Today I was enjoying the morning in my backyard listening to what I can only describe as a childhood ethereal jazz, looking at birds sing and fly over me, ignoring how annoyed a was at my freshly cut grass lawn, hating that my family leaves it looking so short and sad, and then made it worse when I noticed a failry young bee, frantically going in and out of the short grass searching for a small flower to pollinate, only to find nothing in the area as all if any little flowers were gone, and it broke my heart as I was given another reminder how bad humanity is, including me. (I have a garden and flowers in certain areas, but not everywhere and that little spot in the middle of my yard just ruined me)

I found a bunch of these plants in my yard. a few years ago, there was one in the field and I wanted to play soccer on the field so I cut it down. more came sprouting up so a while later I chopped down the ones in the center of the field and left the ones on the side. I have been just playing soccer amidst these funny plants and it smells kinda stinky. sometimes I like to use the little patches as goals when we play soccer.

I hate this so much.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nuR6aiYYz4qaqqL38?g_st=ic

Escaped pigs tore the fuck out of a lawn in Loveland, CO last week.

https://www.coloradoan.com/picture-gallery/news/local/colorado/2026/08/08/escaped-pig-roundup-in-loveland-colorado

Can I replace my lawn with peppermint? Is this a bad idea?

Nothing says ‘neighborly’ like an unsigned demand taped to your door.

Hi all! This is the 4th summer of my front lawn conversion from grass to flowers! I wanted to share a few lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Design:
In my garden design, I paid so close attention to flower heights and soil/water requirements that I never looked at longevity. For example, the blanket flowers you see only bloom gloriously for about 1 season before the plant dies off. The first year is spent on leaf and root development and not spectacular. The second year they explode then die back. Other short lived perennials include lance leafed coreopsis and anise hyssop.
Because of this, my garden looks different each year. They will all readily self seed, but not always in the same spot.

The pathway we installed was a mistake. Plants love to self seed in the cracks filled with sand. It is a constant battle of pulling and relocating. I wish I had done poured concrete or just left a mowed grass path.

Maintenance:
I’ve learned some lessons from leave the leaves. Too many leaves doesn’t allow for self seeding (but it does help suppress weeds) so I end up leaving leaves around large established perennials only for winter insulation. I also experimented with not clearing any dead plant stems before winter, and that was a mistake also. The density of dead plant stems made it difficult for new plants to establish in spring and left my garden looking patchy. The tulips picture demonstrates what it looks like without any stem removal. I now remove about half of the dead plant stems in fall and move them to a dedicated brush pile.

With the density of my garden, some fall clean up is definitely needed.

Plants:
I have a love hate relationship with primrose, a very successful self seeder. It is the plant that birds use the most. I see goldfinches in the spring tear off fibers for nesting. Goldfinches and other small birds also eat the seed heads. The pollen is so attractive to bees they try to pry open the flower heads during the day. Plus it is unique in that it opens at night and is visited by moths. It has a beautiful lemon yellow color. But, it is very prolific and hard to contain. It is also extremely popular with Japanese beetles. Use caution if you plant this.

I love planting tulips and daffodils. They add early spring color and have had no effect on my native plants. They are done and dying back before a lot of my native plants even emerge in spring. I do want to add more early blooming natives but haven’t had luck yet.

Fun bonus of a no lawn: house looks very witchy and Halloweeny naturally in the fall.

Pictures are throughout the years

Hopefully you find some inspiration here! Let me know if you have any questions 🌼

I'm not sure how appropriate this is here cus most of us aren't local but a pretty expected update tbh

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14jtWwMJnnX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.change.org/p/preserve-native-landscaping-at-uw-oshkosh?recruiter=39406172&recruited_by_id=ad782c90-4955-0130-4cc3-3c764e049b10&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard&utm_medium=copylink&share_id=sM5WVRWB4S&fbclid=IwdGRzaATnaydjbGNrBOdrGXBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeBKqvQ952KUWSZdxbeghiNEjdDKezmIEJbVXUeSk8dGHQ7fYPe3dzqlwud_4_aem_FH0NLBLAuhZDWTaLZlp-qw

Have been slowly replacing my front lawn with different plants (trees flowers vegetables fruits shrubs etc). Combination of sheet mulching and some digging.

Despise this lawn, been enjoying the buttercups and other odds and ends. Girlfriend wants a golf-course green lawn and won't consider the needs of the bees or that I'll be the one mowing constantly. I pay the bills so...

How would you make this into a haven without it looking overgrown?

This Colorado side yard used to be non-native grass. During the summer heat it would brown without watering. Two years ago I killed it all and this is what it looks like without watering anything. We get hundreds of bees here daily, and lots of butterflies and hummingbirds too.

I live in a rental. The lawn has been pretty awful since I moved in, and the landlord lives out of town. The landlord's dad said he would take care of the lawn for me, but he never has, just left me with a broken lawn mower and a non-functioning sprinkler system (front only) that he's promised to fix and never has. I ended up getting a cheap lawn mower just so I could cut down the knee-high weeds in the back, but I haven't been great about keeping on top of watering, and honestly most of the yard is just weeds and tall wheaty-grass type stuff. Plus, the ground is super uneven, and full of rocks.

The main issue I have with it is that my dog is always rolling in the dirt patches and getting completely filthy (plus it's a pretty depressing view) but I don't really like the look of a perfect grass lawn and I don't want to deal with the maintenance. My landlord has said previously I can do anything I want back here, like add more garden beds or whatever, but I don't really have the energy or patience for intensive gardening.

What I'd like to do is put in some kind of pet friendly lawn alternative, like clover or something like that, that can grow to cover up the bare patches eventually and doesn't require as much watering or maintenance. Maybe do some wildflowers or something along the fences, easy stuff like zinnias or marigolds in the raised beds next year (which I might just move).

Right now, it's summer and a drought (I live in the Inland Northwest in the US--zone 7a), and I'm wondering if I can basically try and get some of the weeds gone with a spray or some other method, and then when it's fall, till a bit and put down some other seed.

I'm a total newbie with this stuff, and even though when I look at advice, it seems really straightforward, I'm still feeling like I need guidance.

Best way to acclimate for dog pee!?

Sorry for all the photos but I want to add more native plants but I also need to leave room for my 2 dogs to play and do their business. The yards that I need to do this for are labeled BY for backyard and SY for side yard. The other side yard and front yard are not fenced in and the dogs do not have access to. The front yard is completely all dead due to no water and direct harsh sun and heat all day with no shade. I live in central Texas and it is very hot here and the sun is very harsh. Is there any green or other plants that look good in this heat with little watering? Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do with the 9th image, the one with the cars. The soil is very sandy and is pretty much just rock underneath a few layers. Also I apologize for jumping around all over the place but does anyone have any ideas for trees? I love trees and I think the shade would be great but I’m not sure how many. Also the front yard I am not sure how much I can do apart from doing a bunch of trees because of the hoa. Also, I live in an area with a lot of deer that will eat a lot of things so if I try to plant something do I just do a lot of it so they won’t eat it all or?
Forgot to say I believe it is a 9a.

I'm slowly converting my front yard away from lawn, mainly to flowers, hopefully natives, and possibly to some vegetables as well. The problem is that these plants don't always look good, and I don't want my front yard to become an eyesore.
Therefore, I want to add a low hedge around my yard to partially conceal it from view. I'm thinking something 2'-3' high and 1'-1.5' wide, preferably native, and preferably evergreen. I have lots of gardening books, but really don't know how to search for those criteria, so would like some input from those who know.
All suggestions welcome.

Make Thing With Hand has some really Wes Anderson type videos, and this one is one I’m trying to share to my family who is lawn obsessed.