Lawns are the worst!

[Faith-manor]

Ugh, the people the grandmothers hired to do their lawns this weekend never showed. So I ended up mowing for them, picking up sticks, pulling weeds. And of course with rain and sunshine here, our lawn had to be tended as well. College boys were born, and dh had to work so it was all on me.

I hate lawns! You don't have to agree with me. I am just venting.

We were supposed to be done doing three places every weekend. I guess we will have to begin the hunt for a more reliable lawn service. These are few and far between out here. Maybe we can find a high school student who would like the extra money. Just not a fan of lawns. I would love to just dig ours up, plant ground cover, and be done with it. But, we have poor soil so I am pretty sure we would have to spend a lot of money amending the soil in order to get ground cover to grow. We have an acre, and they each have half an acre. I don't think it would be cheap!

[Katy]

I’m sorry I hate lawns too.  We use an established service, it’s not cheap and the guys doing the mowing seldom last a month, but it gets done at least once a week without nagging.

[Scarlett]

I see about 20 posts a week on the town FB page where people are asking for lawn care recommendations.  I see the same names tagged over and over, but then I see people saying they didn't show up or whatever.  Seems lawn care is like handyman/contracting work....a person could make a good living at it if they just knew how to show up consistently.

We were at my MIL's this weekend and she needs her huge yard weedeated badly.  Dh told her to call and have it done....trouble is there is no one to hire.  They know a family with 2 or 3 teen boys....but she said they are pretty much not good help at all.  She just needs to hire a service I guess, for the weedeating.  She does the mowing, on a zero turn mower, and she loves doing that....but the weedeating is too much for her.

[Innisfree]

41 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I would love to just dig ours up, plant ground cover, and be done with it. But, we have poor soil so I am pretty sure we would have to spend a lot of money amending the soil in order to get ground cover to grow.

You might consider wildflowers, maybe something pollinator-friendly. They often do fine on marginal soil. See if you have a native plant society in your state or region-- around here they have plant sales each spring and autumn, and would be delighted to offer suggestions for your yard. Even if there's no sale, you could call them for ideas.

[Innisfree]

https://wildflowersmich.org/

[Carrie12345]

Dh and I are currently debating our future yard options. I’m envisioning lots of low/no maintenance plants and a light grass/heavy clover cover where needed. Since maintenance tends to fall more on me, I think he should pipe down! But I guess he will be living there too, so I’m looking for compromise.

I imagine it’s a lot harder to pull the trigger on more natural options when living in a neighborhood where grass carpets are the norm!

[Pawz4me]

We had a lot of landscaping/grading/re-seeding stuff done over the late winter and early spring, and decided at that time to contract with the same company to do the mowing, fertilizing, aerating, etc. They've been very reliable, but we pay ahead of time. Whatever the entire cost for the season was, we paid half in the early spring and half last month. Of course that's taking a chance, but they're a well established company. I think it's a different story if you're just trying to find someone to mow occasionally. Plus I'm guessing our area is more well populated than yours, so there are probably lots more choices. 

[vonfirmath]

22 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I see about 20 posts a week on the town FB page where people are asking for lawn care recommendations.  I see the same names tagged over and over, but then I see people saying they didn't show up or whatever.  Seems lawn care is like handyman/contracting work....a person could make a good living at it if they just knew how to show up consistently.

We were at my MIL's this weekend and she needs her huge yard weedeated badly.  Dh told her to call and have it done....trouble is there is no one to hire.  They know a family with 2 or 3 teen boys....but she said they are pretty much not good help at all.  She just needs to hire a service I guess, for the weedeating.  She does the mowing, on a zero turn mower, and she loves doing that....but the weedeating is too much for her.

This sounds like our house. The mowing gets done. The weed eating? Not so much.

 

[bibiche]

22 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

You might consider wildflowers, maybe something pollinator-friendly. They often do fine on marginal soil. See if you have a native plant society in your state or region-- around here they have plant sales each spring and autumn, and would be delighted to offer suggestions for your yard. Even if there's no sale, you could call them for ideas.

Yes, this. Native plants will grow on your native soil, and will be good for the environment. Keep a patch of lawn if you want, but ripping up the rest is one small thing every lawn owner can do. And read Doug Tallamy! 😀 
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/

This bit really drives it home for me: “a monoculture of lawn, a landscape that for ecological purposes might as well be a parking lot.” Gulp. ☹️

Edited August 9, 2021 by bibiche

[Innisfree]

3 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

I imagine it’s a lot harder to pull the trigger on more natural options when living in a neighborhood where grass carpets are the norm!

This is true.

In our neighborhood, people typically have lawns, but lots have shrub borders which screen from the road a bit and reduce lawn space. Several have really nice gardens. So, there's already a bit of variety, which helps.

I've found starting with smaller areas of native wildflowers works pretty well. Once a small section looks pretty, it's easier to gradually expand that without alienating the neighbors. All the butterflies and hummingbirds help. 😍

[Faith-manor]

37 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

Dh and I are currently debating our future yard options. I’m envisioning lots of low/no maintenance plants and a light grass/heavy clover cover where needed. Since maintenance tends to fall more on me, I think he should pipe down! But I guess he will be living there too, so I’m looking for compromise.

I imagine it’s a lot harder to pull the trigger on more natural options when living in a neighborhood where grass carpets are the norm!

I would consider it if it wasn't going to attract aggressive insects like hornets, wasps, yellow jackets, etc. Mark is allergic. We do okay with honey bees and bumblebees because they are so good natured.

[Faith-manor]

11 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

This is true.

In our neighborhood, people typically have lawns, but lots have shrub borders which screen from the road a bit and reduce lawn space. Several have really nice gardens. So, there's already a bit of variety, which helps.

I've found starting with smaller areas of native wildflowers works pretty well. Once a small section looks pretty, it's easier to gradually expand that without alienating the neighbors. All the butterflies and hummingbirds help. 😍

I think that this fall when shrubs and ornamental trees go half price, I am going to see what we can afford to reduce grass space. If I thought the township would not get bent out of joint, I would rent a back hoe, upturn everything, rent the roller, pat it down, and have dirt for a year! 😁 I am pretty sure that would make the neighbors really unhappy. 

If we weren't going to be going back and forth between his house and the Alabama house, I would have far more raised beds for veggies. But, we won't be around to attend them. I just simply need to get going on the research for what we can do to eliminate lawn, and then find someone reliable for the grandmothers. They both insist, for now, on age in place and mother in law cannot so a thing. My mom is actually still mobile she just doesn't have a lot of stamina. So I mow it with the riding mower, but she at least gets her easy start self a propelled walking mower out and goes around the trees, and next to her three flower beds. We tried to talk them into selling one house and combining households, but then mother in law started with signs of dementia and health began going downhill. We didn't want mom to end up doing a lot of care giving by default of rooming together.

[Innisfree]

7 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I would consider it if it wasn't going to attract aggressive insects like hornets, wasps, yellow jackets, etc. Mark is allergic. We do okay with honey bees and bumblebees because they are so good natured.

Yellow jackets are the ones that we worry about, because they're the only ones around here which are actively aggressive. 

You may or may not decide attracting pollinators is a good idea for you. I'd be more cautious if any of us were allergic. Fwiw, I have a couple of big patches of mountain mint, which seems to attract every sort of wasp or bee in our area. And, they're not the least bit aggressive. They're so busy getting nectar that I can stand right next to the patch, while they're flying in and out, and all around, and just watch them and marvel at the number and diversity. They're actually quite beautiful. If one got tangled in my hair and I touched it, I'd probably get stung, but otherwise, no problem. The wasps and bees generally aren't interested in us unless they're getting squashed.

If I wanted to do this (maybe minus the mountain mint 😉) I'd start with a patch away from walkways, and see how it goes before expanding. Talk to your local folks for some ideas about what would be more likely to work for you without endangering anyone.

[City Mouse]

I just want to say that 3 yards in one weekend is too much for anyone. You have my sympathy. 

 

[bibiche]

55 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

And, they're not the least bit aggressive. They're so busy getting nectar that I can stand right next to the patch, while they're flying in and out, and all around, and just watch them and marvel at the number and diversity. They're actually quite beautiful. 

You know the bumblebees let you pet their big fuzzy fat bumblebee butts, right? 😀 (I do ask first! 😜)

[livetoread]

5 minutes ago, bibiche said:

You know the bumblebees let you pet their big fuzzy fat bumblebee butts, right? 😀 (I do ask first! 😜)

Very true. I petted a carpenter bee yesterday on my Caryopteris shrub because I couldn't resist. 

[Innisfree]

Carpenter bees, sure. But I err on the side of caution anyway...

[Terabith]

I am with you.  Lawns are weird and annoying beyond belief.  I don't understand how they've become so ubiquitous.  

[*****]

I agree, lawns take a lot of maintenance and water.  Native plants are a good idea, just be mindful of your neighbors.  Keep your plants from over growing into their lawns, or spreading their seeds. Or allergens as well...a friend of mine had a neighbor who planted native plants, but didn't care if she was allergic. It also crept into her space and he did nothing to contain them. He moved away a few years ago and she is still trying to reclaim her yard. Not only that, he had a permit to grow native species, my friend does not. If I remember correctly, she got fined by the city (she lives in a large suburb) for growing weeds that spread from his yard!  So frustrating!  Yeah, you better check the rules in your area on that one if you go that route!

Or better yet, try vegetable gardening: https://www.foodnotlawns.com/

[bibiche]

@***** Thanks for that link! It makes my heart swell to see all that goodness. 

[Innisfree]

8 minutes ago, ***** said:

I agree, lawns take a lot of maintenance and water.  Native plants are a good idea, just be mindful of your neighbors.  Keep your plants from over growing into their lawns, or spreading their seeds. Or allergens as well...a friend of mine had a neighbor who planted native plants, but didn't care if she was allergic. It also crept into her space and he did nothing to contain them. He moved away a few years ago and she is still trying to reclaim her yard. Not only that, he had a permit to grow native species, my friend does not. If I remember correctly, she got fined by the city (she lives in a large suburb) for growing weeds that spread from his yard!  So frustrating!  Yeah, you better check the rules in your area on that one if you go that route!

Or better yet, try vegetable gardening: https://www.foodnotlawns.com/

They needed a *permit* to plant things other than a lawn? 😳 And then fined her? Oh my. That's so sad. 

[*****]

The neighbor was all out with native plants. He was probably a member of the Wildflower or a Native plant society or something?  But yeah, when you live in a suburb, there could be rules. I live in the country, so this seems foreign to me as well.   But my friend has had a heck of a time reclaiming  the boundaries of her yard, because the plants reproduce so well..., even with a fence.   The things we learn...!

[Faith-manor]

13 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

They needed a *permit* to plant things other than a lawn? 😳 And then fined her? Oh my. That's so sad. 

HOA's and township zoning boards can be quite the power tripping jerks! I think for starters, I may just get some of those quick growing juniper things and finish out the property line on the only side we share with someone else. Then dig up a large patch and plant something. Anyone think I can get away with a half acre of day lilies? 😂 those things spread like crazy around here.

[Innisfree]

8 minutes ago, ***** said:

The neighbor was all out with native plants. He was probably a member of the Wildflower or a Native plant society or something?  But yeah, when you live in a suburb, there could be rules. I live in the country, so this seems foreign to me as well.   But my friend has had a heck of a time reclaiming  the boundaries of her yard, because the plants reproduce so well..., even with a fence.   The things we learn...!

I mean, it really is sad, because we genuinely need people-- lots of people, on a very large scale-- to do what her neighbor had been doing. Insects are in a sharp decline globally, and the food chain rests on them, as stated in the article @bibiche linked above. (That was a really good article, btw. Thanks!) The native-plant-growing neighbor was doing the right thing, yet the suburb regulated that. Seriously, we ought to be making people get permits for lawns, not the reverse (I'm joking, I promise.) But lawns should not be the default.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Innisfree

[marbel]

Just now, ***** said:

The neighbor was all out with native plants. He was probably a member of the Wildflower or a Native plant society or something?  But yeah, when you live in a suburb, there could be rules. I live in the country, so this seems foreign to me as well.   But my friend has had a heck of a time reclaiming  the boundaries of her yard, because the plants reproduce so well..., even with a fence.   The things we learn...!

Was this an actual ordinance/law, or was it an HOA thing? I  understand you may not know the details.  But it really makes no sense that a person needs a permit to plant natives.  Our area routinely has native plant sales, nothing is ever said about a permit!  This is regular old suburbia, SE PA. 

I am off to google this,

[Kanin]

Yes! I say this every time I mow the lawn. Why do I spend time + money to maintain something I don't even use??? I like how the lawn looks, but it's not a masterpiece or anything.

We're looking into adding more perennial garden areas (hydrangeas, Lillies, big things that don't require a ton of maintenance) to take up some of the lawn.

Don't even get me started on the pinecones that fall everywhere. How can the trees make so many pinecones?!

[Faith-manor]

5 minutes ago, Kanin said:

Yes! I say this every time I mow the lawn. Why do I spend time + money to maintain something I don't even use??? I like how the lawn looks, but it's not a masterpiece or anything.

We're looking into adding more perennial garden areas (hydrangeas, Lillies, big things that don't require a ton of maintenance) to take up some of the lawn.

Don't even get me started on the pinecones that fall everywhere. How can the trees make so many pinecones?!

And needles!!!! We only have one pine, a blue spruce, but my mother in law has a ton of white pines it is just a sea of needles which doesn't seem to bother that dratted grass, but kills off other vegetation. Ugh.

[bibiche]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

 Anyone think I can get away with a half acre of day lilies? 😂 those things spread like crazy around here.

That’s what makes them invasive! They’re non-native. How about planting milkweed instead? Common milkweed and swamp milkweed smell wonderful, and butterfly milkweed is a beautiful color. All of them support native bees and monarchs. You could plant native elderberries (they get huge, smell wonderful, and you can use both their flowers and their berries), yarrow, penstemon, coneflowers, Joe Pye Weed, rudbeckia… All these plants are just about completely carefree and will make the birds and the bees happy.
 

Here’s a native plant database for Michigan: http://nativeplant.com/plants/search/input

[marbel]

So I was ranting to my husband about permits to plant natives. He is a big Doug Tallamy fan, and we have been building up our native plantings. 

Anyway, he said he believes that there exist in the world (or maybe just the US) ordinances and HOA rules about percentage of lawn required. UGH! 

Two years ago he took on the project of redoing our lawn completely - killing the old grass and weeds, amending the soil, planting and nurturing new grass.  Now he has done a 180 and we are expanding our plantings of natives attractive to pollinators.  I won't say we will ever get completely rid of our lawn, especially in the front, but we are moving away from the giant expanse of flat green. Fortunately we do not live in a place that prohibits or limits non-lawn areas. 

[Pawz4me]

14 minutes ago, marbel said:

 

Two years ago he took on the project of redoing our lawn completely - killing the old grass and weeds, amending the soil, planting and nurturing new grass.  Now he has done a 180 and we are expanding our plantings of natives attractive to pollinators.  I won't say we will ever get completely rid of our lawn, especially in the front, but we are moving away from the giant expanse of flat green. Fortunately we do not live in a place that prohibits or limits non-lawn areas. 

This is what we've been doing over the last year. Not a wholesale swap out, but slowly and steadily adding more plants that are attractive to pollinators. We've thoroughly enjoyed watching the bees and butterflies this year. ETA: But on the other hand, there's a limit. Native plants are great, but native snakes (copperheads) are not. I don't think I'd ever feel comfortable having lots of plants and shrubs that I can't see under where we or the dogs walk a lot. So for that reason I expect we'll always have a decent amount of grass.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Pawz4me

[lynn]

We had three boy who helped with yard work through the years but now they are grown and moved out, its just husband and I and sometimes my daughter doing a huge corner lot.  I don't mind push mowing the front and around the house but Dh is getting tired of the back yard and edging.   A lot of neighbors use services, I'm tempted but frugal so well just keep splitting the lawn work with Dh and my daughter.

[*****]

1 hour ago, Innisfree said:

The native-plant-growing neighbor was doing the right thing, yet the suburb regulated that. Seriously, we ought to be making people get permits for lawns, not the reverse (I'm joking, I promise.)

I just texted and got more info from my friend. Native 'plants to the USA' is protected, even the aggressive ones, are all permitted. 

Wildflower is literally all wild flowers but can include invasive, illegal plants. Sometimes their dirt or seed packages unintentionally bring in native plant starts or seeds, that quickly establish themselves.  Natives are encouraged, but invasive species tend to move in quickly. Many are roundup resistant, so the owner, by law, needs to put in a lot of effort to maintain the yard, or the owner can be fined for invasive species.     (The owner had  moved away, and roots had crept into my friend's yard. She tried to maintain by pulling, then brought in a weed company, who still could not eradicate them from her yard, as they were resistant to some chemicals.)    You have to remember in cities/suburbs where every one has a manicured yard, a wildflower/native yard can look unkempt to some if not kept up.   Because my friend did not have a permit to grow them (she has a huge lawn, but enough natives were growing to make her part of the yard look like she had weeds), someone complained and she got cited. Crazy, I know.  Just stinks.  This from her city: 

Code Enforcement covers a variety of codes and ordinances that the city has adopted over the years to address issues and concerns that affect all aspects of our city’s quality of life.

By administering a fair and comprehensive enforcement program that corrects violations of municipal codes, our department enhances property values and preserves the community values that make ____ a highly desirable city in which to live, work and play.

Common Residential Concerns include:

• Lack of landscape maintenance, including mowing and weed removal

So listen ya'all, I was just trying to pass on my friend's warning about letting your yard go wild. Yes, I agree it is a great idea for insects and wildlife. I mean, who would've ever thought wild plants could be a problem, but it happens.  Just be mindful of your neighbors, that was my message...

[prairiewindmomma]

6 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Ugh, the people the grandmothers hired to do their lawns this weekend never showed. So I ended up mowing for them, picking up sticks, pulling weeds. And of course with rain and sunshine here, our lawn had to be tended as well. College boys were born, and dh had to work so it was all on me.

I hate lawns! You don't have to agree with me. I am just venting.

We were supposed to be done doing three places every weekend. I guess we will have to begin the hunt for a more reliable lawn service. These are few and far between out here. Maybe we can find a high school student who would like the extra money. Just not a fan of lawns. I would love to just dig ours up, plant ground cover, and be done with it. But, we have poor soil so I am pretty sure we would have to spend a lot of money amending the soil in order to get ground cover to grow. We have an acre, and they each have half an acre. I don't think it would be cheap!

Microclover. You can overseed your existing lawn.

Also, WTH are the grandmothers in their own huge homes and this is YOUR problem? Any chance they can sell now while the market is hot and head to a maintenance free apartment?

[Faith-manor]

6 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Microclover. You can overseed your existing lawn.

Also, WTH are the grandmothers in their own huge homes and this is YOUR problem? Any chance they can sell now while the market is hot and head to a maintenance free apartment?

My mom's place, even at the height of the market, is not worth enough to get her a senior living apartment or condo. Our current house in Michigan is not conducive to her living with us. No privacy. Her house is worth about $40,000, up from the $20,000 two years ago. Not a penny more. Senior apartments rent at close to $1000 a month which she cannot afford. Senior condos are selling at $125,000 which she does not have.

Mother in law also cannot move in with us without significant handicap accessibility remodeling being addressed, and no privacy is an issue especially considering privacy. The place in Alabama was purchased to allow multi generational living once we can permanently move. Mark cannot retire for five years unless he is offered an early retirement buyout that includes health insurance. This year's buyout was not offered to his age group.

And we are trying to help. If you read my post, they had contracted for it to be done, and the lawn service was a no go. I was just venting about my weekend, and the upkeep of lawns in general. No need to come down on them about it. They tried, and we are making phone calls to see if we can find another service or student to do it.

[Spy Car]

Our beautiful lush green lawns are gone. Replaced by meandering gravel paths and a series of planting areas that contain mixes of CA natives, herbs, drought-tolerants, and roses. I has taken me about 5 years (I work slowly) to create something I find beautiful, and still plenty to do.

I thought the one upside of getting rid of grass was that I'd never need to mow again. Little did I realize that my mixed beds would be far more labor intensive than a lawn.

What are you going to do?

Bill

 

[Faith-manor]

4 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Our beautiful lush green lawns are gone. Replaced by meandering gravel paths and a series of planting areas that contain mixes of CA natives, herbs, drought-tolerants, and roses. I has taken me about 5 years (I work slowly) to create something I find beautiful, and still plenty to do.

I thought the one upside of getting rid of grass was that I'd never need to mow again. Little did I realize that my mixed beds would be far more labor intensive than a lawn.

What are you going to do?

Bill

 

Not sure. Researching, seeing what the township allows. I doubt the grandmothers are going to do much more then keep cobbling together some kind of lawn service. We will try to change things here, and since we will sell at a loss when Mark does retire, whatever it is will be as inexpensive as we can make it. I am definitely going to look at clover. The mothers are 77 and 85. Not easy for them to change, and running out of savings. 

If they don't have anyone for next weekend, we will let it go and hope it doesn't outgrow the way too short maximum height at the township demands. Then I will call a couple of teen boys I know who might want some extra money and see if they are willing to push mow at the grandmothers while I get ours done. We have a family wedding on Saturday - small group, everyone vaxed - and then I have a gig piano job on Sunday (accompanying a violinist for a livestream and Mark is going with me, college boys are on a camping trip), so it will wait until that Monday for us to work something out. There is someone who mods the church around the corner for pay, so I am going to see if that person would be interested in the job.

[Melissa in Australia]

Can you grow succulents in your area? 

I have very very poor soil. It is in fact just sand, not soil at all. I live right by the sea. 

I have a very large succulent garden with gravel. It is completely matenance free. I have put some old spas in there as frog ponds. The anphibians and reptiles love it. 

I also have other gardens that have a lot of improving done and are way more work than lawn, but I planted them so I could have the fun of constant gardening. 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Melissa in Australia

[Carrie12345]

1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

This is what we've been doing over the last year. Not a wholesale swap out, but slowly and steadily adding more plants that are attractive to pollinators. We've thoroughly enjoyed watching the bees and butterflies this year. ETA: But on the other hand, there's a limit. Native plants are great, but native snakes (copperheads) are not. I don't think I'd ever feel comfortable having lots of plants and shrubs that I can't see under where we or the dogs walk a lot. So for that reason I expect we'll always have a decent amount of grass.

Yeah, we still have two kids who play outside and friends with smaller kids. Future grandkids, if we’re lucky. I picture a decent patch for lawn games… but in the back, where others can’t see, only cutting it when I darn well feel like it!

[JustEm]

The previous owners of our house loved landscaping with rocks instead of mulch. I absolutely hate it. Weeding around rocks hurts and since we don't spray weed killer it seems like we get so many more weeds than if we had mulch. We're actually in the process of getting rid of the rocks in the front yard entirely. We are almost at the point where we can add fill dirt to level it and just plant clover over it. 

That only solves the front of the house issue though. We have rocks running along the driveway, around our pool and fire pit. I hate weeding that I've just been planting things that are tall enough to hide the weeds and will attract birds and butterflies. Milkweed is going to eventually line our pool deck so I don't have to weed there ever again

[Scarlett]

41 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Not sure. Researching, seeing what the township allows. I doubt the grandmothers are going to do much more then keep cobbling together some kind of lawn service. We will try to change things here, and since we will sell at a loss when Mark does retire, whatever it is will be as inexpensive as we can make it. I am definitely going to look at clover. The mothers are 77 and 85. Not easy for them to change, and running out of savings. 

If they don't have anyone for next weekend, we will let it go and hope it doesn't outgrow the way too short maximum height at the township demands. Then I will call a couple of teen boys I know who might want some extra money and see if they are willing to push mow at the grandmothers while I get ours done. We have a family wedding on Saturday - small group, everyone vaxed - and then I have a gig piano job on Sunday (accompanying a violinist for a livestream and Mark is going with me, college boys are on a camping trip), so it will wait until that Monday for us to work something out. There is someone who mods the church around the corner for pay, so I am going to see if that person would be interested in the job.

They should be able to qualify for income based senior living.  

[Faith-manor]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

They should be able to qualify for income based senior living.  

We don't have that in our area. We live in a place that had very, very few public services or safety nets.

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

Our beautiful lush green lawns are gone. Replaced by meandering gravel paths and a series of planting areas that contain mixes of CA natives, herbs, drought-tolerants, and roses. I has taken me about 5 years (I work slowly) to create something I find beautiful, and still plenty to do.

I thought the one upside of getting rid of grass was that I'd never need to mow again. Little did I realize that my mixed beds would be far more labor intensive than a lawn.

What are you going to do?

Bill

 

If you were to do your landscaping over again, what plants would you keep, what would you have replaced with something different, and what would you have eliminated altogether?  We have two tiny grass patches remaining and we are debating about what to do.  I can't xeriscape entirely as we have no moisture at all for about 6 months of the year, so we're trying to sort this out before we have sprinklers put in and our landscaping reworked.  The watering by schedule is currently just too much....just enough to keep our roses and lavender alive, but taking up a few hours a week.

I don't want to create a maintenance monster. 

[*****]

Faith-manor, I didn't know you were in Michigan, I just thought the suggested wildflower site happened to be from Michigan.  My Code enforcement quote came from Southfield btw, small world!

[Spy Car]

36 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

If you were to do your landscaping over again, what plants would you keep, what would you have replaced with something different, and what would you have eliminated altogether?  We have two tiny grass patches remaining and we are debating about what to do.  I can't xeriscape entirely as we have no moisture at all for about 6 months of the year, so we're trying to sort this out before we have sprinklers put in and our landscaping reworked.  The watering by schedule is currently just too much....just enough to keep our roses and lavender alive, but taking up a few hours a week.

I don't want to create a maintenance monster. 

Don't listen to me, as I have created more work for myself than I could have imagined. Fortunately I go take pleasure in working in the yard, creating beauty, growing culinary herbs, feeding the local critters (we are a lizard sanctuary), bees and butterflies. I do try to support our local ecosystem.

But I keep hoping that as my garden matures it will need less care, and that's not the case so far. I always feel l like I'm 2 weeks behind. But passing neighbors always say the nicest things about my garden. Sometimes directly, but I often over hear comments when I'm or weeding and hidden.

As to plants, and why would you listen to me?, but I don't think I'd change one one of them. Nothing has been planted casually. I'd keep everything I've planted. The one fantastic element that did not work out was a long mass planting of Grosso lavender. I grow other lavenders in my yard, but this was to be a densely planted strip (that was framed entirely by a separate bed with white roses, purple sages, rosemary, russian sage, and the like. But I think I needed to further the drainage and lighten the native clay soil more than I did in this spot. So I either need to redo it (in my mind's idea is would be ideal, or just save the lavenders plants that did survive and incorporate them into a mixed border. I vacillate. The easier way my prevail.

On the other side of that pathway I have beautiful (to me anyway) Winifred Gilman CA native Salvia Clevelandii sage. Puts of lavender colored flower heads and the smell is the most amazing CA chaparral scent. 

I should be out pruning roses now. It's just too hot.

Creating a monster.

Bill

 

[KungFuPanda]

I'm conflicted.  I'm becoming increasingly obsessed with gardening in my dotage so I'm gradually shrinking my lawn.  I get that it's the environmentally friendly thing to do BUT, my lawn is the quickest and easiest part to take care of.  It's a mixture of grass, clover, and native weeds that looks like grass when it's cut.  I have a ryobi battery powered lawnmower that is so light that it feels like pushing a bubble mower and it sounds like a box fan.  Mowing my lawn is just taking a bit of a walk.  Weeding my flower beds is a lot more involved . . . even the low maintenance ones are more work than my lawn.  I've learned a bit late in the game that bushes are the way to go for less work, but you still have to mulch and weed quite a bit getting them established.  Getting everything mulched is more daunting to me than occasional mowing.  I probably only mow twice a month though since we don't have full sun anywhere.

[Clarita]

I love my bramble ground cover and over the summer we get bramble berries and my kids love to pick and eat them. The bramble chokes out all the weeds. As for the bees, wasps, and other pollinator, I've found them less aggressive now that I have more flowers and fruits in my yard for them.  We did have to amend our soil to put it in but we were switching from juniper and rocks. 

I also have a large piece of artificial turf in my back yard that I love. It's costly to install. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We have lavender, purple sage, thyme, rosemary, and some other bits altogether in a full sunlight environment. When I built the bed, I put in a good base layer of gravel. I do think it helps.

We are due to have another 4 day stretch of 100F weather here this week. My hydrangea barely survived the last round. My roses (David Austen cultivars) and borage (bees love this stuff!) did fine. I think I am getting clear signals from Mother Nature that I need to be moving towards xeriscaping/Mediterranean gardening as we are having so much temperature shift. I am going to pull the hydrangea this fall and replace into salvia and the like.
 

 

[KungFuPanda]

 

10 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

We have lavender, purple sage, thyme, rosemary, and some other bits altogether in a full sunlight environment. When I built the bed, I put in a good base layer of gravel. I do think it helps.

We are due to have another 4 day stretch of 100F weather here this week. My hydrangea barely survived the last round. My roses (David Austen cultivars) and borage (bees love this stuff!) did fine. I think I am getting clear signals from Mother Nature that I need to be moving towards xeriscaping/Mediterranean gardening as we are having so much temperature shift. I am going to pull the hydrangea this fall and replace into salvia and the like.
 

 

My plan is to go hard on the hydrangeas.  I will not rest until I have an oak leaf hydrangea in my yard.  We can get hot in the summer, but its more swampy than dry and I'm in the shade.  I have a whole list of bushes I plan to install over the next year or so.  I just have to draw up a realistic plan and stick to it.  I'm also obsessed with getting a dwarf hazelnut, a beach plum, a hardy kiwi, some witch hazel, a spice bush, etc, etc, etc . . . . . Just this year I figured out how to air layer my rhododendron and azaleas so I have some baby clones potted up and ready to add to my garden some day (if they survive).  So, yeah, my grass is shrinking but I'm definitely creating more gardening work for myself.

I also need to puzzle out how to create some sort of micro climate for my rosemary so I'm not bringing the thing inside for winter.  

[prairiewindmomma]

My rosemary has been in the ground for three years. I bought it as a $.99 teeny tiny thing, and it's now about as big as a basketball at the base.  I'm hoping it will eventually become a 4' monster, and at the rate that it's going, I think that's possible.  Rosemary actually is pretty darn hardy.  There are the cold weather versions like Arp which can handle -10F/zone 5 no problem. I just have the officianalis, and as long as you don't have long stretches under 30F it'll be just fine.  If you do, try to move it to a sheltered spot (like by a shed) or give it a gravel mulch that can act as a heat sink for sunlight.

I'm not sure what to do with my lavenders. My Spanish lavender is clearly happier than my English. My French lavender has gotten super woody this summer despite me keeping up on the trimming after each bloom. I had three bloom seasons last year because the weather was so mild, and I think all of that has pushed it to get woodier earlier. I'm going to re-mound and hard prune it next month to get it ready for fall and still let it have some time to settle in before it gets too cool.

[Spy Car]

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

We have lavender, purple sage, thyme, rosemary, and some other bits altogether in a full sunlight environment. When I built the bed, I put in a good base layer of gravel. I do think it helps.

We are due to have another 4 day stretch of 100F weather here this week. My hydrangea barely survived the last round. My roses (David Austen cultivars) and borage (bees love this stuff!) did fine. I think I am getting clear signals from Mother Nature that I need to be moving towards xeriscaping/Mediterranean gardening as we are having so much temperature shift. I am going to pull the hydrangea this fall and replace into salvia and the like.
 

 

Sounds like we enjoy similar plants. While I don't have any David Austin roses (which are beautiful) I do grow a lot of antique roses in back, many with forms that Austin used as models for his own creations.

I could not sustain hydrangeas, beautiful as they are, on our water. Too dry.

Bill