I just published my latest magazine story in Rewilding magazine about the work Won-ok and I have done to completely transform our yard. (I’m a former journalist who still freelances on the side; I focus on nature and the environmenrt.) A yard full of nothing but green grass is both boring and bad for the environment. Lawns require way too much water, need chemical treatments, do little to slow stormwater runoff and provide no aid to local wildlife. And most people still mow grass with anachronistic gas-powered lawnmowers and insidious leaf blowers. (Leaves are best left as they are.)
We spent two years and counting changing our yard and changing our lives — replacing lawn grass with wildlife habitat and food for us. We would work all day at Orion’s Attic, then come home and dig more holes in the ground.
Weekends?
“Fun” for us was heaving heavy garden rocks into place and gently placing native species of all kinds of plants in the ground. Then it was back to the Attic.
The magic unfolded little by little.
Milkweed plants rose and gave sanctuary to the threatened Monarch butterfly species. Songbirds made our home the most popular bird cafe in Silver Spring, Maryland. Chipmunks blew out their cheeks as full as saxophone players. We planted certain fruits and veggies specifically for rabbits, birds and other animals to eat. Bees buzzed by and pollinated flowers for wildlife and our not-so-little urban farm. There is nothing more delicious than backyard-to-table meals. Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beans, potatoes, corn, grapes, watermelon and more — yum!
Orion’s Attic estate liquidation projects, meanwhile, enabled us to save objects from landfills and upcycle them into something beautiful. We rescued a fiberglass boat and converted it into a monarch butterfly garden. We took random rusting metal objects and scrap pieces of lumber — and made flower pots and raised bed gardens with them.
There is no border between the environmental values Won-ok and I share and the values of our company. We love, respect and honor Mother Nature in everything we do. It’s also a lot of fun.
Learn more about our environmentally friendly business practices.
Contact us today if you’re looking for the right company to handle your estate liquidation or downsizing project.
Orion’s Attic is a full-service estate liquidation, downsizing and home cleanout company based in Silver Spring, Maryland. We also buy antiques and collectibles. We serve Montgomery County (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Potomac, Rockville, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Takoma Park, etc.), Baltimore County, Frederick County, Howard County, Prince George’s County, and the greater metro Washington D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia) area.
Photo by Soonshim Kim.