Yards

[undercover]

Just curious. Our family home has a yard big enough to where it takes a commercial lawn mower that we own about 1.5 hours to finish. It just isn't worth it, but I don't know how to get rid of it without everything looking really shitty. It's far too big to do any real pretty landscaping, mulching, etc.

If it were up to me I wouldn't have a yard at all, ever.

There's also the question of how much your time is worth - in the warm months it needs to be mowed at least once a week to prevent it from getting too unmanageable. I just wonder if anyone actually cares how long it takes them to mow. It definitely doesn't make sense to hire the job out for us.

[TheAnonOne]

My parents had a massive yard (5+ Acres) when I was growing up. My mother, back then, planted a ton of smaller pine trees.

Slowly over the course of 5-10 years the trees grew and the seeds spread and now cover much of what was once the yard. The place looks great, and the actual yard is now probably 1-2 acres...

So, plant some trees! Cheap, and pretty easy to do.

[Guses]

My yard is big for city standards but small compared to acreage lots.

I don't mind mowing it but I also don't really care that it is getting long. Sometimes I wait 2-3 weeks before mowing it. It leaves clumps but IDGAF.

So not too sure what to respond in the poll.

I use a 15(?) year old gas push mower and it takes about 1 hour to mow.

[2Birds1Stone]

Our yard is pretty average for our area. Part of my rent includes lawn care.

[CmFtns]

lot is 1/2 acre that has tons of weeds/dead patches and mow probably once a month... I'm with Guses in the IDGAF. If it's green mow it.

I let it get long then it mow that shit down to as low as my lawnmower will go and wait for it to get tall again and move on with my life to worry about things more important than grass.

[AZDude]

My yard is fairly small, and thus easy to take care of. I have had bigger yards in the past, where I would spend an hour or two mowing, edging, sweeping, etc... I do not mind yardwork at all 9 months of the year. Those July days where it is 110F with a late afternoon thunderstorm makes yardwork... challenging.

Community yards are nice, like what you get at a park, but there is something to say for having your own patch of dirt.

[tobitonic]

We use a reel mower on ours; 'nuff said.

[Northwestie]

We use a reel mower on ours; 'nuff said.

Converted most of the lawn to garden or NW native plants but have a patch of grass.  Can't use the reel because the Douglas fir cones clog it up!

[soccerluvof4]

throw down some wildflower seed and tall grass seed and let it go to a point you can manage.

[Tom Bri]

1/2 acre, and I wish it were much larger. Never enough space for what I want (basically, a farm!).
I mow the front 1/3 pretty regularly, to keep the neighbors pacified. The back can go a month or more. But that is where I put my berries, fruit trees, garden etc.
Can't answer the poll. It says 'too big'. No.

[MsPeacock]

Corner lot in the inner burbs. So smallish? About 80% of it is garden beds. I have someone come mow and I put my energy into gardening. I don't water in the summer so the yard only needs mowing every 2 weeks or so.

[big_owl]

Lawns are retarded.  For about 6 years I toiled every weekend for 2 hours with my self-propelled push mower cutting the grassy areas of our yard (about 1ac lawn, the rest is forested).  Then one day I read this one book on native landscaping and was like WTF!?  Why in the hell am I wasting time and resources on all this stupid grass?  I don't have any kids, it's not like I play on it when it's 90 degrees out and the humidity is thick.  I was just cutting the lawn because it was there when we moved in and that's what people do...cut their lawn. 

So I said fuck that shit and every year I've been converting more and more to natural mid-atlantic plantings.  It's a bit awkward for a few years because at first none of the plants have matured and it looks ghetto, but now the tree canopy is starting to form and the gorgeous mountain laurels and native azaleas bloom every spring....the wildlife loves it, and I DON'T HAVE TO MOW IT.  Few things turn me on like loading my sprayer up with glyphosate to go out and kill another patch of grass in prep for conversion to native plantings. 

Now it's like the scales have fallen from my eyes.  I drive through suburbia and see everyone with their pointless, retarded lawns that are never used and are just mowed and fertilized and sprayed for weeds with god knows what....just because that's what everybody has always done, and they don't ever question it. 

[prognastat]

I wish i could go with a more natural and native yard. Unfortunately the HOA disagrees with this vehemently.

[big_owl]

I wish i could go with a more natural and native yard. Unfortunately the HOA disagrees with this vehemently.

F HOAs.  And F their stupid rules about lawns.

[GuitarStv]

We've got enough room in our backyard for our son and dog to run around, and fit a large garden, small patio, and BBQ.  Not really enough between the front and back yards to be more than a half hour to mow every few weeks in the summer.  It's a good combo, and I enjoy doing a little yard work all year round.

When I was eight we had a very large back yard that would take me a little over an hour to mow, and then at least an hour to use the trimmer.  That was no fun.  What I slowly did over a two year period was to leave a little bit more wild area at the edges of the yard.  It filled in with tall grasses and small trees/bushes and didn't look too bad, but cut like half an hour off the mowing.

[Frugal Lizard]

Naturalize it to native plants in stages - select species that give you food.  Enjoy the wildlife that comes to share.

[Rural]

 I voted no yard - we don't have anything at all to mow, just 25 acres of hardwoods.

[geekette]

We just kept filling in the front yard with shrubs and trees, and eventually the yard was gone.  The HOA hasn't had a problem with it.

The back yard had a small patch of grass, but...mulch, shrubs, and a path took care of that.  Put the lawn mower at the curb with a "free" sign and it's gone, gone, gone.  Hated mowing.  HATED.

[acroy]

.3 acre, and I LOVE caring for it.
Good opportunity for the kids to learn the value of hard work as well.

[Uturn]

I don't mind mowing, but can't stand taking care of bushes and flowers.  I've replaced all the decorative plants with herbs and vegetables.  If I have to take care of a plant, it might as well have a purpose.

[FrugalFan]

We like the size of ours but it's a bit too much grass. I'm fine with the grass in front and would like some grass in the back too as the kids play there, but I would like to naturalize the back half, but don't know how to do it so that it looks nice. Does anyone have any resources to recommend? We already have quite a few native trees. I'm just not sure what to do on the ground.

[Debts_of_Despair]

My yard is too small and I wish it was bigger because I love mowing.

[Grosgrain]

Too big?  No such thing.  We currently have a quarter acre in town and are looking to purchase 5+ acres within the next few years.  It takes about 10 minutes to mow the one remaining patch of grass in our backyard.  When we moved in 4 years ago, it was all lawn.  The grass had to go.  I needed room for trees, shrubs, a vegetable garden, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, kiwi vines, flowers, a stock tank 'pond,' a fountain, a patio with seat wall, gravel paths, chicken coop, compost bin, etc.

And I have to disagree regarding so-called 'decorative plants.'  Blooming plants provide food and habitat for pollinators, birds and other wildlife.  We have lots of birds, bees, beneficial insects, garter snakes, frogs, and other creatures that find a home in our yard.  Beauty is nothing to scoff at either.  I sit in my garden and look at the green things around me, listen to the birds, watch my goofy chickens scratching around, observe the growth and seasonal changes... and I don't think about my stressful job or all the terrible things happening in the world.  A yard can be a respite and a place to relax and recharge as well as do the physical work humans were intended to do.  There are many known benefits to the human body and mind from spending time in nature.

In short, yard =/= grass.  There are far more possibilities.

[Arktinkerer]

Over the last two years have been putting raised beds for food both front and back.  Front is also mostly shade so I've given up on grass.  We are going mostly moss there.  Seems to be progressing nicely and no mowing!

[slowsynapse]

We have a smallish suburban yard.  When I built the house I decided not to have a lawn, mainly due to allergies (including being allergic to mowing a lawn).  To break up the space, I used framed gravel pathways and some shrubs to break up the space along with some ground covers where the lawn might otherwise be.  I also planted blueberry plants which are awesome because they are kind of colorful in the fall and produce enough berries to eat fresh all summer.  I am a big proponent of devoting some of your yard space to edibles.

[Elderwood17]

We have just under an acre.  A fair piece of it is terraced gardens, black berry vines,  blue berry bushes, and fruit trees.   The rest can be mowed pretty quickly once a week.  I don't mind it at all.

[EnjoyIt]

3/4 acre land.  It used to cost $300/month to water the thing. Then one day the automatic sprinkler system failed and the water bill dropped to $30/month.  After a few years the native grass too over.  I feel so stupid wasting $3K+ a year for all those years.  I really like the idea of native landscape.  I have to look into that.

[Fishindude]

My yard is about 1-1/2 acre.  Takes about 3 hours to do all of the mowing and weed trimming.
I also mow about 20 acres of trails and pasture type areas, but this only needs to be done every 4 weeks during the growing season and I use a 7' bush hog behind the tractor for that.  It's takes about 8-10 hours.

[Cranky]

My yard is average sized. We've got quite a bit of garden, which is certainly time consuming in the summer, but not all that much lawn to mow.

Indeed, I've been hiring friends' teens to mow it in the summer as a treat for my dh and a benefit for the teens, but dh says he'd rather do it myself.

We're hoping to buy the house next door and knock it down, but we'd put in more garden, not grass.

[boyerbt]

Our entire lot is only 7,500 sq ft and our yard does not make up much but I wish that we had a larger but not overly large yard. I enjoy mowing the yard but it is a constant battle to grow a nice thick lawn due to all of the dogs that we have at the house at any given time. (DogVacay Host).

I get quite envious when walking around the neighborhood and seeing lush vibrant lawns...maybe next year.

[prognastat]

I wish i could go with a more natural and native yard. Unfortunately the HOA disagrees with this vehemently.

F HOAs.  And F their stupid rules about lawns.

Yes if only I had better realized what i was getting in to. My new rule is that anywhere I move next will not have an HOA. Also it is one of those ones that doesn't actually help with any maintenance they are just there to fine you if you step out of line.

[pbkmaine]

Where are you? If in the US, your state cooperative extension should have guidelines for naturalizing your lawn.

http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/how-to-remove-lawn/

[prognastat]

I'm in Texas.

[Frugal Lizard]

We like the size of ours but it's a bit too much grass. I'm fine with the grass in front and would like some grass in the back too as the kids play there, but I would like to naturalize the back half, but don't know how to do it so that it looks nice. Does anyone have any resources to recommend? We already have quite a few native trees. I'm just not sure what to do on the ground.

There are tons of resources for transitioning your garden.  You need to find local ones for your region.  Our city actually has a free consultation service to help people make their landscape healthier and less water dependent.

What keeps something looking nice as opposed to messy (I think that might be your issue) is making sure that your eye is not confused. The main trick is to have an edge or line so that your eye can move smoothly around the space. That can be achieved in many ways.  The simplest is to use cut a clean edge line between the turf and the natural area.  The shape of the line should be straight lines into a curve then back to straight.  Make the line an easy to mow shape.  Upping the game to add a permanent edger (no trimmer required) adds to the look.  Planting groupings of plants that help keep the eye moving helps.  Seven of one plant is better than seven different types of plants.  My natural areas are covered in mulch and gradually I add plants but keep pathways so I can get into the "beds".

The poll didn't have a choice for me:  I have a huge yard and very little turf now.  It takes about 10 minutes to mow with the old fashioned mower.  Including getting the mower out of the garage and putting it back.  I get tons of food from my little patch if the birds and squirrels don't get them first. 

[Tris Prior]

No yard - I live in an apartment - and I have yard lust, BAD. Whenever I see someone who has a backyard that's all grass and gets good sun, I want to say, "Do you have any idea how much food you could be producing?!"

[kanga1622]

We have a pretty big yard for a city (corner lot and the house behind us is on a curve so our lot is a good 1.5-2 times the rest of the neighborhood. While I really want to fix up our fence but can't due to city laws (or about 1/3 of the fenced area would have to be outside the new fence). My husband loves to do yard work so he loves to mow, rake, mulch leaves, trip trees, etc.

I am basically allergic to the outdoors but the kids have plenty of room to run so it works out. We just need to focus on reseeding the yard in some spots, replanting the front flower bed, and putting more weed barrier down in a current flower bed.

Now that the kids are a little bigger, we can actually all go outside together and work a bit.

[MMMarbleheader]

I love either a small city yard or a rural field that no one sees and I can do what I want with.

Had a large suburban yard and HATED it. Bunch of work for nothing.

[prognastat]

I wish i could go with a more natural and native yard. Unfortunately the HOA disagrees with this vehemently.

I see you are in Texas.  So am I.

You are allowed to xeriscape your lawn with drought resistant plants regardless of what your HOA says or threatens to do.  This is now all thanks to Texas Senate Bill 198.  It's been around for a few years now. 

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to restrictive covenants regulating drought-resistant
landscaping or water-conserving turf.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTIONA1.AASection 202.007(a), Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a)AAA property owners ’ association may not include or
enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits or
restricts a property owner from:
(1)AAimplementing measures promoting solid-waste
composting of vegetation, including grass clippings, leaves, or
brush, or leaving grass clippings uncollected on grass;
(2)AAinstalling rain barrels or a rainwater harvesting
system; [or]
(3)AAimplementing efficient irrigation systems,
including underground drip or other drip systems; or
(4)AAusing drought-resistant landscaping or
water-conserving turf.
SECTIONA2.AAThis Act takes effect September 1, 2013.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/pdf/SB00198I.pdf

I'll have to look in to that. I know they say that everything has to go through them for review too if it deviates from their guidelines.

[pbkmaine]

https://www.wildflower.org

This should be a good resource.

We live in a community in Florida with a strict HOA, but they have come around to the benefits of native plants and now encourage them.

[Geostache]

Middle of suburbia here. 0.37 acres, mostly grass right now. We just had someone out here to do a new landscape plan for us, and hopefully that will include lots of new garden beds. We've asked to include a few rain gardens (to handle the drainage), a butterfly/hummingbird garden, and space for 3 blueberry bushes, an apple tree, and a fig tree. Oh, and to use as many native species as possible. I'm with the others that a yard doesn't have to mean grass. I'm looking forward to enjoying our new gardens and fruit bearing plants!

And, we also have an HOA, although they're fairly lackadaisical. I don't think they'll have a problem with our yard as long as it's maintained.

[NESailor]

maybe 1.5 acres here and mostly crab grass and thyme.  It smells like pasta sauce when I mow it with my 46inch decked 22 horse v-twin powered mower.  Super mustachian, I know, hahaha.  Fortunately, since it's not a proper kind of "lawn" grass...whatever you call it...it doesn't really grow fast so there are only a couple of weeks/year where I mow once a week.  We also live pretty far north so I've yet to even look at my mower this year. 

I still like riding around a bit every few weekends and enjoy having the space.  Kids can play soccer or voleyball, you could even practive with a pitching wedge on it.  We have room for a small garden and I'm planning on a small mountain bike trail with bridges and banked corners and stuff (total property is a little over 2 acres).  We have a lot of wildlife since many of our neighbors have similarly sized properties, there's a small herd of deer who roam around (we have fruit trees too) basically all year, wild turkeys, rabbits, tons of squirrels (might start shooting those soon as they try to move into our house and barn).  I actually love our location and size of the yard quite a bit.

[Trudie]

We have a half acre corner lot, but the topography is weird and kind of steep in places.  The mowing is a pain in the arse.  We will not stay in this house for FIRE.  Takes 1 1/2 hours with a self-propelled push to do it.

My next lot may be about as big, but it will be MUCH FLATTER.  And it will be hardscaped in certain areas.  And I will have a shit ton of kitchen garden and non-grassed areas.

And here's another thing I loathe about lawns... the neighborhood "expectations" game.  We are tidy people.  Hell, I'm even a master gardener.  But I'm really tired of dealing with trees on shared property lines and that sort of thing.  Gross.

[TheInsuranceMan]

We just moved to a double lot in town from our 3.35 acre acreage.  So, with my 60" zero-turn mower, I think my town yard will be quick and easy.  It used to take about 2-3 hours on the acreage..depending on how nice I wanted it to look.

[Miss Prim]

We live on 4.5 acres, but only mow about an acre around the house.  The rest we let go natural.  We have a lot of scrubby bushes and trees, but we don't care.  We are not about to mow the whole thing.  We have neighbors that think they live in a subdivision and mow every square inch!  I have a big garden that is fenced in to keep bunnies and other critters out.  I grow and can most of my food for the year.  I love it here, and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

                                                                                              Miss Prim

[Penny Lane]

https://www.wildflower.org

This should be a good resource.

We live in a community in Florida with a strict HOA, but they have come around to the benefits of native plants and now encourage them.
[PBK, what part of Florida are you in?  We spend some time in SW FL in the winter and have enjoyed learning about the plants and animals, so different than N NE!

We live on about an acre, bordered on 3 sides by natural vegetation including a big red oak, wild blueberries, winterberries and black cherries and further populated by a barn, numerous garden beds, fruit trees and bushes, 2 beehives.  DH does what lawn we have with a self porpelled mower adn considers that part of his summer exercise.  He shrinks the "lawn" every year with new beds; this year I have 2 new 6ft square raised beds of granite he finds.  So what he doesn;t mow anymore, I weed./quote]

[pbkmaine]

Central Florida, an hour north of Orlando.

[FrugalFan]

We like the size of ours but it's a bit too much grass. I'm fine with the grass in front and would like some grass in the back too as the kids play there, but I would like to naturalize the back half, but don't know how to do it so that it looks nice. Does anyone have any resources to recommend? We already have quite a few native trees. I'm just not sure what to do on the ground.

There are tons of resources for transitioning your garden.  You need to find local ones for your region.  Our city actually has a free consultation service to help people make their landscape healthier and less water dependent.

What keeps something looking nice as opposed to messy (I think that might be your issue) is making sure that your eye is not confused. The main trick is to have an edge or line so that your eye can move smoothly around the space. That can be achieved in many ways.  The simplest is to use cut a clean edge line between the turf and the natural area.  The shape of the line should be straight lines into a curve then back to straight.  Make the line an easy to mow shape.  Upping the game to add a permanent edger (no trimmer required) adds to the look.  Planting groupings of plants that help keep the eye moving helps.  Seven of one plant is better than seven different types of plants.  My natural areas are covered in mulch and gradually I add plants but keep pathways so I can get into the "beds".

The poll didn't have a choice for me:  I have a huge yard and very little turf now.  It takes about 10 minutes to mow with the old fashioned mower.  Including getting the mower out of the garage and putting it back.  I get tons of food from my little patch if the birds and squirrels don't get them first.

Thanks, I couldn't find a local resource like that. Lots of places selling native species, but no free resources on how to make the transition. I don't want to replace grass with mulched areas or garden beds as we already have lots of those as well and they are a lot of work too. I am wondering if part of our yard can be entirely naturalized without looking messy. Like would a huge wildflower area look silly? Or some other ground cover that looks nice and is shade resistant and can be used for large areas?