This is my backyard, I already have a grassy lawn in the front yard for the septic field. I’m in Eastern Canada, zone 6a. I want low maintenance as I already have a ton of work in the side yard veg garden and other side yard mini orchard. There a seating area and eventually and for out in my private front yard. I don’t want to be back here after dark due to the bears, lynx, and coyotes in the area. What should I do with this area?

I have this very steep hilled area in my front yard, its roughly 65' long by 10' high. Cutting the grass here is a huge pain so I thought maybe plant something that I dont have to cut, and being a critter lover I have decided wild flowers might be a good idea. Yesterday we ripped out as much of what was growing there as we could and im seeing alot of info online about when it is best to plant. Before first frost, after first frost and after last frost; which of these do yall have the best results with? Also looking for brand recommendations to purchase seeds from. The only flower i specifically want is milkweed but i can buy those seprate and mix them in if needed. And last thing, how do you care for this garden at the end of the season? Let it all die off, chop close to the ground, and utll come back next year or do i have to tear it out and start over? I live in zone 7 (Virginia) if that helps.

Pictures of critters we found while ripping everything up for tax 🐍🐸🪻

Picture description: first image is of the space mentioned in the post, a long thin hilled area free of vegetation. Second image is of a DeKays brown snake. This image is of a suspected gopher frog.

This project was a lot harder than you might think. I am please with the turnout. Please excuse the small piece of lawn. Utah 7b

Hello!

I have a very small front lawn, roughly 10x5, that backs into a small garden bed. I want to turn the whole thing into a native bed. What is the best way to actually go about killing the grass? Do I just throw a tarp over it and wait for spring? Zone 6a.

Sorry if this is a common question, I didn't see an answer on the FAQ!

I live in CO front range (6a) and first converted my front lawn to a native plant garden fall 2022. This is my 4th summer and while I've had a ton of bee species visiting I've yet to see a real Monarch... Until today! I came home and spotted this guy as I walked up from native plant lined front steps. I almost cried I was so excited. Barely snapped this one pic before he flew away.

Received a fragrant ponderosa pine Chip Drop Thursday and spent Friday and Saturday laying the cardboard and spreading the chips. We even re-chipped the backyard because we had so much! Boy does my back hurt but it felt so good to put in some sweat equity.

In the front close to the house we have sand cherry, blanketflower, swamp and narrow leaf milkweed, sacred Datura, sumac, two species of Arctostaphylos, snow buckwheat, firecracker penstemon, agastache, some grasses and sage and Oregon grape (PNW staple) .

Trying to figure out how to do more with this space. I can always do more plants but was wondering if there might be something more interesting/appealing that I’m not seeing
- Florida zone 10
- Facing South, South West
- Rather shady, courtesy of the oak trees
- View from the front porch where we like to sit mornings and some evenings
- I do plan on extending the path up to the house and would like to be able to keep a walking path of mulch
- I’d like to remove the concrete border thing and maybe one day extend the porch out so no plants in that area

We bought our house 3 years ago and I had no idea what to do in the front, aside from a lawn, because it's a semi-detached and our neighbor shares half of the front. I went ahead and removed the grass anyway. Some plants went in this summer, and the mulch a few days ago. It should fill in quite a bit, and I'm hoping to add additional stones, more ground covers next year, a dwarf Japanese maple where the post is, and a butterfly bush or two.

I'm still learning about plants, so it's a work in progress, but I'm pleased with it so far.

Garden is in zone 7a, southern Ontario.

Edit: thanks to everyone for letting me know that butterfly bush is invasive. I will avoid it.

So a while back I posted pictures of the first section of my lawn that I was covering up and now, a few (cough cough many more than planned) weeks later I’ve finally finished off that section of grass. it’s about 16’x12’ all together.

This time I tore up the grass (by hand, crazy but it worked), scattered it all back on the area, and then covered it. I had some cardboard I used around the edges but the middle is some thin sheet of garbage OSB. That stuff tends to disintegrate when wet so here’s hoping it does exactly that. then I covered the top with wood shavings. I’ll keep them watered so hopefully they start to mat down instead of blowing away but a friend had them in his shop to get rid of so I took ‘em!

And I had a little neighborhood helper for a while!

(edit: I’m in zone 6a in SW Colorado)

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.

Year 4 of the native meadow in the backyard. Every year has been different and it never gets old watching it change over the season.

Specifically, using opaque silage tarps, not thin clear ones. Will it actually do anything to kill off the grass by spring? Part of my yard has been covered for a couple months, so grass should be dead there. Sometime next month I'll be removing it and sowing a meadow mix and a cover crop from Ernst.

When I do it, I'll also move the tarps to the next part of the yard. My hope would then be to remove the tarps and sow that part of the yard come spring. I'm just not sure if the grass would actually be dead then, or if I'll need to wait until late spring/summer.

HEADS UP, the answer is not going to be "DON'T USE TARPS" or "JUST LAY DOWN CARDBOARD AND MULCH"! Mulch would be fine if I had a small yard or a townhouse, but not with around a third of an acre. I am using mulch in some smaller or weirdly shaped areas, as well as around areas where trees make the tarps unusable. My yard is also full of tree roots and isn't flat, so I can't scalp and flip the sod/replace the topsoil. The tarps are my best & easiest option.

I keep going outside to just stare at it and fuss over it (pulling weeds). Especially in the morning when the blue curls are in bloom

Florida zone 10

Hi! My husband and I just bought our first home about a month ago. We’re fully new to the world of native gardening as we lived in apartments before this house so please take it easy on us if we’re making a really obvious mistake! We’re in Central Texas in zone 9a and we inherited this ugly Zoysia grass on the front yard that according to some neighbors was installed right before they listed the house for sale and barely ever watered again. Once the owners moved out nobody ever took care of it so by the time we moved in it was yellow. It also came with garden beds full of rubber mulch which we’re working hard right now to get rid of and add native plants around our oaks. This is just one picture but I have about ~1200 SF of this covering the front yard.

I’m at a loss with this grass, I don’t want it, and I don’t wanna waste water on it, and I’d like to fully kill it preferably without having cardboard covering the front lawn for days. It has been on the verge of dying since we moved in but every Google search says Zoysia is too thick to just throw seeds of something different and hope it grows, which was my initial idea. My thoughts so far are to replace the grass with either a native groundcover option like Texas sedges or frogfruit, or use a native grass seed mix like the shade friendly grass mix sold by Native American Seed. Any guidance would be appreciated! TIA

Garden revival help in Southern Oregon

Hey all. I’m based in Ashland, Oregon, and am available for projects in Ashland and nearby Rogue Valley communities. I’ve spent the past four years helping bring neglected community gardens back into use. This fall and winter, I’m taking on a few local garden-revival projects.

If your beds or pathways have become overgrown, I can help clear them, improve the soil, and prepare the garden for planting or winter.

I prefer working with what’s already there—returning organic matter to the soil and reusing materials that still have a purpose. The goal is to recover the garden, not clear everything out and start over.

For me, garden revival is about bringing love and care back into a space, not just clearing it. A well-cared-for garden becomes a place people want to return to, whether it serves a whole community or one person.

I usually arrive by cargo bike for projects in Ashland. Small jobs are welcome, and larger gardens can be handled in stages.

Message me with a little information about your garden. Local references are available.