I don't watch HGTV but I do like the idea of having something that's more native to the area. We have a thick tree cover, so why am I fighting to have a green lawn?
A few people in our neighborhood have replaced lawns with mulch and native plants, and I think it looks really cool. Plus our tree guy says it's better for the trees.
The big question: How's the actual upkeep? And is pine bark mulch the answer?
Our lot is 95% natural. No upkeep at all because the plants know how to live here. The only stuff that needs maintenance is where we are trying to impose our will on the land. I like the fact that it looks like it belongs- we live in a certain climate and region, we're not pretending we're in some idealized generic suburb.
This is easier to do in the desert than in the jungles of Florida. We don't need mulch or anything to control growth.
I think it's a great idea. Start a build thread!
In reply to David S. Wallens :
My mom is part of a Native plant group up in SC. Clemson University up there runs a program where they help people. Might be something like that down here.
Well that wasn't hard to find.
Cool enough, or through being cool?
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-6170363-1419014344-7180.jpeg.jpg)
Once the new shop is done I intend to keep working the rest of the yard toward stuff that wants to live here and doesn't need me to dump a bunch of water on it for four months.
What I don't have is Florida-specific info. I know the areas I've mulched take considerable effort to keep relatively clear of stuff I don't want but which is happy to grow here, native or not. There's no substitute for local, pro info. Or agricultural extension programs? I'd be wondering what sort of ground cover will actively crowd out weeds.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I live where native is not allowed so rather than waste my time doing lawn care I pay someone $35 a week for him to do everything. My lawn has never looked so good.
I do have the advantage of living on a lake so a flip of a switch pumps fish pee and turtle turds diluted with water on my grass for me.
Stampie (FS) said:Well that wasn't hard to find.
Yeah, plus I talked with someone from UF about native plants a while back while getting my potato vine beetles. So, hmmm. But am I cool enough? (Not Devo cool, just regular cool.)
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Well since you're cool enough for potato vine beetles then I say yes. Although I thought releasing my beetles was kinda anticlimactic.
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
Yeah, they just kind flew away or hung out. I expected more theatrics.
David S. Wallens said:In reply to Stampie (FS) :
Yeah, they just kind flew away or hung out. I expected more theatrics.
Give it a year, potentially. Noticed aphids all over all of my plants one year, so I bought some ladybugs and released them on the garden and yard.
Aphid levels dropped enough for me to be happy, but not 100%. I forgot about em for long enough for the eggs they laid to hatch. Boom. Ladybug larvae everywhere.
They kept hatching for two or three years. It was awesome.
I wasn’t cool enough to know it had a name, but I guess neglect counts... at lest it looks the same 
Jesse Ransom (FFS) said:Cool enough, or through being cool?
Once the new shop is done I intend to keep working the rest of the yard toward stuff that wants to live here and doesn't need me to dump a bunch of water on it for four months.
What I don't have is Florida-specific info. I know the areas I've mulched take considerable effort to keep relatively clear of stuff I don't want but which is happy to grow here, native or not. There's no substitute for local, pro info. Or agricultural extension programs? I'd be wondering what sort of ground cover will actively crowd out weeds.
Ground cover is just a weed that you want.
Mr_Asa said:David S. Wallens said:In reply to Stampie (FS) :
Yeah, they just kind flew away or hung out. I expected more theatrics.
Give it a year, potentially. Noticed aphids all over all of my plants one year, so I bought some ladybugs and released them on the garden and yard.
Aphid levels dropped enough for me to be happy, but not 100%. I forgot about em for long enough for the eggs they laid to hatch. Boom. Ladybug larvae everywhere.
They kept hatching for two or three years. It was awesome.
Oh, the potato vine beetles have been busy. I have been part of the release two or three times, and you can see that they're still eating. Just kinda expected lightning bolts or something when opening the container.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
That is true, too.
TIL that Xeriscape is a word.
I love the idea but unfortunately, my estate would quickly return itself to its past life as a Poison Ivy and Pricker Bush Farm.
Rocks. Rocks are the answer. Well, stones really and if you're feeling fancy rocks. That's what most of my yard is and I love it. Maintenance consists of blowing leaves and pine needles out a couple of times a year. We've got a 10 x 60 section of green stuff that looks like grass from a distance but is really herbs. Mostly thyme. Every couple of weeks my wife cuts it with the reel type push mower. It takes her seven minutes and makes the yard smell like pizza.
I just finished mulching my entire backyard and some of the front. Used cardboard, then whatever mulch the treecutters would bring me (it's free). I'm doing it for planting, not for reduced upkeep, just so you're aware.
I laid down 8" of mulch on top of the cardboard (which I got from an appliance store for free), and it's mostly suppressing the "weeds" (Oxalis) that grew like crazy the past winters (where I live stuff grows during the winter aka rainy season).
I will say though, that Oxalis is still growing. It gets blown in and begins to re-naturalize the land. Nature hates a vacuum. My neighbor has a Xeriscaped yard, and she still has a gardener come once a week to weed wack. She doesn't have rocks all over though, so maybe that works better.
If you put in a native groundcover, or something that you know will thrive, you may get it to naturalize the area instead of something else.
Regardless, I am with you, grass doesn't do it for me. Lots of upkeep (water and energy) with little benefit.
You can see in the middle of the picture where some oxalis is starting to grow in patches. It was either blown in, or the seed was in the mulch. The growth around the French drain is because there is a small space where no cardboard is. Basically, that gives you an idea of what it was like last winter. This is after only 4ish months. I don't care, as it dies off when the days get longer, but just wanted to give some real world experience of what happened when I just put down cardboard and 8" of mulch. It's obviously reducing the amount of it, as you can see around the French drain, but as they say, nature finds a way.
Picked this up at a '91 Xeriscape conference, still wear it. Had a design/build biz and predominantly indigenous/xeric nursery in Vegas at the time. Did a lot of xeric designs. A solid design and consistent maintenance is the key to xeric gardening. They can be a lot of fun and very gratifying. They can also look like E36 M3.
Retirees headed to the Southwest miss the green lawns, lets put one in! Hence the big water shortage .....
Yes David, you're cool enough, and if it is conducive to the local environment, it may maintain itself. =~ )
The answer in much of the SE is Zoysia. Not sure how well it grows in the shade in FL, but... maybe? The stuff is magical once its well established. Its as close to zero-maintenance as I could possibly imagine. No watering, fertilizing, mulching etc. Just mow it, but it grows so damn slow you only mow like once every 3 weeks or a month.
I replaced some huge mulch beds with rocks. You don't have to add to it every year like you do with mulch, but other than that, its far from zero maintenance. Blowing out leaves / hedge clippings is a pain, and weeds will grow in between the rocks (even above the weed barrier) if any organic material whatsoever gets in there (inevitable).
In reply to 914Driver :
Paraphrasing Edward Abbey...there is plenty of water in the south west. The problem is there are too many people.
I just had a truck load of wood chips dumped in my front yard with the intention off killing all the scraggly grass and letting the natural greenery take over. We're culling the invasive plants and putting in local native stuff. We put down a layer of cardboard then spread the wood chips over it.
We have a neighbor that did something similar. Mulched the entire yard and planted whatever crossed her mind. Lots of banana trees and flowers.
The neighborhood Facebook page went postal. The manicured lawn crowd HATED it with a purple passion. Personally, I think it looks great during the summer. Winters it's a little drab but that's OK too. Nature gets a little drab then as well. Lucky for her we don't have an HOA so she just told them to mind their own business.
My vote is go for it and share the results on here.
You'll need to log in to post.
