this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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No Lawns

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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)

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I want to do something similar to our front yard, which is currently mostly grass as well. Also some patches for butterflies and bees will be needed.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

simple start is adding native clover and dandelion to the grass (and obviously not spraying herbicides or pesticides)

  • clover adds nitrogen (and was a traditional part of lawns up until WWII)
  • dandelions attract pollinators and every part of dandelions are edible
  • don’t trim/mow shorter than 6" (15cm) – triggers grass grazing response rather than damage response
  • once that’s established, then you can move onto planning and design
    • native wildflowers, bunching grasses, erosion control, vegetable garden, fruit trees
    • for a garden area, the turf can be flipped over for a basic sheet mulch starter
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Sounds lovely, I'm sure folks here would be delighted to see progress pics as you're working on it!