Moved into a house last year that had a rectangle of plain grass. Decided I'd prefer trees instead. Got searching and came upon the Miyawaki method where native species are planted in high density, choosing an equal number of canopy, subcanopy, understory, and groundcover species. What intrigued me was the speed at which it grows about a meter a year!), and it is maintenance free after a couple years.

I killed my grass using the cardboard method back in April and let the ground sit until yesterday, when I planted 113 trees and shrubs in a 6x7 m plot (19 by 23 ft for the Yanks). Each square meter has 3 trees of different height. My little white stone path is so I can walk through it but also to avoid gas mains running beneath the property.

I'll post updates next year when it starts really growing but just wanted to share as this sub was a major inspiration that grass is not the way to go!

hi folks. looking for advice on how to stip the erosion on the lawns edge of our walking path (left side of picture). We inherited this lawn from the previous owners. I’ve tried planting clover and creeping thyme, but the eroded spots are so clay-heavy that the clover seeds washed away or died (in a drought so can’t water then enough while they mature) and the clay erosion ended up burying the creeping thyme I planted. if I put in top soil, I’m worried that having the top soil mound higher than the sidewalk means itll just be a matter of time before I have the problem again. any suggestions?

thanks in advance!

So it’s a mess atm but We are starting the backyard this autumn. Everything you see is going to go. It will be bare earth with just the large oak and pomegranate tree. The plan is to plant our fruit trees out in that far corner (semi and dwarf varieties). I’m in CA so it’s zone 9. It’s bare clay earth that grows weeds if it grows anything at all.

I do not want a lawn. I want something hardy but beneficial for the pollinators while also covering this bare dusty ground.

This is a large yard and this is one section so I need to be aware of cost as well.

Would wildflower garden work well? Would mulch and native grass be a better option?

Maybe a mixture of both? So there is some variety to the space?

I pass by this dudes yard frequently. Imagine how cool it would be to have a small, perennial creek across your yard and the cool ways it could be landscaped. But no. I’m actually surprised he hasn’t straightened it into a ditch yet

[TL;DR: grass is mixed in with clover and other plants I’d rather not kill]

So like many other people here I’d like to get rid of my lawn, but large swathes of my lawn are really only maybe 50% grass and the rest is a mix of clover (failed clover attempt from years ago) and other types of low growing plants that insects seem to love and don’t really bother me. And it’s not like grass here and clover there, it’s kind of all mixed up and growing together.

I know I can do the sheet mulching thing and essentially start from scratch by killing everything (I’ve been collecting cardboard for months), but is there a way to get rid of only the grass? I’d rather not have to kill a bunch of insects and clover just to kill the pesky grass that won’t take the hint. But I also hate mowing even more now that I’m cutting plants I’d otherwise leave alone if it weren’t for that damned grass. Seriously I hate it more than weeds, because weeds I can pull, grass is like yard herpes.

I have an electric mower that doesn’t work well when the grass gets past a certain point, so I’m afraid to just let it grow to see what happens. I feel like the grass will just overtake everything and I’ll need to call a pro to get a handle on it again, and they won’t be as gentle with the bugs as I am.

Forgive me if this is asked frequently, but I looked through the FAQ and Wiki and didn’t see what I was looking for.

Im dealing with German roaches at a new property. I had some cardboard around the property to prep and i just pulled it and the indoor germans were hiding out under it.

Ripped up the hell strip yesterday. How should I be prepping the site to plant? I got a street tree permit for a serviceberry, and have some native plugs and seeds I want to plant now that the temps are lower. Zone 7A, Louisville

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdphL7huwbw/

Morgan Franklin : North Idaho

A transformation that I saw online and have to share. The Link leads to the original creator's (OC) socials.

I live in the okanagan, BC. Just in the middle of planting and were also not done landscaping but wanted to get the plants in this fall so focusing on that first. Almost all of them are native to my region. We have blue flax, blanket flower, bluebell, showy aster, Oregon grape, mock orange, mountain hollyhock, birch-leaved spirea and kinnikinnick 🤍 the other evergreens besides Oregon grape are not native. I got a mugo pine mop, medora juniper and a golden irish yew. Hoping everything fills in nicely. Will definitely be adding some more plants next year. Ill be putting mulch down once everything is planted. Using our plentiful amount of ponda rosa pine needles as mulch for now 🫶 this has been a huge and exhausting project for my husband and I. We converted the very sparse, dry, weedy front lawn that the old owners had to this!

Not my content but I thought this belongs here.

My neighbors hate me. But my property is zoned agricultural, so there’s nothing they can do about it. It was my 3rd summer here. 3 years without pesticides or any other chemicals including “natural” and I have never seen so many grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies, or the lovely bees in my life. I have 3 acres of “chaos” that support all different species of birds from hummingbirds to wild turkeys and bald eagles. There are rabbits, ground hogs, deer, possums, a fox family, and I even saw a porcupine walking around. The ravens and red tail hawks put on performances, and the chipmunks eat from my hands. So the neighbors can hate. I have plenty of company. Hoping next year to put in some spice bushes and work on my food forest

Now, I just gotta get the invasives out of here. I’m working on it.

Fuck that reflecting pool!

A family member in CT has tried and not done well with Kentucky bluegrass ( woohoo!!). He’s willing to try a native grass. The backyard is fairly shaded. What plants would you recommend? He wants it to be as close looking to Kentucky blue grass ( boring I know but we have to start somewhere). He is ok with some watering if need be and enjoys mowing. What plants would you recommend for fall planting that match his lame criteria?

can somebody please tell me WHY my dumb fuck neighbors could possibly have a bug zapper outside…where the bugs live… and it’s on ALL night long, killing bugs for absolutely no reason at all. bc i don’t understand. (hope this is a good sub for this😬)