Reclaiming a Backyard from Invasive Bush Honeysuckle
Author: Brian Laster
Photo 1
My wife and I purchased our 1960s built home along the Kempton Run corridor in the summer of 2021. During the showing, the traversable backyard included a brick patio and a modest patch of sloped grass surrounded by a wall of green bushes and trees (Photo 1). We assumed the formidable flora were the boundaries of the property line and accepted a vision of our backyard where our kids played down this thin slope of earth.
During our home inspection, we decided to explore the property a bit more. Based on maps, we knew the home sat alongside a stream, but it was not visible through the curtain of green brush. Crouching, a narrow path was forged through the branches to find Kempton Run. Beneath our feet was a mat of English Ivy. Above our heads were decades of bush honeysuckle and grapevine interlocked, gripping hackberry and buckeye trees stretching skyward for sun.
Photo 2
Further in, we discovered a clearing beneath a basketball hoop (Photo 2). We stood in silence for a moment listening to a choir of insects living in the brush. As we stood, another familiar sound was heard. Children laughing! We advanced further through the overgrowth of invasives where we saw a small group of girls matching eastward down the creek. The moment sparked a desire to uncover this yard, discover its potential, and create a space for our friends and family to gather and play!
When we took occupancy of the home, naively, I went into the backyard with my newly purchased lopper pruners and began attacking the overgrown honeysuckle. I quickly realized the height and density of the bush meant this wasn’t a weekend warrior project. Worse yet, the volume of branches quickly became unmanageable once too much clearing occurred.
Photo 3
Shortly after this experience (and with no further success at home), I participated in an event led by Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) which sought to remove bush Honeysuckle along Kempton Run at a local church property. At this event, I learned much more effective ways to eradicate honeysuckle and grapevine. I learned how to properly apply herbicide to fresh cut honeysuckle ~1 foot above the soil line. I took this knowledge home and partnered with my wife to clear some of the more encroaching invasives (Photo 3).
Our next year was spent removing large Honeysuckle bushes and bagging the leaves and branches. If you had driven past our house during this time, you would have seen more yard waste bags at the curb than any household should have. It was exciting work to do! Every invasive removed uncovered the mystery that was our backyard (Photos 4, 5, 6). Over time, we discontinued the use of herbicide and opted for mechanical removal of the root utilizing a 6-foot spud bar. Honeysuckle bushes are not deeply rooted, and some mature roots can be removed with this tool.
After removal, we were left with lots and lots of dirt. Honeysuckle is an excellent canopy and effectively prevents vegetation from rooting near it by blocking access to sunlight. Our initial planting for all these bare areas was grass. Each spring and fall for the past two years included a weekend with a tiller rental, a large bag of grass seed, and frequent watering until tiny green blades emerged from the earth (Photo 7, 8).
Our next phase of work will be planting various hillsides on the property with natives that can help slow erosion and restore the understory of the property. Additionally, we plan to remove the last of the property’s bush honeysuckle along the creek bed.
Over the past 4 years, work in this yard has been one of the most fulfilling (and fun!) house projects for our family. We’ve learned so much about different plants and wildlife in our area. We’ve watched our kids grow as the accessible footprint of this backyard expands (Photo 9). They are now the kids marching down the creek on hot summer days!
We are grateful to Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) for their support of this project over the years. A few of the specific ways FLOW has supported us include members of FLOW walking our property to help us identify various plant species, securing us native plants from local organizations for re-planting after honeysuckle removal, bringing a rented woodchipper to our property to dispose of larger honeysuckles branches that could not be bagged. We are grateful for FLOW and encourage Columbus residents to engage with local organizations that seek to better our environment. For our family, what started as a project to create more usable space in our backyard has grown into a desire to better steward the land which resides along this stream so that our waterways can be enjoyed by plant, animal, and human life alike!
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Photo 9