On a quiet street lined with tidy homes and manicured lawns lives a friend of mine. But Maria's front yard is unlike any other on the block. Hers is a riot of color and texture, a wild garden buzzing with life. And when I follow her out back on a warm Texas afternoon to sit beneath a vine-covered arbor, we're surrounded by an even greater variety of plants, birds, and insects. It's also noticeably cooler here, and I feel the day's tension vanish in this enchanted place. Maria, you see, has cultivated biodiversity!