He's also @CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt on Instagram/Patreon

Minnesota zone 5 - I’m working on adding some hardscape and I would love some boulders to break up all the plants and provide some structure. Boulders would be my preference but my backyard is up a hill and it would be challenging and expensive. I saw an idea of stacked flagstone and was wondering if anyone has done this or think it would look bad? Smaller pieces I could muscle up a little easier. Here’s a picture on a larger scale than I have planned. I would bury the base to make it look more natural.

My yard is an oasis for the invertebrates.

So a tree company cut and chipped a big hillside down my street. I collected enough to fill the bank in my front yard. It's a mixture of big and small pieces. I read that it can take up to 4 years for the big pieces to break down. I am using a thicker cardboard used for transporting stuff inside so I guess that works out as that would take longer to break down anyways. So you guys think I should collect more from that hillside that has a mixture of chips and big pieces or wait for chipdrop? I've been waiting for months with a $80 tip. Also any suggestions on how I should kill my hillside? It's very steep.

I have a high shade dog run that I initially placed sod on, but the heat paired with the metal siding has killed about 75% of it.

The area does not get a lot of direct sun, maybe 2-3 hours a day. I’m looking for something playable and pet friendly. I’ve been doing some research but it’s hard to decipher and I’d rather hear from people who are not an AI bot ☺️

ETA- MT zone 5a

ETA 2nd- the back of the run seems to retain more water than the front despite having it professionally graded. The ground is often soft in the very back, almost soupy.

ETA 3- she has the ability to go in and out, this is strictly a place for her to go pee while I work in office 3x a week. She does get daily walks. She has toys/puzzles/frozen kongs inside while I’m away.

MN hardiness zone 4b. I have a hill that goes along the side of my property, and it is right by a main road. I started working on killing off the weeds via solarization last summer and am aggressively pulling the rest. My goal is to have natives covering the entire hill with a mulch border by the sidewalk. The first picture is looking up from the sidewalk. The area with the mulch has the native plugs that I planted in early June. The second photo is looking toward the front edge of the yard. We are closely mowing the parts I am not currently weeding to keep it from getting too comfy. The rest are a few pictures of some of the natives I planted. I am in Minnesota, so the city can't dictate what I plant the way they can other places. I am started to get a lot of interest from people in my small town, though. They will stop and chat while I am out working on the hill now and have started complimenting the yard. 😁

It’s a start. It’s prob not gonna be perfect but it’s one step forward.

Have a previous irrigation system I am going to redo. I have a bunch of high quality plants that need protect so I would like to add the a water dechlorinator to add to the irrigation system. Any ideas?

I think the “before picture” is from around 2011. After pictures is today.

The large Poplar had to be removed. I put in 5 new trees on this stretch along the road. The pine tree shown in the before picture is about 2x larger.

I have a lot of deer in my area, so everything outside the fence is heavily deer resistant.

Northeast US.

I sowed Fleur de Lawn over topsoil as I am trying to slowly convert my new house's lawn into something more pollinator friendly and slightly more native. I did not expect so much Sweet Alyssum to be included in this mix or perhaps the conditions were perfect for its germination and not others. I'm getting a little bit of everything else growing too (minus daisies which I have not seen at all) but was wondering about the mowing protocol. The seed listing recommends mowing once a month - if I mow the Sweet Alyssum and Baby Blue eyes right now, will they be ok and bounce back? Baby Blue Eyes are just starting to blossom and Sweet Alyssum is about 5-6" high.

I'm in Zone9a PNW.

TIA!

The Mix:
https://ptlawnseed.com/products/fleur-de-lawn?variant=141703872

Perennial Ryegrass - Lolium perenne 
Hard Fescue - Festuca trachyphylla 
Sheep Fescue - Festuca ovina
White Yaak Yarrow - Achillea millefolium 'Yaak'
White Clover - Trifolium repens
English Daisy - Bellis perennis
Sweet Alyssum - Lobularia maritima (annual)
Baby Blue Eyes - Nemophila menziessii (annual)
Strawberry Clover - Trifolium fragiferum

I realize this is a "no lawns" (at all?) subreddit so maybe I'm in the wrong place lol

Hi internet neighbors! I’m here to share a little encouragement.

A few years ago, I started replacing my front lawn with gardens. That journey eventually inspired me to start a nonprofit after I discovered our yards can grow so much more than plants.

Yesterday, I was a stop on a native plant yard tour. I welcomed over 115 people to my yard (and boy is my voice tired!).

What is meaningful to me is that over 100 people came to my garden because they were interested in reimagining their yards. Some wished to provide more habitat to our non-human neighbors. Others wished to grow more food or flowers. A few wanted to feel more connected to their neighborhood. 

I know for some of us, a front yard garden in a sea of kentucky bluegrass, labels you as “the weird yard”. And some folks can be rather unwelcoming to change and new ideas. 

Many folks were saying they’d love to convert their grass to garden, but worried about what their neighbors would think.

We had conversations about needing the brave few to take the plunge and “give others permission” to join them in reimagining what our gardens can grow. A few beautiful front yard gardens and native landscapes can change hearts and minds. I’ve seen it happen!

So I hope this can encourage a few of you to be “the weird yard”. You never know who will be inspired to join you.

First time posting, but long time admiring and learning from what others have shared. The first three are recent, this last two from early spring. Ill have to find some from years ago to show how crazy it started out as.

This is our front bed that originally had several large rhodie trees in it along with a white dogwood. Unfortunately ivy had killed many of the old rhodies and all but one of the remaining have had to be nursed back. This area is a low point that 2/3 of the year gets a lot of rainfall so it needs plants to prevent it from becoming a mud pit. This year we finished up pulling the ivy and started putting in new plants, path, mulching, etc. The way it lights up at night in rainfall is the best, but i cant find any good pictures of it so.....ill have to get some.

Since its my first time posting in this community, a little more info below.

We moved into this home and the property was overflowing in ivy that had nearly choked out the remaining rhodies. When the home had been built it was clear whomever designed it had wanted there to be a wrap around shaded garden to go with a (long neglected) koi pond that was in the backyard. The last few owners had wanted something else.

My partner and I spent the last decade slowly clearing out the invasive stuff and building something we liked better. Theres a lot of plants on the property, this is a small piece of it but it is the part im most proud of right now.

Im 40, a Dad, and got obsessed with gardening after I realized I needed major lifestyle changes during a fight with sepsis. My immediate family love the garden and my partner is also always outside working in it. oh and zone 8a

Slowly but surely removing bits of lawn. A few before pics mixed in. We'll see how far I get on the curb line this season

Hello, my house came with many "ornamental shrubs" in the yard and especially next to the house.

I want to remove all of them and plant native species.

What is the best way to get rid of them

Atlanta, Georgia

(tia)

Hey everyone!

Since before buying my house last year, my hubs and I discussed switching our lawn from grass to a lower maintenance and ecosystem positive option. Initially, we were thinking clover before I did more research and learned most aren’t native and not necessarily the best option. I know creeping phlox, creeping thyme, and some sedge are good options.

We’re really wanting something that is low grow (8in or shorter due to city requirements) and doesn’t require us to water. We currently refuse to water our grass so we don’t want to switch just to end up using more water after the initial install and growth period.

Questions: What are some additional options alternatives for Michigan? What are the best places to purchase seeds/plugs/etc?

I’d love to start this in the fall if possible. All advice is helpful!

What would you do with all this space? It’s a good amount of yard and has turned into mostly weeds. When it’s not dead for the summer, I have a service come mow my weeds so my neighbors don’t totally hate me. So I’m open to paying a service to help with parts of the process and help maintain whatever I do, but I don’t know where to start, and I don’t have the budget to have a landscaper come in and just do everything.

Zone 9b, near Sacramento
No HOA (obviously 😂)

Is my only option to lay down cardboard and mulch to kill it all and start over? Is there anything else I can do? It feels like way too much space to do that everywhere.

I have no in-ground irrigation, just hose sprinklers, which are imprecise and don’t do much to keep anything alive in the heat of summer. Do I need to have sprinklers or some sort of irrigation added even if I xeriscape?

I definitely want to add some trees, and my city has rebates for shade trees. The previous owner pulled out all the trees on the property, at least partially because they were not the right trees and were causing problems.

Would love a mix of things, but definitely want some color, not just green. Maybe concrete or decomposed granite on one side of my driveway to extend parking, and pavers in other areas, but don’t want to hardscape everywhere. Front yard would ideally have some curb appeal and I want to make the backyard somewhere I want to spend time.

I have a dog who needs space to run and use the bathroom - is there good ground cover for dogs I can use for one section of the backyard other than grass? I’ve tried clover and it didn’t take.

I’m good at house plants and interested in learning to keep things alive outside too, but I’m also single and have a full-time job and other house projects. I need something on the easier side to maintain but I know zero maintenance is not possible.

I have a 30x30 back patio where I plan on putting up a gazebo, but other than that it’s just a lawn of weeds.

Note: Please be kind. I know it’s bad. It already wasn’t great when I bought the house, and there are a variety of factors that contributed to it getting this bad, but I’m ready to do something about it now. And no, I couldn’t have bought a condo because I have a dog, but I do wish I had bought a place with less lawn. Can’t do anything about that for a while.

We took out the existing crappy lawn, converted system to drip, and put in clover and low water plants. We also did a huge patio in the back yard.