When we first moved to our current home 2 years ago, I decided to leave a small area (about 200 sqft) on the northwest corner of the backyard to run wild. No planting, manual watering, fertilizing, mulching or mowing. A small cedar tree was the only thing growing there, so I left it. In Permaculture, an area like this is considered a Zone 5.
Zone 5
“…the natural, unmanaged environment used for occasional foraging, recreation, or just let be. This is where we learn the rules that we try to apply elsewhere.”
– From Chapter 3.9 Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual
This is an area we let be to observe the workings of nature. What flora and fauna fill the space and make it their home? Are there indicator plants that provide information about the soil and environment? Are there differences or similarities in the health of plants growing in this wild area compared to the managed areas? And so on…
Feedback from observing how nature utilizes this space can help us determine how best to manage surrounding areas.
BONUS
Information is not the only thing we get from these untouched areas.
Some of the more common “weeds” that have popped up are certainly quite useful. But a couple exceptional natives made their home here as well.
One of the first native plants to appear (and now dominates the area) was Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus v. Drummondii). Not only is this plant attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, but the flowers, leaves and fruit are also edible. The flowers are typically dried and used in teas, while the tiny fruits taste similar to apple. The fresh leaves have a mild nutty flavor. Chopped up, it will make a nice addition to salads.
Another plant I recently noticed growing there is a Chiltepin (Capsicum annum v. glabriusculum), the official native pepper of Texas and considered the mother of all pepper plants. It has a heat index of 8 on a scale of 10, clocking between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville units. I took a bite of an unripe one and, oh yeah, they’re hot! I’m looking forward to drying them out once fully ripe to kick up my winter chili.
Going out back to pluck a few edibles growing in an area I did little to no work creating or maintaining is like having a slice of Eden, even if it is in a small corner of the city.
So remember to leave some room for nature. It'll pay you back in many ways.
Happy Rewilding!