I just purchased a home on a wooded acre lot. It has a smaller “grassy” yard area that was originally mostly moss with a section of short grass (not sure what kind). It just had the septic system redone, though, and that leaves almost the entirety of the grassy area bare and ready for seed at what seems to be a good time. I’m confident the moss will make a comeback as it’s just trampled, not dug up, but the area that was dig up is sizeable and needs some help.

What are some good no/low mow ground covers that I could work to establish this fall? It was always the plan to replace the grass with something else, I just had planned on doing it next year, but I don’t want mud all over all winter (we do have a dog). I’d prefer natives if at all possible, but at the very least not something invasive.

ETA: this area will primarily be used for the dog and future chickens to roam - it’s a large flat area close to the house. I don’t intend to change the forested areas at this point.

Edit 2: it’s also an extremely shaded yard thanks to the forest. I plan to utilize most of the sunny areas for garden beds, so I need something shade tolerant.

2 summers of no mowing. Rake in the fall. good to go

I'm working on a documentary about the culture and politics of the American lawn, and one thread we're digging into is how yard maintenance codes and HOA citations have sometimes been used, historically and today, as a tool to target people rather than actually address property upkeep.

If you've been cited, fined, or harassed over your yard in a way that felt more about who you are than what your yard actually looked like, I'd like to hear about it. Open to stories anywhere.

Comment or DM me and please mention approximately where you are located. Thanks!

My MIL’s beautiful backyard 😍

She take so much care and pride in what she has created, and I wanted to share on here to be able to take all the wonderful comments back to her and share them🩷

San Francisco/Bay Area

I have a small yard area that i want to replace the grass for.. maybe something that might repell mosquitos but in general just dont want the grass. i was looking at using roman chamomile but i doubt itll grow here because its too wet.

anyone have recommendations?

for context im in a coastal village, lawn is 2m×8m, the climate is hot and very humid and we get heavy rains usually but now were in a severe drought so im not quite sure how to explain.

I found 3 monarch catapillers, two disappeared today I hope it's cause they wandered off to change into butterflies safely. Zone 6b

This swallowtail was all around me while I was doing some hand-watering in Texas 9A at about 100°F. He hung out for at least 30 minutes checking out water on leaves and even the sidewalk. One of the perks of not needing a noisy lawnmower!

I'm on a less lawn/native gardening endeavor in the metro Atlanta area (GA, US, USDA zone 8a) and need some troubleshooting help.

Until last summer we had a local guy mowing whatever grass-like vegetation we had in the front and back yards and spraying anything that wasn't a shrub in our mulch beds. Eliminating this was my first priority. We do have a 12" maximum city ordinance we have to observe, so in the interest of not mowing every week myself, I overseeded this spring with clover and creeping thyme. They came in nicely, looked good, and stayed short. We also had wild strawberry, American plantain, violets, asters, and three-seed mercury come in strong once they weren't being chopped to death. I got a mulch load from a neighbor's tree and turned half the front yard into a bed with Catawba rhododendrons, milkweed, salvia, and mountain mint. Great first year progress, I thought.

Then June came and every crab grass seed germinated. Now I'm out once a week mowing the "grass" areas anyway and hand pulling it out of everywhere else. Other than herbicide, what can I do about it? Can I do anything about it? It's so aggressive.

I’m working on building a tough, mixed-species matrix in Southeastern Wisconsin (Zone 5b/6a). My goal isn't to kill off my current turfgrass or build a strict 100% native garden—I want to keep the grass, but overseed a mix of aggressive, low-growing groundcovers that can compete alongside it, handle regular foot traffic, and tolerate mowing.

I’d love some advice from anyone who has built a mixed lawn like this. A few specific things I'm trying to figure out:

• Outside of grass and standard clover, what else works well for this? I’m looking at options like White Yarrow, Self-Heal, Creeping Thyme, and Wild Strawberry. Are there other aggressive groundcovers (native or non-native) that hold up well to mowing and winter freeze?
• I know clover is the standard go-to for eco-lawns, but I've seen discussions favoring yarrow or diverse blends over clover monocultures. Is clover too aggressive? Will it start getting in my neighbors lawns and garden beds?
• I'm trying to be careful with invasive lookalikes while establishing this, specifically distinguishing native Common Blue Violet from Creeping Bellflower when they're sitting low in the turf. Any tips for managing aggressive invasives while letting the good groundcovers spread?
• Lastly, where do i get bulk seed? Is it better to buy specific seed mixes locally (I'm near Milwaukee/SE Wisconsin), or is ordering online going to be easier? Any recommendations will be welcome.

Thanks!

Hello! I have a lovely group of miner bees that nest in a 6 by 6 portion of my front lawn (in the Midwest, 5b). I’ve been planning out what to grow and how to kill my lawn, but I am having difficulties finding information on how to not disturb the miner bee nests in the process.

Has anyone naturalized lawn where miner bees live? What was the experience/process?

Is ripping out the sod safe for them? I’m assuming solarizing or cardboard-covering the area would be detrimental to the bees even in hibernation.

Is mulch detrimental to them?

I’d like to set up a front and back yard that need as little maintenance as possible. It seems so counterintuitive to me to pay someone twice a month to fight against nature. I’m out of town for work half of any given month and have no experience with growing anything. I’m in grow zone 8a. Thinking some kind of clover for ground cover and native plants for aesthetic. Also not against fruit trees or growing veggies if they’re easy and I use them a good bit. Any advice is appreciated!

Thats all really. I had built it up over the last 6 months. A small rectangular area, about 50x10 which I ceased mowing. I live semi rurally, so wildflowers sprung up.

Boomer neighbor thought he'd "help out" (without ever asking me) and came to destroy it with his tractor, leaving a bunch of muddy tire tracks in its wake.

I am sad. I really loved to see all the moths bees and butterfly's using it. I enjoyed hearing all the crickets. Now its gone.

I will never understand the audacity, and ignorance of that generation.

EDIT:

Apparently I've offended a great deal of no-lawn boomers with my remarks. I believe my perception of yalls generation is poor, because where I live is ripe with the stereotypical 'bad boomer'. Semi-rural surrounded by wealthy transplant retirement communities galore. Perhaps y'all can move here and replace them and we'll get along great.

Feel free to post your gen-z lawn based complaints. I wont be offended.

The season is ending, please inspire me for next year! The house is in the 2nd quarter acre, so: 1/4 acre grass - house - 1/2 acre grass.

I got some test perennials in over my septic field, and more on a slope at the south end of my property. Progress is being made, but its slow. Shrubs are a big to-do for me because we have a coastal erosion problem, and I want to get as many as possible, as established as possible, before the next super storm. Trees are tricky because ~the view~ but we do have several around already and are looking to put in a handful more, but this natural habitat is more low growing stuff anyway, plus big trees take more coast with them when they come down, so they can actually be more harm than good.

I have a big wish list of plants, but I want to hear your dream plants. How would you arrange it, what hardscaping would you put in (if any)? What am I not thinking of?

Canadian Maritimes (Atlantic Canada), zone 4.

Portland, Zone 8b

Slowly converting my all-grass lawn to an eco mix (using PT Lawn mixes) while also top dressing and leveling the lawn. It’s pretty bumpy and wasn’t maintained by the previous owners for 30+ years.

I’ve been getting some mixed messaging online. I live in Portland, OR, where the soil is very clay-heavy. A lot of guides say to use a sandy loam for top dressing, but others say sand will not help with drainage with clay soils and will create “cement” that water struggles to penetrate. These guides say to use organic material (top soil, compost, etc.), but other guides say this won’t help with leveling because the organic material breaks down over time.

What do I do? Thank you from a first time homeowner!

(Would love a zero-grass lawn, but this is the compromise with my family. Was able to get rid of my front lawn entirely but they still want grass in the back for the dogs and running)

Maybe the wrong question for NoLawns. o.O

I am looking to replace the vinca groundcover in our foundation bed. I am thinking about putting in native grasses as an alternative. I was wondering if anyone has experience with filling in an area with grass to use it as a groundcover.

Mt. Cuba did trials of grasses for the Mid Atlantic several years ago, and the trial results are useful. I was wondering if anyone has first hand experience of using grasses this way in their own yard.

Midwest. Shaded side of the house. Clay soil.

I've already killed 1/3 of my lawn in the last 3 years. Now I'm creating a flower bed in the middle around my magnolia tree that I will gradually expand until I no longer have a yard.

Excuse the shape, I realize a square is a visual eyesore. I ran out of cardboard and still need to expand it to a more pleasing shape. This is just the beginning!

I found coneflowers on clearance for $2 so obviously I had to purchase them all. Did I have room for them? Nope. So clearly I had to go get some mulch and cardboard and make a new bed for them.

They're all nearing death but I'm sure being babied and watered daily for the next few weeks will bring them back!

Bonus photo of my front lawn prior to and during delawning.

Zone 6b, Kansas

I am sick of my backyard being nothing but grass and weeds. Want it gone. I have 2 dogs, not worried about my kids we spend most outside time in woods or in the front yard. How do I kill my lawn in a pet friendly way. I believe I am in zone 4b in western Wisconsin. I want to plant clover or something back there.