new research debunks trad views on nutrition

[AntiqueB]

But many neighborhoods have laws regarding lawns, and let me tell you, they usually don't encourage biodiversity, water conservation, or sometimes even gardens.

 

[Folly's place]

Yet another reason to live in the 'boonies'!!!
We do have neighbors who seem to want that golf course look, but not us, and they just have to look our way and be sad, or whatever.
And we installed a mile of woven wire fencing after moving here, and there's no way it gets weed wacked!
Mary
If you don't know what poison hemlock look like, look it up! It's everywhere here in southern Michigan.

 

[BDutch]

But many neighborhoods have laws regarding lawns, and let me tell you, they usually don't encourage biodiversity, water conservation, or sometimes even gardens.

Things have changed here over the last decade. In my country and more countries in the EU, they encourage citizens and municipalities to enhance biodiversity and to let the water soak into the soil.

 

[AntiqueB]

Sadly, not so much in the US. My neighbor tried to plant a wildflower lawn, and got cited by the town. That's common.

 

[Sally PB]

One of our neighbors is going to plant a wildflower garden in his yard so that he doesn't have to mow it. Fine by me!

 

[saysfaa]

Two houses/states ago, we were told if we did not water the lawn we would lose the foundation of our house because the ground would shift that much. Having seen the massive cracks the dried clay left at the parks in town, I believe it. I don't think it was just that the soil was clay. i think it was the type of clay plus the wet winters and hot, dry summers. Possibly also the steep hills but the ground at the parks split wide open even on the flat areas so I don't know about that.

 

[saysfaa]

One of our neighbors is going to plant a wildflower garden in his yard so that he doesn't have to mow it. Fine by me!

My daughter-in-law's father is doing that. He is doing a meadow version of it. He's doing it partly because he didn't want to mow and partly because he is into providing bird and pollinator habitat. I think is lovely, even though it was pretty early in the year for much to be blooming when I saw it. He didn't say anything about pushback by neighbors or anyone.

 

[Sally PB]

We're ecstatic about it. More flowers for the honeybees! And other pollinators too.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

For anyone planting a no-lawn wildflower garden:
1) Don’t rely entirely on a bagged seed mix. They’re often mostly annuals and don’t last long. Add living plants from a good garden store.
2) Since successful wildflower gardens are mostly herbaceous (die back in winter) perennials, they follow a similar pattern to woody shrubs and trees: Year 1: sleep Year 2: creep Year 3: leap! So the first year, it may look a little thin, but beginning the second year, it really takes off!

To keep neighbors (and anxious family members) calm, do some judicious weeding when you can, because nuisance weeds delight in newly exposed ground. But it’s so worth it!

 

[saysfaa]

You also don't have to transition the whole yard in one go. He's been widening the borders by significant amounts every year, adding islands of bushes or flowers, and still mowing the rest but less often.