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I live in a smalltown with a small lot.... 53x132ft.
My entire front yard (East), North side and South side is now a "no-mow" yard. It has over 500 perennial flowers....
Multiple varieties of Hostas
Bishop's Weed/Goutweed
Spotted Dead Nettle
Lily of the Valley
Ostrich Fern
Forget-me-nots
Wild Violet
Columbine
Vince Minor
Coral Bells
False Forget-me-not
Moonbeam Coreopsis
Wild Alpine Strawberry
Iris
Cranesbill
Stella de Oro daylily
Lavender
Russian Sage
Cheddar Pinks
Dianthus
Oriental Lily
Blue Flax
Blue Delphinium
Phlox
Sage
Veronica Speedwell
Alaska Shasta Daisy
Coneflower
Daylily
Early Sunrise Coreopsis
and a few more I can't think of....
This garden caters to the butterflies, Hummingbirds, and bees.
My goal was to turn the backyard into an Edible Paradise of fruits and veggies (annual and perennial)
The front yard would be bring the critters I needed for pollination and pest control... birds, toads, bees, ladybugs, praying mantis, etc. That was the goal. Now my house is up For Sale, and I might have a potential buyer. I sure am going to miss this place and the dreams I created for it.
I have a terrible grass allergy that I developed while mowing "professionally." Therefore, I hate lawns and places with lawns. I still have to mow dozens of acres until I get out of the awful Midwest, and it's utter itchy-eyed misery until all my receptors are blocked after an hour or so of constant weepy-eyed sneezing and blowing out liquid snot.
Give me coastal deserts or rainforests where that accursed plant dries up or rots away. That's where I'm bound. Grass sucks.
It is not that difficult to quit using chemicals to maintain a yard. I put down CGM in April and it lasts till July/August. I'll put it down again in Sept. Very few weeds. I use soybean meal/corn meal/alfalfa meal during the rest of the year as desired. My yard is pretty much dark green. I still pull some weeds but I don't mind and it's nice to sit outside listening to the radio while I do it. The big negative is the cost of CGM might be out of my reach soon and the other grains are also getting more expensive.
It is not that difficult to quit using chemicals to maintain a yard. I put down CGM in April and it lasts till July/August. I'll put it down again in Sept. Very few weeds. I use soybean meal/corn meal/alfalfa meal during the rest of the year as desired. My yard is pretty much dark green. I still pull some weeds but I don't mind and it's nice to sit outside listening to the radio while I do it. The big negative is the cost of CGM might be out of my reach soon and the other grains are also getting more expensive.
Spot on. I use coffee grinds and SBM mostly. I have used alfalfa and CGM at times as well. I have one of the best lawns in the neighborhood without any chemicals. I cut high and have very few weeds.
Get together with a local coffee shop and have them give you grinds. They are free
Oh Lord, you're about to get me started. I read an article a few years back and can't remember where or exactly when or i'd post it. It was about a neighbor war in a small town where one neighbor really liked to keep his lawn perfect and you don't need an imagination to figure out how he did it. Problem is, the next door neighbors had a daughter with a terrible allergy to the stuff his lawn company sprayed on his lawn and it got so that every time the company came out to spray, it put the girl in the ER with life-threatening anaphylaxis.
The parents of the girl tried to speak to the man about possibly using organic methods but he couldn't do that. Then they begged him to at least let them know when the yard service was due, but that wasn't possible either, so the parents went to the city and asked for an ordinance so that the man would have to warn the city of when he was going to get sprayed. This infuriated the man, as it was against his rights as a citizen and it infuriated others as well b/c they didn't live near the girl who got sick. I just thought it was a sad reflection of how little we care about our neighbors when an ordinance has to be passed (and fought) about doing the right thing and it's really sad when your green lawn is more important than a little girl's health. What an ugly lawn indeed.
I had some friends at the time--extreme conservatives--and we almost had a falling out over that article. They agreed with the green lawn man and said that it was indeed against his rights. They said the burden was on the family of the girl and they should move out to the country if it was that bad, but after we lived in the country a few years, we were relieved to get back where we weren't getting malathion sprayed every 2 weeks. You could smell it as you drove the country roads, and then there was the cotton defoliant. . .
Our yard is full of mints: little pieces of ones we plants and allowed to take over. When you want some, you pick it. Chives as well and oregano -- all gone wild from the herb garden. Wild grapes and also raspberries in the field out back. No one around us uses commercial fertilizer which is noxious; our back neighbor is a certified organic farmer and we know the berries and grapes and apples near his property won't have chemical contaminants.
Be careful of what you eat.... someone listed she has lily of the valley in the yard. Not something to eat!
If your soil is really clayey, try throwing in tons of buckwheat. It will grow and break up the soil. We don't eat it -- but it sure helps gardening when we till the next year. Beets grown one year will provide greens for more ( they reseed and do not form a beet, just greens).
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We have a decent sized lawn on a large corner lot, and in our climate it rarely needs watering. This year, in fact, I have not watered it yet and it's nice and green. With the salmon streams below us we do not use chemicals on it.
Yes, it has a bunch of clover and buttercups in it but that makes it look more natural. We have rabbits munching on it all the time.
What gets me is the people with acres of lawn living in a desert and semi desert climate, such as central and southern California.
Oh how I would love to make my front yard a wild flower haven or have nothing but a rock garden. Stupid HOA says you must maintain your lawn. Can't wait to move! We live in an area that has been in a drought for like 5 years. Yes, please let's waste drinking water on grass.
Why would you buy a place under the control of a HOA?
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