Less Lawn, More Green

Oh, the satisfaction of having the perfectly manicured, weed-treated, uniform looking lawn!  That's not our lawn.  If you live in a restricted subdivision, chances are that's your only choice, even if you'd like to stray from convention.  Funny how, despite his complaining about the time it takes, my husband enjoys his lawn mowing machines and their short-lived results.  The truth is that our imperfect lawn is very wildlife friendly, attracting numerous bees and butterflies, because clover and wildflowers are thriving in it.  We're continually adding little spots of flower beds or leaving native woodland plants intact.  If you're a lawn conformist, you can gasp and stop stop reading here.

Wild Trillium in our Yard

We have the combined challenges of a larger-than-average sized yard, trying to use organic methods, and being the typical busy family.  It makes for a cosmetically imperfect lawn, even though I feel better about my children playing in it than if it got sprayed each week with conventional chemicals.



Wild Strawberry Fruit






Wild Strawberry Flower



I admit being unable to keep up with the dandelions this year.  The girls and I also love the wild strawberry plants that provide flowers and fruit for the local wildlife.  The strawberries keep trying to grow, despite what the mower does to stunt them.

One compromise we've found is the idea of a mountain-like path up the hill in our backyard.  My husband has just barely started it, but he intends to cover the path with mulch.  We've been discussing various plants that can act as erosion barriers in new flower beds around the path, while reducing the need for so much mowing.  I'd like to see some of our native ferns there (if they can get enough shade), maybe some sort of phlox, and perhaps a few rescued wild strawberry plants.



Beginning of New Path/Flower Beds