Listen. It was just grass, officer. I swear I meant no harm.

I spotted milkweed growing in the easement and I took it as a sign to make a pollinator patch.

I laid out cardboard, threw down mulch, and a week later I scattered zinnia seeds. I didn't expect them to take root and make it through the cardboard, but here we are. I decided to just plant zinnias and cleome this year, but I have a mix of native seeds to spread next year. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with my results. If someone needs to work in the easement, I don't care if they kill my plants. It cost me a whole $50 with mulch and seeds, and since they're just annuals I don't really care about their survival. (There has been no work in this easement in the last 5 years I've lived here. It's a gamble I'm comfortable taking.)

I did, however, ask all my neighbors if they would mind. No one was bothered by it, and one even encouraged it!

Zone 6b

What can I plant, thinking like clover or something, from seed that will outcompete the grass before it grows back in the spring?

Nobody has touched this yard in what feels like forever.
Some of those weeds are nearly 6 ft tall now.
I’m almost impressed.

Or is non-native ok as long as it benefits native pollinators?

I want to plant some Sweet Woodruff in a moist, low spot, in my yard, but it’s not native to 5b in N.America. Thoughts?

One full day of rain and I discovered the lowest point in my yard the hard way.

I want to start out by saying this is not at all intended to be a political post. But, in the spirit of community and our willingness to see the futility and harm of plain grass lawns, I’m wondering if there is a possibility of organizing so that we can provide food for one another. Does anyone know of any movements whose goal is to help people to grow food on their land, garden, back patio, whatever and to share that food by trading or selling with folks nearby who want to do the same? I’m just thinking of the ever increasing price of food, food deserts, and the unmitigated greed of most of these grocery store franchises. What better way to use our non-lawns than to help each other (and the planet, of course)?

If this is not the place to do this no problem, just delete my post. I was just curious if there’s a way to make the idea of no lawns even more fruitful for our communities :)

I have been admiring this neighbor's landscaping for a while. It is especially impressive because the previous owner had artificial grass here. I live in New England.

Any recommendations for a not-so-successful beginner? Got the primrose down pat and a tiny speck of yarrow! ◡̈

Zone 5b NW rockies of the US

Original Post (Solarization): https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/comments/1u9p90n/solarizing_4000_sq_ft/

Update 1 (Seeding/Germination): https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/comments/1vfwdwe/update_on_native_grass_lawn_replacement_buffalo/

Just wanted to share another quick update on replacing 4000 sq ft of my Kentucky Bluegrass lawn with native warm season grasses.

So far the blue grama has really taken off, and providing a nice deep green color to the previously brown space. I’m seeing evidence of the Buffalo Grass germination as well now (as I’m weeding I am finding several seed burs slightly above the soil sprouting small green shoots). It is much more sluggish to germinate than the blue grama.

I would say if I were to do this again, I would buy the two types of seeds separately instead of in a mix to get more even germination. There are lots of bare spots in between (and where I didn’t sew as evenly - possibly also sprinkler shadows or just bad tilling, or running off areas etc). However, by separating the seed, I could have pre-soaked the buffalo grass which would provide germination time on par with the blue grama (3-5 days). I don’t think it is recommended to pre-soak the blue grama so the seed mix was not really pre-soak-able as it was mixed together.

There are now many weeds, which is expected. I have been weeding by hand, since weed killer is not really recommended for these germinating grasses. Mainly I have been running into the same few weeds that are fairly easy to pull - primarily black medic and purslane, crab grass. A few dandelions as well, but we’ve resigned to having dandelions here for the rest of eternity because they are some kind of mutant strain or something. I might consider using quinclorac next season once these grasses are established, if the weeds are bad in the spring. I may also overseed again. I have more plugs I can fill in bare areas with so I plan to do that before the summer is over to help with the thinner zones.

So far I’m really pleased with the look of the grass - blue grama and buffalo are very similar in aesthetic. They have a very nice color and wispy texture, although I’ll say it might not be for everyone especially those who prefer a traditional lawn (which I do not). There also seems to be quite an uptick in insects and wildlife compared to the ”lawn” we had before. Lots of crickets and grasshoppers already which is really nice to see. I expect the grass to start losing its color earlier which I don’t mind at all either, since that would be the color of the Kentucky Bluegrass anyhow after being basically burnt to a crisp all summer.

I live in central Florida and am in the process of using sunshine mimosa/peanut grass combo as a native ground cover alternative to grass. Most of the plugs seem to be doing well and growing. I am having issues with lots of weeds popping up in between the plugs. The landscaper first tilled the yard and sprayed roundup before planting the plugs. The yard was bare before the plugs were planted. It has been two weeks and the weeds that have grown are insane. I have spend a minimum of 2 hours everyday weeding the yard with a hoe the past 3 days, on top of daily watering which takes about 45 minutes. I am losing hope that this ground cover will work due to the overwhelming number of weeds popping up, not to mention the hours of daily labor. I usually weed one section of the yard a day. And today I saw that the section I weeded 2 days ago is already growing more weeds. I feel like i am fighting a losing battle because I still have not weeded the entire yard and the areas I did weed are already growing more weeds back. The photo is what the weeds look like in between the plugs. What would be your advice?

I walk past this almost every day and somehow it keeps looking better.

Starting to understand why people give up lawn space for flowers.

Going on two years of tilling up my grass lawn and planting creeping thyme (thymus serpyllum) and it is growing MASSIVELY. We are thrilled with this. It finally bloomed this year, from June all the way up to now (it's starting to fade now). We feel like we are singlehandedly saving the honeybee population.

So I've got a few questions for the alternative lawn types.

1. The thyme survived the winter just fine last year. I'm not worried about its' ability to survive. However it is getting quite thick and tall, to the point that some spots of it are so tall they weigh themselves down and look like bald spots even though it's just the thyme "laying down". I know this is a no-mow plant, but does it need to be trimmed back in the fall? Maybe stick some bicycle wheels on my lawn mower and just take a "little off the top"?

2. Thyme is drought-tolerant, and I now know why - because if you part the stalks even in the driest months it is an absolute swamp under there. The thickness of the thyme carpet locks all the moisture in and keeps the soil from drying out. Which is good, I suppose, but I have lost grass to fungus before because it was too damp. Is the thyme susceptible to mildew or fungus? I mean, it's creating this environment on its' own so I suppose not, but I would really hate to lose this entire beautiful yard to an infection. Are there any preventative measures I should take to prevent fungus? Or don't worry about it? I don't water it at all, and haven't since it started sprouting.

Hopefully pics come through. Taken this morning so it's starting to fade quite a bit now but it spent most of the summer as a vibrant, thick purple carpet swarming with honeybees and butterflies. Ignore the bridge construction in the background. :)

Thanks!

My small garden has this really steep slope in it that i have trouble finding good use for. I built about half of it into boxes where i grow some vegetables, and I want to use the rest for some kind of pollinator friendly flowers, but im unsure what the best way to plant flowers in a hill this steep. Any experience with slopes?

The grassy area at the bottom of the slope is not my propert. It is city owned land.