Backyard Buttercups

How many buttercups would you like?

I hope it’s a lot, because that’s how many we have.

We don’t mow up here in our holler, although we do trim some spaces to keep them clear for our dog and ourselves to get about. And we tend to wait as long as we possibly can before we do it.

As a result, buttercups. As well as lots of other green and growing things.

Here’s what our (untrimmed) back yard looks like right now:

And yes, those are enormous banks of multiflora roses on the mountainside behind our house. They are invasive, but they also help prevent the massive amount of erosion and water damage we would have without them.

We didn’t plant them, but the roses—along with everything else on the mountainside behind the house—was cut to the ground 8 years ago when we moved in. We’ve left it all to grow back however it wanted. There are also lots of day lilies, ragwort, primrose, red clover, dandelion, daisy fleabane, and wild raspberries mixed in. Everything together provides lots of bird and chipmunk housing, as well as holding the mountain in place.

We love the practice of minimal trimming, and so do our bees, birds, and other wildlife. Our cats think we’ve given them the best possible play and hunting grounds.

And we get buttercups, buttercups, and more buttercups out of it!