April 4 , 2013
Minus Lawn Equals Plus
My knee can tell you how much sens I ’ve dug up over time ! My shovel moans , too , if we count the hole we ’ve dug to fill the blanks . Actually , one excavator committed suicide . The pain is deserving the gain , like when The Fairy rose — alternatively of deep-fried grass – romances our spicy front curb .
Past or current grass commence only the minimum urine I give everybody else . Fertilizer ? Not for me . Mainly , I ’ve diversified because I desire this :
At some point , I decided if I was conk to flex on the spigot , it had to be for plant that re - live wildlife as their nutrient sources diminish . That favourable groundsel ( Packera obovata ) does a fine chore in other spring . Texas betony extends the buffet for months to lure hummingbirds that will stick around for Turk ’s jacket on the horizon .
Gulf penstemon and poppies are booked up with spring diners .
Even bulbs , like my Spanish bluebells ( Hyacinthoides hispanicus ) , attract the paparazzo .
In the new veg bed , native Baby puritanical eyes came along in my home - made compost . They ’re not all about looks : the bees will advert around to pollinate my new tomatoes and squash .
DesignerPam Penickshows you how to capture your own rendering of reduced or no - lawn magic in her bookLawn give out !
This workweek , she fall in server Tom Spencerto share a few of her DIY tips , technique , and lovely alternatives for outdoor living minus grass .
With plant options , practical design ideas , ponds , and HOA wrangling , she makes it easy to go Lawn Gone !
This workweek ’s viewer questioncomes from Diane Salazar : how to get rid of weeds and make garden in her raw mansion left vacant for month .
Get Daphne ’s answeron first steps for Diane ’s soil restoration and the best room to smother mourning band with newspaper .
Since food for thought is replace lawn for many gardeners , Daphne ’s Pick of the Weekis deliciously productive tatume squash , an heirloom mixed bag less ail by the immorality squash vine woodborer . CTG thanks Master Gardener andblogger Caroline Homerfor her hands - on tips and a mental picture from her screwball abundant harvest time last summertime .
On tour , see how Meredith Thomasbanished lawn for family food by recycling “ pre - owned ” materials to build beds , including a hugelkulter / keyhole conception , and art . She does n’t buy fertiliser — you just have to see what she does in her own fabulous words . Dear thanks tocomposer Freejay MacLoudwho share his music that just so dead matches Meredith ’s truly organic school of thought .
I ’ve stimulate the best arugula ever , thanks to Meredith ’s passalong ejaculate of Rocket ( also called Rocquette ) .
Those niggling dirt ball on it are flea beetles . That ’s ok by me because eventually “ someone ” ate them . You ’ll only get long - term piranha if you have seasonal prey . Leafy mess did n’t matter a bit in our salad and bunny dinner party treat . I ’ll be collecting seeds : to rephrase Meredith , nature provide our own little seed packet boat !
And what about those wildflower seed packet ? The political party does n’t stop in leaping , especially for wildlife that relies on us all year long . So , Andrea DeLong - Amayafrom theLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centershowsoff a few seeds to spread out now , like aboriginal partridge pea ( Chamaecristafasciculata ) .
Heads up : Get native seeds , perennials ( like heavily - to - encounter gold groundsel ) , shrubs , Tree and a fortune more at theWildflower Center’sspring plant sale April 13 - 14 . Member ’s day on April 12 , but you may bring together that day to get the first pickaxe ! They also have a list online for available plants , so gear up that little red station wagon .
Thanks for break by ! See you next week , Linda
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