Your perfect green lawn is a buzz kill
Here's how to turn it into a pollinator party.
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For the lawn freaks
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
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I'm waiting for the next western states drought/water restrictions to justify nuking the yard and xeriscaping.
never used and herbicide or pesticide on any property I have ever owned. If its toxic to plants and insects it is probably toxic to me. Fuck Monsanto
i use it occasionally when poison ivy pops up.
My "lawn" is a trimmed new england meadow. Currently invaded by flowering violets.
I've been reclaiming yard space from forest deadfall. As I do, I started planting clover in addition to grass as it's supposed to be mutualistic. So far it's greener and they say that clover crowds out other nastier weeds, so it's a win-win. The flowers for BEES is just an added bonus...we have a shitload of bumblebees in our yard. Got the idea from our mother in law's house that always has this amazingly green, lush clover yard.
Our town got a strict no pesticide or fertilizer policy (except organic). Weed Man brought the town to court to have the right to spray their shit. They lost in superior court. City also augmented the shoreline buffer strip from 10m to 15m. None of our 28 lakes got a blue algae problem.
I have a few patches of grass that I mow 5-6 times a season. The rest is natural with dead leaf cover. Near the street we got all sort of small fruit bushes and a lot of milkweed that attract butterflies a lot.
I have a few patches of grass that I mow 5-6 times a season. The rest is natural with dead leaf cover. Near the street we got all sort of small fruit bushes and a lot of milkweed that attract butterflies a lot.
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We are dealing with a beetle infestation in the front yard. The local wildlife goes nuts for the grubs and turns all the remaining greenery over hunting for them.
Going to replace the soil and plant “bee turf”. Apparently the grubs don’t like it and bees love it.
Going to replace the soil and plant “bee turf”. Apparently the grubs don’t like it and bees love it.
It’s all about having a better lawn than your neighbours. Rather than fertilize, weed, trim, water and mow your own lawn, it’s much smarter to simply huck weed seeds and pee and otherwise damage the neighbours lawns. Do it once in spring and your done for the summer.
most of the yards in our neighborhood in texas were white rocks growing up......because who wants to mow a lawn when it is 115 degrees...
My neighbors bitch constantly that I don't spray for dandelions
I would rather have a yellow lawn than once a month have signs around the perimeter of my yard warning about chemicals
I would rather have a yellow lawn than once a month have signs around the perimeter of my yard warning about chemicals
In our 40+ years here, I have figured out a few things.
- No grass seed needed - if one mows, grasses will largely dominate.
- I mow different areas at different seasons, depending on what other than grass grows, mostly flowering plants.
- Fertilizer and weed killers are unnecessary poisons.
- I don't use self-propelled mowers any more. They're more of a PITA to maintain and make it more likely to run over stuff I wish to avoid.
- Woodlines tend to move in on grassy areas, in this area the rate is a little under a foot a year. Some of this I encourage, some of this I cut back.
No idea what it all proves...
- No grass seed needed - if one mows, grasses will largely dominate.
- I mow different areas at different seasons, depending on what other than grass grows, mostly flowering plants.
- Fertilizer and weed killers are unnecessary poisons.
- I don't use self-propelled mowers any more. They're more of a PITA to maintain and make it more likely to run over stuff I wish to avoid.
- Woodlines tend to move in on grassy areas, in this area the rate is a little under a foot a year. Some of this I encourage, some of this I cut back.
No idea what it all proves...
I love dandelions.
What kind?
Norway spruce. They are the fastest growing evergreens I could reasonably find that aren't invasive. Our property borders the DPW- it gets noisy in the winter so it would be nice to have some insulation. In front of that are some leyland cypress, crappy trees but sterile and fast growing- same deal.
I hope this is not a surprise to most normal people but what people need to adopt more culture around gardening. Most houses in suburbia is just lawn and even more so in America. So don't stop with just making the lawn better put in some scrubs, trees, penerials make some beds that are not manicured. Besides pleasing the eye this is what I am working on. Actually planted more grass lately but that is in a effort to rebuild a neglected part of the garden that was taken over by trash and weeds and using it acces path around the garden. Amount of grass will go down again as I run out of space for new plants. I have put in a lot of all kinds of things and it's been amazing to see the reaction from the birds and mice.
HOA requires a certain minimum of yard. Spent weekend putting in new sprinklers to make watering more efficient (also use rachio). Plan to take the hard to see from street part of the front yard and xeriscape next year, then 1/3 of the backyard will become a native/mtn oasis because I can't get anything needing reasonable amounts of water to grow there (too much sun).
Our entire city is the HOA..
after living in fucking florida where we had both a neighborhood and a master HOA. fuckity fuckity fuck that shit and never again.
we've been slowly naturalizing our yard. it's too shady to really grow much grass. i've been planting more and more mountain laurels. wife likes to plant a lot of stuff. really, i hate the maintenance aspect of a yard, and spending a ton of $ on shit that has a 50/50 chance of surviving. i may have to start "borrowing" more plants when we go to the mtns...
we've been slowly naturalizing our yard. it's too shady to really grow much grass. i've been planting more and more mountain laurels. wife likes to plant a lot of stuff. really, i hate the maintenance aspect of a yard, and spending a ton of $ on shit that has a 50/50 chance of surviving. i may have to start "borrowing" more plants when we go to the mtns...
If 50% dies she really need to start researching what she buys and make sure to understand how much water is needed for the plant to settle in, its placed correct and hardy for the zone you are in.
With the way things are going I am even starting to look at what plants I buy so my garden becomes more drought tolerant as we are seeing the effect of global warming around here with extremely dry spring season. I am also looking at how I can harvest more rain water for the little watering I need to feed the spring flowers.
We are fortunate enough to get free water from a canal between our house and the river. Only pay for the electricity to pump it out.
Fun fact: the cost of electricity in France is almost the lowest in the world.
Fun fact: the cost of electricity in France is almost the lowest in the world.
I am starting to dig into this place and clean out the trees and bushes. The bigger this pile gets, the more a tub grinder sounds like a good tool. It's going to be 10x that size by the time I am done.
Soon™
For first time in 8 years, 100% of Colorado is under drought or abnormally dry conditions
On Thursday, federal officials designated 100% of the state abnormally dry or in drought for the first time in eight years — “extreme” or “severe” in many areas — cons…
www.dailycamera.com
When we bought our place, there were a few shrubs and some hostas. Last summer, we dug up half of it and planted perennials. We continued planting this spring. It's been a massive change. Bees are perpetually on the anise hyssop and we have bugs that we didn't previously (grasshoppers, beetles, etc) Looks much better too. (everything in the front below was grass)
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Sooner™Soon™
For first time in 8 years, 100% of Colorado is under drought or abnormally dry conditions
On Thursday, federal officials designated 100% of the state abnormally dry or in drought for the first time in eight years — “extreme” or “severe” in many areas — cons…
Western states, including Colorado, prepare for possible 1st water shortage declaration
By Sam Metz, The Associated Press/Report for America CARSON CITY, Nev.— The man-made lakes that store water supplying millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico are projected to shrink to historic lows in the coming months, dropping to levels that could trigger the federal government’s...
coloradosun.com
Well, I wasn't planning on ripping out half the lawn and putting in a xeriscape until next summer, but here we are.Sooner™
Western states, including Colorado, prepare for possible 1st water shortage declaration
By Sam Metz, The Associated Press/Report for America CARSON CITY, Nev.— The man-made lakes that store water supplying millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico are projected to shrink to historic lows in the coming months, dropping to levels that could trigger the federal government’s...
If it needs sprinklers it's dumb.
Big house near 18 Rd has freshly seeded ground and sprinklers running on the 1/4 acre surrounding the house so they can compete with the neighbor.
YOU LIVE IN A FUCKING DESERT.
Big house near 18 Rd has freshly seeded ground and sprinklers running on the 1/4 acre surrounding the house so they can compete with the neighbor.
YOU LIVE IN A FUCKING DESERT.
Maybe it’s fed by liberal tears?
My goal is to turn my lawn into 100% moss.
Glad to see I am not the only #gardenmonkey. I spend a lot of time first cleaning up the garden and then since last year started planting a lot especially conifers, acers, rhododendrons and now I have started with the perennials too. At least half of the beds I keep more wild. At the moment I am working on mini forest to better block off the street in front of the house and then cleaning up a huge bed taken over by ivy so I can start getting in more bug friendly plants. Right not it's only the slugs that like it.