The owner of this property knew that turtles from the adjacent pond had used her front yard as a nesting site in the past. A conservationist, she hoped to enhance the opportunities for turtles by removing the existing lawn from the front yard and creating areas that would be attractive to them for laying eggs.

Turtles find mulch an attractive material for nesting, so mulch pathways were alternated with native perennial plantings that provide habitat for birds and butterflies. The resulting diversity provides the owner with a landscape that is animated from early spring until fall, and maintenance is much less of a chore.