Post Audubon Tour Thoughts

Hello friends! I want to start off by expressing gratitude for everyone who facilitated the tour at the Tulsa Audubon Society, the lovely plant vendors Sarah and Ann (and friends), and finally, anybody who came and saw my yard. I saw old friends and made many new this weekend, and it was so so fun. And I took zero photos. Whoops.

I did take this selfie after day one. I really did become quite tan and content!

I began the real work after taking the tour a few years ago, so it was extra special to have an opportunity to be on it myself. On Friday afternoon, my husband and I toured all the other yards and all I could think was...

Wow my yard looks so messy in comparison to theirs.

I know that the tour is meant to be educational. I know that no garden is ever complete. I spent Friday evening in a state of anxiety, and then on Saturday morning I did what I usually do - I sat on my porch and I drank my tea while I looked out at my yard and I thought about how perfectly "mine" our space is. I reminded myself that it's messy on purpose, that it's only a few years old, and that I have always wanted to show people what's possible if you aren't a master gardener. No shade to master gardeners, y'all are awesome, but some of us may never be masters of much of anything, and that's OK, too.

Then, the people began to arrive! So many people! People asking about my tarps, my soil, my labels, what exact species of coreopsis I have (I'm so sorry I couldn't answer that question, I still have no idea). All of the hard work I've done for years, under the microscope of the general public. Here are some things that stood out:

1. It turns out, my plans to kill my yard in patches are novel. Many people were encouraged and excited to consider that the change they want to make doesn't have to happen all at once. I am currently only doing tarped patches of about 8x10 at a time - learning as I go. Many people told me that my yard made them realize that they, too, could do it this way. Manageable chunks feel so much better than entire yards!

2. Lots of people don't know that we do have a native honeysuckle, and that it is just as lovely if not more than the Japanese invasive species. I hope that all of the vendors sold out of theirs after everybody saw mine. Same for prairie verbena, she was a huge hit.

3. My mess was was educational. The spaces where I hadn't finished weeding became the most perfect learning ground for invasive, native, and introduced plant identification. "I have this in my yard too, do you leave it?!" Many people have yards that look like mine, and they don't know what to do with them. Friends, neither do I, but this weekend we definitely figured some stuff out together.

4. Y'all have some stomping power, and the number of people that walked through my yard while shopping at The Collector's Garden left a big soil patch and very packed ground behind. I can't wait to put some new plants there, thank you for your help!

Overall, the feeling that overwhelms me is excitement. That by sharing my home with you, my most precious safe space that I have created, I have done what I set out to do all along. Make change. I am hoping that this time next year many of my visitors have your own patches of mess, and that maybe you'll remember my yard the same way I remember the yards on the tours years ago that inspired me.

If you visited, and have more to say, or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. Better yet, send me photos. I would love nothing more than to see your tarps go down, your nandina in the garbage can, or all of the plants you bought this weekend! kelseynicolelovesplants@gmail.com

Now that it's all over, my temptation to rest must be ignored. I still have about twenty (edit: FORTY) baby plants that need to go in the ground. My yard will keep changing as the days, months, and years go by - and I'll keep sharing about it here.

Thanks for (truly) being here,

Kelsey