this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
12 points (100.0% liked)

No Lawns

2047 readers
34 users here now

What is No Lawns?

A community devoted to alternatives to monoculture lawns, with an emphasis on native plants and conservation. Rain gardens, xeriscaping, strolling gardens, native plants, and much more! (from official Reddit r/NoLawns)

Have questions or don't know where to begin?

Where can you find the official No Lawns socials?

Rules

Related Communities

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I have a house that's set back from the street about 100 feet and the yard is 120 feet wide. I don't water or fertilize but I still need to mow to keep it under control. Does anyone have any tips for a space that big that won't require an enormous amount of maintenance? I'd love to use primarily native species but the only thing that really seems to take off is thistle.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] stabby_cicada 7 points 1 year ago

The thing about invasive species is that they're invasive. If you want to fill your yard with native species, you have to keep protecting those native species and removing invasive species before they get a foothold, for years, until the invasive weed seeds in the soil bank have run out and the native species are big and healthy enough to outcompete whatever invasive seeds blow in.

Any other advice people would give you depends on where your yard is. In desert climates sand or stone can be low maintenance. In wetter climates, there are low and slow growing native ground covers that can replace grass (I've heard good things about clover). In prairie states, seed your yard with prairie grasses and put up a fence with a sign saying "rewilded prairie do not mow" ๐Ÿ˜†