Ripping out front lawn, going with native plants - need design advice

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I want to rip out my front lawn and plant native grasses and perennial flowers. I need design advice to prevent this from looking like a huge mess. The neighborhood I live in has mostly manicured front lawns, but a few naturalistic landscapes. Any landscape designers or books to recommend on the subject? Is there a way to do this and still have my landscape meld with neighboring properties?

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to say good for you.

I hate lawns. So wasteful.

[Anonymous]

How much sun do you have? Water conditions? Slope? No reason you couldn't do a fescue lawn as part of a landscape. Probably more environmentally friendly than ripping out and planting new.

[Anonymous]

I have both sun and part-shade. I'll probably keep some of the grass just to visually connect with the other yards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just wanted to say good for you.

I hate lawns. So wasteful.

+ a million. You're a hero, OP.

This book is a good resource in general:
http://www.bringingnaturehome.net

as is this: http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/pdf/chesapeakenatives.pdf

Look at websites for native plant societies, e.g.:
http://vnps.org

They have lots of resources like native plant sales and nurseries and you maybe able to find a lead on someone who can do meadow landscaping for you.

Organizations that offer certification in natural or conservation landscapes for the home can be helpful to: http://www.chesapeakelandscape.org/our-programs/landscaping-contest/

[Anonymous]

This may not be exactly what you are envisioning, but I have found this book very useful:

http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Sanctuary-Gardening-Washington-Metropolitan/dp/0939009978

[Anonymous]

The major problem you will have will be the seed load in the soil. So it's a lot of weeding. Think of incorporating areas of native shrubs. The area under these can be mulched(big time saver) and makes your yard look less wild to the neighbors.

[Anonymous]

We did a native-plants bed for a large part of our front yard, but not all - just a warning that the weeding SUCKS, especially in the first three years as the plants fill in. I was not prepared for how much weeding we'd have to do, just to make it look semi-presentable.

[Anonymous]

Are you going to have time to weed it or pay someone else to weed it? Garden beds are a lot more time consuming than a lawn. I don't use postcodes on my lawn and only fertilize once a year because I have a mulching mower. Are you going to be able to compost all the garden trimmings our will some end up in a landfill? There are a few weeds but it looks good enough for me. Maybe when I retire I'll turn the while thing into a garden, but it would be too much of a time suck. You could go for a bigger front garden but still maintain a little grass, which would give you more continuity with your neighbors. A water source for wildlife and more native plants would be a good idea in either .

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the links and insight. I do have time to keep the weeds at bay, but will start slow in the yard transformation. Again, thanks for the ideas.

[Anonymous]

Are you going to have time to weed it or pay someone else to weed it? Garden beds are a lot more time consuming than a lawn. I don't use postcodes on my lawn and only fertilize once a year because I have a mulching mower. Are you going to be able to compost all the garden trimmings our will some end up in a landfill? There are a few weeds but it looks good enough for me. Maybe when I retire I'll turn the while thing into a garden, but it would be too much of a time suck. You could go for a bigger front garden but still maintain a little grass, which would give you more continuity with your neighbors. A water source for wildlife and more native plants would be a good idea in either .

Lawns are more intensive, but people have been train to do the work. A properly mulched bed is easy to maintain and is a lot easier vs a lawn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Are you going to have time to weed it or pay someone else to weed it? Garden beds are a lot more time consuming than a lawn. I don't use postcodes on my lawn and only fertilize once a year because I have a mulching mower. Are you going to be able to compost all the garden trimmings our will some end up in a landfill? There are a few weeds but it looks good enough for me. Maybe when I retire I'll turn the while thing into a garden, but it would be too much of a time suck. You could go for a bigger front garden but still maintain a little grass, which would give you more continuity with your neighbors. A water source for wildlife and more native plants would be a good idea in either .

Lawns are more intensive, but people have been train to do the work. A properly mulched bed is easy to maintain and is a lot easier vs a lawn.

I speak from experience of doing my own lawn care and gardening. I love working in the garden, and am not a big fan of lawncare, but the gardens take time to weed even with mulch. My garden beds are mostly full sun, which means that they get more weeds than shady areas. And we have problems with zoysia grass with tough underground stems invading our garden beds from our neighbors' lawns, which is the worst to try to pull up.

[Anonymous]

Merrifield Garden Center (VA) have landscape architects that will survey and draw up a plan. Depending on the size, it will cost about $300-$600. They sell specialty plants that are not available at Home Depot. I admire your enthusiasm. I've had a small perennial/annual flower gardens over last 10 years. It was still a lot of work: weeding, watering, mulching, etc. We moved to a new house, and I am content to keep the lawn instead. In the spring, I may just pot couple of annuals on the porch.

[Anonymous]

We reduced the lawn surface area by having large mulch beds with mulch paper underneath. looks nice. my neighbors would be very unhappy if the front yard was "natural"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much sun do you have? Water conditions? Slope? No reason you couldn't do a fescue lawn as part of a landscape. Probably more environmentally friendly than ripping out and planting new.

I agree with this. Our fescue/clover/violet lawn is very easy to maintain--we do nothing other than mow it, and it looks tidy. As others have said, I'd start small if I were you and build out the native plantings gradually.