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Weed Laws Article on Landscaping (John Marshall Law Review) Page 12 of 27 IV. THE REASONS FOR AND RESPONSE TO THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE MOVEMENT A. The Movement Officially Takes Root Cook County and Chicago are not the only governments embracing natural landscaping - interest in the practice is global.103 In the London borough of Richmond upon Thames, for example, there is a sprawling "hay meadow" resplendent with such wildflowers as buttercups and red clover.104 In 1990, Congress mandated that 25% of all funds spent on highway landscaping projects be used to plant native wildflowers along the easements and rights -of -way of the Nation's highways.105 The Clinton Department of Interior is working with the Nature Conservancy and state and local governments to restore ancient American landscapes including the Park Savanna in the Midwest, the coastal sage scrub ecosystem in Southern California and the Hill Country region landscape in Texas.106 Remarkably, even the conservative, anti - environment Bush Administration strongly advocated natural landscaping - which it called "the New American Garden Style." 197 According to the United States Department of Agriculture Director of the National Arboretum: In the past, wildlife was thought of as the enemy of gardening and agriculture. Everyone has stories of destruction and ruin of valued plants and crops. These concerns no longer have to be reasons why wildlife cannot be welcomed back into our living space. A new gardening style, first designed by Oehme and Van Sweden, landscape architects of Washington D.C., was created on the grounds of the U.S National Arboretum as, the New Arnerican Garden Style. The design, the plants, the preparation of the site, the maintenance schedule and the year -round display all work together to reclaim a disturbed site and restore it as to habitat where wildlife and humans can coexist 1 os According to the Bush Administration, a homeowner with a New American Garden should "overseed the entire area with native wildflowers." 109 Canada has officially embraced natural landscaping. The Ottawa City Council, for example, has approved plans to let nature take its course by reclaiming the city's 56 parks with natural landscaping. The idea is to naturalize the public parks by planting trees, creating woodlots and plowing up existing grass to replant selected wildflowers and native grasses.1 l o The actions of national, state, and local governments demonstrate that natural landscaping and the goal of harmonizing our yard with Nature and attracting backyard wildlife has officially taken hold. Natural landscaping is even termed "fashionable." 111 The actions of governments and the acceptance of natural landscaping is not without cause. There are good reasons for this trend. http: / /www.epa.gov /glnpo /greenacres /weedlaws /JMLR.html 2/22/01