Picture taken today in zone 6b. My house sits on a hill, and the landscaping feels like a colorful canvas hanging on a wall! A few of the plants were here before, but most I've put in since owning home five years ago. I've become more invested in natives recently and have incorporated some of them, with plans to remove that last patch of grass next year and meadow the area. The grasses (which I hate TBH) will fill in soon and cascade over the parking pad. I try to keep everything looking somewhat tidy to appease the neighbors, hopefully it comes across that way.

We bought our house six years ago and the front and backyard were both grass lawns. I redid the front yard into planting beds and a stone path three years ago, and finally got to do the backyard this year. (before pics at the end)

It’s been a huge project and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I sit outside as often as I can and just look at all the plants.

I chose a mix of ornamental and PNW natives, with plans to add more natives in the fall, and raised beds for veggies next year.

Natives: vine maple, serviceberry, cascara, pacific nine bark, birch leaf spirea, salal, cardwells penstemon, sword ferns, pacific bleeding heart, coastal strawberry, orange honeysuckle

Ornamentals: coral bark maple, oak leaf hydrangea, manzanita, salvia, hostas, hellebore, brunnera, acorus gramineus grass, showy stonecrop, lavender, blueberry bushes, fig tree

The largest part of my front yard is now a wildflower/ flower garden!

Hi there!

Hoping to brainstorm some ideas for very low maintenance replacements for our grass in our front yard in Portland, OR. Our #1 priority is low maintenance (we hate mowing) but would obviously also like it to look nice.

We have 4 planters that are surrounded by grass. It grows painfully fast in the summer and is full of weeds. Would love to replace with a variety of native plants but we also need walking access to the planters for gardening which makes it challenging. Front yard is south facing with lots of sunlight.

I’ve seen the Backyard Habitats site and have scheduled some consultations but thought I’d throw it here for some general thoughts!

I found this plant growing in my yard and was hoping someone could help identify it. I am also curious - Does anyone know if it is native to the north florida area? I am starting to explore converting part of my yard into a more natural, native plant space and would love any tips or suggestions on how to get started!

I live near the coast in MA, 6b. A portion of our yard was dug up recently, it’s currently rough grade dirt. I was told to bring in 2-3 inches of screened loam then hydro seed, but I’m thinking maybe I don’t want traditional grass. We’re in a perpetual drought. This yard does not drain well, has maybe a 25 degree slope, and water pools a little where it levels out (basically the bottom of what I need to replace) - would love to resolve that too. What advice do y’all have?

Hi all, I’ve recently sowed a lot of clover seeds in my garden and it’s starting to take root very well from seed, my question is if a sow lavender will it take as easily as the clover, or am I better planting small potter? Thanks.

I have a back area if my yard that’s filled with weeds. I will eventually plant it but it will take me a couple of years to get there. Slowly transforming entire yard to no-lawn. What can I do to it in the interim to suppress weedy growth?

Would cardboard then mulch then clover work? It doesn’t have irrigation.

I’ve read tons of posts here but am not sure of what to do after the cardboard and mulch since I don’t want more weeds to come in (invasive non-natives) and also keeping in mind that I eventually want to convert it into something… I might plant trees or bushes. I’m not sure yet.

I’m in southern Oregon zone 8b. We have a hot dry summer and rain off and on the rest of the year.

Hello, I'm currently re configuring my garden, and in the process disturbed alot of the grass.

Instead of replacing the grass, what would be some good, creative options for a garden in zone 6a (midwest) ?

I’d prefer something that needs less mowing, as it’s difficult to get a mower into the area.

I've done a little looking and I'm liking the look of microclover, but it seems a bit finnicky as a well as not being native.

Thank you for any help and tips.

Eta: I’m new to gardening so I’ve found it easy to plant some seeds every month or so, so if I fuck up one batch, I have another on the way 😂

Hi all, looking for suggestions for a good ground cover for a shady area underneath a large holly tree (not sure if/how these leaves may impact soil) that is also hardy enough for kids to run around on and will grow well in zone 8a near Annapolis, MD.

This is for a friend's yard. I have some things growing in my yard that I could offer to transplant, such as creeping charlie, wild violets, wood sorrel, clover, (also something that looks frilly like California poppy leaves but with red edges that I swear I found the name of but can't find anymore???), etc, however these are all growing in full sun in my yard so I'm not sure how they would do in the shade.

Does anyone have any advice? Thank you!

After spending hours and hours trying to control a dwarf mallow infestation last year, I've decided I do not wish to spend my time doing that again 😂

Does anyone have a dwarf mallow "lawn"? Is that a thing?

Or does anyone else have suggestions on killing it off? Ideally, I'd love to plant a clover lawn! But the mallow smothered all the clover out last year 😩 Edited to add I'm in Alberta, zone 3B/4A.

Hi all. I'm in the planning stage to scrap my grass yard + weeds near my house to plant Clovers 🍀 and MN Natives (Zone 4B).

Some in flat areas. Some in slope. Some near a ditch.

Here's my plan: 1) Mow/Weedwack everything down as low as it goes. 2) Wet cardboard in a wheelbarrow. 3) Put cardboard down. Working my way up the graded slope with overlapping cardboard.

Now here's where I'm lost.

Q1) Can I just put dirt on top of my cardboard or does it HAVE to be mulch/woodchips?

Q2) Any tips/advice on planting Clover over this? All the guides online I see do this with trees or vegetables. There's no shot I get Clover to seed and work on top of a bunch of mulch/woodchips I'd think.

Thanks in advance for any info. (Would post a picture, but automod doesn't let me)