Native plants ftw! Did anyone look into pocket forests too? I’ll try to pitch it on my next community meeting
Feel free to ask questions or post about your ideas on !treehuggers@slrpnk.net. Right now it’s mostly news but I want to see more content like that–people taking action to reforest the earth.
We planted clover; it blooms (great for pollinators), spreads fast, is very comfy to sit on, absorbs shock better when you fall on it, has a max length that’s much shorter than grass, so you don’t really need to mow the lawn unless you prefer it short and leaves less space for other undesireable plants to grow, while not needing much water to stay green (saving water). It’s pretty great honestly!
Little fact: clover is edible, so if you feel like eating clover nectar, you’ll be able to. I know some people might find that weird, but it tastes very good, which is why many farmers let their bees collect clover nectar to make their honey (it makes sweet/tangy delicious honey, due to how sweet clover nectar tastes to begin with).
Clover sucks if you got children that step of the bees.
I don’t understand what you mean? I was around plenty of clover as a child and never got stung once, neither did my siblings. It’s not that hard to avoid bees/wasps/bumblebees. Besides, most times they are too busy buzzing around the clover flowers (when they are in bloom that is) to even be bothered that you’re there to begin with. The bloom doesn’t even last that long.
If you teach the kids to respect their environment and be cautious during blooming time, they are pretty good at avoiding getting stung/bit by the pollinators in general.
I dead ass had a pest company come to my door and offer to flush my lawn with pesticide to get rid of all the bugs in it. I said “my guy, did you know that global insect populations are crashing and we’re heading towards complete ecological collapse? I recognize everyone’s gotta get their bread, but this is pretty bad stuff you guys are doing.” He seemed interested and moved on. I doubt he quit the company, but a boy can dream.
Edit: no HOA, and my neighbors dgaf, so I can be a proud dandelion enjoyer. Planting tons of natives, we’ll see how it goes.
Or the obvious, these bugs keep the yard healthy
there are a LOT of cool native ground covers in most places. grass isn’t just wasteful and ecologically devastating; it’s ugly as hell.
I’m sorry, he wanted to exterminate your garden?
That is the stupidest thing I have heard in ages.
edit: as in, stupid on the pest company.
Yeah, exactly right. I was fucking flabbergasted at first, but I had to make sure dude understood what he was doing to earn his bread
Our first one of the year earlier this week
Is this your yard? No shame! Many people inherit landscapes like this when they move in and haven’t found the time to make a change. Check out the sidebar for resources on how to get started on a more pollinator-friendly landscape!
You don’t have to remove the whole lawn at once if it seems overwhelming. Even a small insect-friendly garden area or changes in how you manage the lawn can make a big difference.
This Xerces Society article also has some basic and easy steps: https://xerces.org/blog/bee-friendlier-with-your-lawncare
I highly recommend clover yards. Minimal upkeep and they help nature. They also require like 60% less water and stay green longer. Only grow to about 4-6” so you don’t have to mow.
Tell that to the home owner’s association.
Please.
I live in a van, I’ve spent a lot of time deep in the woods all across the US. There are still hardly any insects when the nearest lawn is dozens of miles away. This is almost definitely related to industrial scale pollution effecting the entire ecosystem not just just localized habitat destruction.
I live in California’s central valley. It’s a big area that’s kind of similar to the serenghetti in terms of ecology in that it’s technically a desert purely by rainfall measures, but it’s a seasonal wetland in practice. Suffice it to say that bugs used to be off the fucking hook here; if you drove for forty minutes, your car was caked. Now, you barely get six bugs. Scared the shit out of my nature-loving mom when I pointed that out.
Still get knocks on my door from companies wanting to help me with my yard.
No thanks.
Bunnies made homes in leaves, I get to watch a red-tailed hawk hunt in my backyard with their adolescent hawks, baby deer taking naps in the grass, the turtles still visit and have a places to lay their eggs (small pond on property), peeper frogs in the spring, lightning bugs like crazy in the summer, 3ft garder snake that suns in the bushes / front steps in the summer, birds have taken over the bushes and my dogs get to chase bunnies and watch the birds from the windows.
Besides this being a remenant of slave ownership, look how many slaves I have to keep my lawn perfectly manicured type thing, it’s just another capitalist shit storm they sell you to keep you from seeing what’s really going on and paying more for things that are ultimately killing you, us, everyone.
Oh, and I don’t spend every waking fucking moment on the weekends, mowing, raking, moving specific nature into another spot, all for vanity’s sake and to turn around and do it all over again.
Or go get gas, spill it filling up the lawn mower, further pollute the atmosphere etc., (my stuff is electric anyways).
So many benefits to this.
Take your time and energy back.
Stop fighting nature.
Let the planet live like it wants.
