perfect. We wanted blooms from spring through fall, and that's exactly what we've been able to get. There's so much beauty in the design, and so much wildlife value as I see birds and insects constantly utilizing the space. 

My biggest hope is for this project to inspire my neighbors or anyone else who sees it to try to do something like this with their own property. Native plants have so much to offer besides what traditional landscaping values. Providing habitat for wildlife doesn't have to mean letting go of what we humans find beautiful, and I think the project that we worked on with The Rewilding Collective is a great example of that. I would say trust the process, and have patience. Traditional landscaping has taught us to expect instant gratification when buying ornamental plants. Native plants on the other hand require a little time to get established, but once they do, there's almost no maintenance required, and you can just sit back and enjoy everything they have to offer.