The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Marg Zavaros Chronicle Special Have you ever wondered how your neatlyâ€"tended lawn would look if you stopped fertilizing, weeding and mowing? According to Larry Lamb at the Ecology lab at University of Waterloo, this fantasy can become a reality â€" and your days spent in sweat and toil, associated with a wellâ€"groomed traditional lawn, could be over. When properties are developed, the natural groundcover is stripped of wild plants and replaced with sowed grass seed. But with careful planning, it‘s possible to reâ€"introduce the native plants as lowâ€"maintenance areas for home, institutional and industrial grounds. Wildlife will return, the ecological balance will be maintained and the inhabitants will reap the benefits of beauty and economy a natural area provides. Lamb, an avowed naturalist, refers to an Environmental Studies experimental threeâ€"quarter acre plot of meadow growth situated on university property, where native plants have literally sprung up over a year‘s growing season. Closer inspection reveals varied and colorful species â€" plantain, yellow clover, queen anne‘s lace, twitch grass, dandelion, dock, pasture thistle, pigweek, ragweed, foxtail, lanceâ€"leafed aster and evening primrose all dispersed by birds and the As if on cue, a Goldfinch mounts the head of a thistle. ‘"‘That Goldfinch has no other reason to be on campus than to eat that seed head," exclaimed the exuberant Lamb. This small area of meadow growth will undoubtedly change over the next few years, Lamb said. ‘"We hope to come up with an organized strategy and discuss it with the ground maintenance staff, then with the help of students, we will help prepare the soil, select the seed and plan this site rather than leave it to pure Larry Lamb and Karen Pietrzak, a thirdâ€"year UW student, discuss a local HALF PRICE SPECIAL 360 Regina St. N., Waterlioo 885â€"2760 "m® 746â€"3570 Register NOW and receive our % PRICE special. I‘ll show you how to lose 17â€"25 lb. in 6 weeks. Lowâ€"maintenance groundcover seen as alternative to traditional lawns (offer good to Sept. 25/87) MARTHA BEATTIE DIET CENTER COUNSELOR AT THE ( Q‘\OW‘N Osw(. e chance as we have this year." Lamb said the University grounds and those of various institutions could be more beautiful and economical with a controlled natural planting plan. ‘"There would be the initial expense of planning and setting out of low maintenance plants. They require no mowing, spraying, weeding, fertilizing or watering, that eliminates tremendous expense. The average UW ground maintenance expense amounts to around $1,500 an acre." To take this theory seriously on a smaller scale, Lamb, an advocate of the less formalized natural landscape, said he practises what he preaches. ‘"My yard is planted in Prairie grass. I don‘t have to plant yearly, weed, trim, water or compost. Every day it changes, I can look out my window and see colour changes, birds and butterflies but if it was a mowed lawn I‘d just see the green grass day after day." In a Conference paper ‘"Prairie on the Fringe," Lamb prepared for the University, he described how he began his prairie garden in the backyard of his new house in the Chicopee Vale area. "I gazed wistfully over a barren expanse of mud. I was faced with the costly reality of landscaping. Surveying the yard, I thought, why not establish a prairie garden?" After receiving some excellent prairie establishment manuals from the Midwestern U.S., Lamb began the task of moving earth, gravelling paths and designing plant layout. Now, after eight years the garden consists of 300 species of taller and shorter grasses and forbs. Forbs are herbaceous plants other than grasses in prairie communities. The only thing peculiar about the Lamb garden is the fact that it must be burned off every Spring. Needless to say the prairie garden wouldn‘t be a good idea for inner city residents, nor would the wild meadow garden, left to grow in complete abandon. Residents in countless subdivisions boast formal, immaculatelyâ€"tended Aerobic Wesr i/ 114 King St. South Waterloo (across from Kâ€"Mart, Wat. Sq.) itness CLlassics 747â€"1424 lawns and flower gardens, and become upset when they look out to see their neighbor Nathan Naturelove, letting his yard ‘"run to weeds‘" and develop into an unsightly, untended "jungle‘". Some of these efforts have given the natural garden a bad image. Lamb said there are many misconceptions about natural gardening. ‘"When we say someone has natural landscaping, we mean it has controlled natural planting. Ragweed and pigweed do not present a desirable alternative. Goldenrod for one is attractive and contary to public belief, does not cause hayfever â€" nor do the prairie grasses." An attractive and accepted natural garden in the Beechwood area, is that of the late Dr. Robert Dorney of UW‘s school of urban and regional planning. He created a "Heritage garden‘" to preserve and highlight the types of plants and trees found in Canada. It now appears as a miniâ€"forest that began in 1970 with a scraggly collection of Rebecca Lane Bridals IS MOVING! on October 1st. Join us for our GRAND OPENING on Broadway Street, in the vfiag‘e of BELWOOD CELEBRATION SPECIALS Oct. 1 â€" Oct. 17 4 OFF instock Bridal Gowns 20% OFF instock hats and head pieces (CASH AND CARRY) _ h in mmz Where the nicest in town is out of town To Arthur Town of â€" 8 miles from Fergue â€" WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 1987 â€" PAGE 5 saplings and small plants. An area of controlled wild plants, accessible to the public, appear in the unlikely highâ€"traffic area of Waterloo Park. After observing this area last month Lamb said he was pleasantly surprised at the result. "I must admit I was highly skeptical of this area developing naturally within Waterloo Park, but this year it looks good. The project has been very successful."" While out for a stroll in Waterloo Park, Park passersâ€"by may observe lithrum, daisies, thistle, buttercups, goldenrod and other native plants combined with Maple saplings planted at random. As a high profile spokesman of the meadow garden, heritage garden and prairie garden, Lamb is getting some publicity and recognition. Last fall his prairie garden was featured on CBCâ€"TV‘s Nature of Things and it appeared with color photos in the May/June issue of Harrowsmith magazine. To Betwood Tues. & Fri. 10â€"5:30 Wed. & Thurs. 10â€"9:00 519â€"843â€"4104