Invasive Plant ID/Pull Service

As some of you may already know from visiting my HB profile page and/or personal website, my husband and I have embarked on a noble, but difficult project. We are attempting to convert our suburban yard into a native prairie of sorts. This conversion entails ridding the yard of the typical suburban, mowed, "turf" grass that most people have growing around their homes, and replacing it with species of grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees that are native to the local area.

The reasons for this project are rooted in maintenance & pollution minimization. Native plants are not as dependent on their owners for care as non-native species (like "turf" grass) and they don't need to be mowed weekly. They have evolved and adapted to love the weather and soil conditions, so once established, they pretty much take care of themselves. We also learned that they help save water and replenish nutrients to the soil.

As we became more dedicated to the cause and learned which native species we might like to grow and plant, we realized that the project doesn't end when the "turf" grass is dead and the native stuff is planted. On the contrary, it had only just begun!

When our seeds started to sprout, we realized we did not know how to identify them. We had almost always come across photos of full-grown plants in our reference materials, not the babies.

We also knew some non-native seeds had planted themselves among the native. Although we'd spent lots of time and money on learning the various native species in the area, we had neglected to focus on increasing our knowledge of the "weeds" that do not belong in our new prairie.

An important part of "going native" is vigilant weed control, especially when first starting out. We are only now just beginning to learn about the introduced and invasive species of vegetation that have spread in our area, and are crowding out our precious native species. In fact, there are laws about planting and selling certain species that are super-destructive. (Anyone heard of kudzu?)

Now, to get to the point of this post.

The people working for this service would be highly specialized experts who have learned to quickly and accurately identify the many species of vegetation that can be found in their areas. They'd have to know whether they are native to the local area, whether they are exotic (introduced by humans from another area of the state, country, or world), or whether they are downright invasive to the area and must be destroyed.

Services would be at a cost, of course. (Expertise does not come easy or cheap!) The cost would vary, depending on the number of people and the amount of time required for a job.

The optional service of actually pulling the invasives out could be tacked on for an additional fee. Exotics might also be pulled, if desired. (I would expect the experts to identify to the propery owners which species would be pulled BEFORE doing so, to avoid any legal issues.)

Other services, such as a personalized photo-reference of the yard during their visit (for future reference) could be offered as well.

This service would be a great help to us and others wishing to save beneficial, beautiful, and ecologically sound species native to their areas. It would allow us to move on with our project with confidence that we are not confusing species for one another, that we are pulling only harmful species out and leaving to mature only native species.

We realize that it really does take a scientist to get this right. Being chained to a desk all day, however, does not allow the average schmoes like us to become as skilled as we'd like to be.