August 18, 2026

I’ve been following Beth Lewis of ourprairiegarden since before I moved to Colorado, drawn by her passion for sustainable gardening and her affection for pollinators and prairie plants. When we met at the Plant Select Annual Conference in June, I was delighted to put a face to the name. I learned that she’s a career photographer and young mom who pivoted four years ago into habitat gardening and garden photography. A kindred spirit!

I had a similar pivot during my stay-at-home-parenting years. I stepped away from an editorial career, became curious about native plants and garden design, and was soon reading all the books, taking classes, and starting this blog to share my passion.

For Beth, she’s put her talents with photography toward showcasing the beauty and vitality of prairie gardens as replacements for traditional lawn (check out the photo gallery at Meadow Pro to see some of her images). Her own garden in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood is a great example, and last week, I got to see it for myself.

Central Park is much like the Mueller neighborhood in Austin: a master-planned community built on the site of a decommissioned airport, where residents have small yards but generous green spaces and parks and excellent walkability. It’s a neighborhood that’s embraced sustainable living from the get-go.

When Beth decided to rip out her front lawn and install a waterwise prairie garden, she didn’t have to fight her homeowners’ association, which readily approved the plan. She hired Meadow Pro to design and install a meadowy habitat garden in front and a backyard for living/dining, entertaining, and food growing. Now she and her family have all kinds of reasons to be outside in both the front and back yards.

Here’s Beth with a little free library she installed along the sidewalk. She stocks it with books for adults and children about creating habitat, like Soil by Camille Dungy.

The little library is so cute…

…with a rooftop planter of cacti…

…and illustrations of pollinators and prairie plants on each side.

On her Instagram, Beth writes:

“I’m beyond thrilled with how people have responded to this little library! It was a project my dad and I worked on together, and painted by @faithwilliamsart. I added a few newer titles this month, and it’s such a joy to have 3 Colorado-authored books in it so far! People have really responded to them, and yes, they do bring them back! Mostly, anyway.

The library is visible from many of our windows, so I often see people stopping to see what’s inside. This week, a parks and rec truck stopped by. I had hoped making these books available might have some influence on helping folks think of their little yards here differently, and people are really reading a lot, and adding books that are so fitting as well! I’m just blown away by the sense of community.”

Beth stamps each book with a friendly reminder to return it, so the next person can enjoy it.

It’s part of the educational and generous nature of the garden, promoted by a homeowner who’s witnessed the transformative power of prairie plants in her own yard.

In mid-August, nodding allium (Allium cernuum) was flowering, drawing in bees like a magnet.

Stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida) was blooming too, or about to bloom.

Fizzy switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and goldenrod make a sparkling combo.

Common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is one of Beth’s favorite shrubs for four-season interest. This one is planted by the front door.

The sloping front yard sheds rainwater, so Beth put in a rain garden to hold onto every precious drop. Three low curved walls — check dams — radiate from a downspout, terracing the slope where water used to rush off. Each one slows runoff, giving water time to soak into the soil, which benefits the plants and also reduces storm-drain pressure along the street.

Imagine the impact if everyone did this. Here’s a resource for Coloradans. Just a reminder: don’t install a rain garden too close to a house or basement.

In the side-yard hellstrip, apple trees offer healthy snacks in native turf of blue grama and buffalograss.

Dwarf leadplant (Amorpha nana) and straight leadplant (Amorpha canescens) add seasonal color.

Aster too

Littleleaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus) is a western Colorado evergreen that offers cover for birds.

Coneflower, blanketflower, and other wildflowers brighten a skinny strip along the fence.

Signs on the fence offer more info for the curious, including a link to Beth’s website, Our Prairie Garden.

Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata), another native wildflower

Here’s one I’d never heard of: curlycup gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa), an oddball with sticky flower bracts.

The fenced backyard is long and narrow, but it packs a lot in, starting with this large arbor and sunken fire pit.

A low wall on two sides offers extra seating around a large flat boulder fitted with a gas fire pit. Beyond, a dog-friendly patch of lawn — Dog Tuff grass — is flanked by raised beds of vegetables and hanging pocket planters on the fence. At the far end, another inviting patio, sheltered under a shade sail, is next to the kitchen.

But these metal fire pit logs, y’all. Made by Colorado Custom Fire Pits, they are a work of art. They remind me of faux bois, aka concrete sculpted to look like wood. Pinecone and twig details add to the verisimilitude.

Cleome

Cucumber

The shade-sail patio overlooks a wetter habitat garden centered around three fire-stone boulders. The biggest one is also a fountain, trickling water into a hidden reservoir. Beth says western toads and birds of all kinds are attracted by the water, and the reservoir has a heater for year-round use.

Plants here include Agastache urticifolia, geranium, purple coneflower, Carex brevior, prairie verbena, stiff goldenrod, common ninebark, boulder raspberry, big bluestem, switchgrass, and ‘Autumn Amber’ sumac.

The cute lil pup in the video is Penelope, “a long name for a long dog,” says Beth.

As we were standing out front, a neighbor stopped to tell Beth how much she admired her garden and wanted to do something similar at her house. She’d seen Beth’s garden in the New York Times in a 2023 article about readers’ bird-friendly gardens. Here’s the link — check it out.

Lucky neighbor to have Beth’s example nearby! My thanks to Beth for sharing her beautiful habitat gardens with me.

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