r/fucklawns

I just need to vent to people who understand. We moved several years ago to a rural town on the edge of wilderness in northern MN. The house has "woods" on both sides and across the street since those areas weren't cleared when those homes were built. Our yard is "woods" too except for the front because it was cleared for a septic system that has since been removed. The soil is poor, compacted, and rocky. In summer it's very dry since it's south facing. It was filled with dandelions, trefoil, and non-native grass that isn't really the usual lawn grass, like timothy and whatever, that doesn't look good when mown and is basically bare dirt in the heat of summer. It looked horrendous so I stopped mowing and started planting a few native flowers to see what would survive. It's starting to look like a meadow. I still mow a narrow strip along the street and driveway. The meadow looks less out of place surrounded by "woods" than the dead looking weed infested "lawn" did and I get compliments. (Lots of people here are environmentally conscious and love nature.) I'm just grateful that it's green, has flowers, requires no chemicals or watering, and very little maintenance.

My mom moved here with us because she was ready to move out of her house since it was getting to be too much work for her. He previous house had very nice garden beds that she liked taking care of, but it started getting too much for her and I was starting to have to help her weed and care for the yard. She's very old school about yards and thinks the only "nice" yard is one that has a traditional lawn and flower beds. That standard is basically impossible in our yard without replacing all the soil and doing all the work and chemicals to maintain that, which I won't do. My mother has only grudgingly accepted it (since she has no choice) but we still argue about it occasionally. She would rather have it be the dead looking weed infested lawn, as long as it's short, than the green flowering meadow.

I'm getting my way, but am seen as a "controlling bitch" about it, which is hard. I can't fathom that she thinks the brown dirt patches look better and are "easier" to maintain, like mowing is easier than just letting it grow. (The retaining wall has natives and the sidewalk on top is lined with flower pots with annuals. You can see what the mowed part looks like.)

Used to have a lawn in this spots. After some time I just started to plant different stuff and the rest I just left to nature. Looks messy but it kinda feels better seeing all the "weeds" do their thing and I have a lot more bugs of all kinds now.

This house is for sale in my neighborhood. It hasn’t rained in weeks, but the grass was recently spray painted because apparently a house sitting on the market for months isn’t desirable. See lawn across the street for current drought conditions.

I have been admiring this neighbor's landscaping for a while. It is especially impressive because the previous owner had artificial grass here. I live in New England.

Going on two years of tilling up my grass lawn and planting creeping thyme (thymus serpyllum) and it is growing MASSIVELY. We are thrilled with this. It finally bloomed this year, from June all the way up to now (it's starting to fade now). We feel like we are singlehandedly saving the honeybee population.

So I've got a few questions for the alternative lawn types.

1. The thyme survived the winter just fine last year. I'm not worried about its' ability to survive. However it is getting quite thick and tall, to the point that some spots of it are so tall they weigh themselves down and look like bald spots even though it's just the thyme "laying down". I know this is a no-mow plant, but does it need to be trimmed back in the fall? Maybe stick some bicycle wheels on my lawn mower and just take a "little off the top"?

2. Thyme is drought-tolerant, and I now know why - because if you part the stalks even in the driest months it is an absolute swamp under there. The thickness of the thyme carpet locks all the moisture in and keeps the soil from drying out. Which is good, I suppose, but I have lost grass to fungus before because it was too damp. Is the thyme susceptible to mildew or fungus? I mean, it's creating this environment on its' own so I suppose not, but I would really hate to lose this entire beautiful yard to an infection. Are there any preventative measures I should take to prevent fungus? Or don't worry about it? I don't water it at all, and haven't since it started sprouting.

Hopefully pics come through. Taken this morning so it's starting to fade quite a bit now but it spent most of the summer as a vibrant, thick purple carpet swarming with honeybees and butterflies. Ignore the bridge construction in the background. :)

Thanks!

[removed]

Nothing says ‘neighborly’ like an unsigned note taped to your door. Grass is long, I’ll own that. But maybe introduce yourself before issuing the anonymous lawn summons? Photo in comments

Escaped pigs tore the fuck out of a lawn in Loveland, CO last week.

https://www.coloradoan.com/picture-gallery/news/local/colorado/2026/08/08/escaped-pig-roundup-in-loveland-colorado

I hate this so much.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nuR6aiYYz4qaqqL38?g_st=ic

Hi all! This is the 4th summer of my front lawn conversion from grass to flowers! I wanted to share a few lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Design:
In my garden design, I paid so close attention to flower heights and soil/water requirements that I never looked at longevity. For example, the blanket flowers you see only bloom gloriously for about 1 season before the plant dies off. The first year is spent on leaf and root development and not spectacular. The second year they explode then die back. Other short lived perennials include lance leafed coreopsis and anise hyssop.
Because of this, my garden looks different each year. They will all readily self seed, but not always in the same spot.

The pathway we installed was a mistake. Plants love to self seed in the cracks filled with sand. It is a constant battle of pulling and relocating. I wish I had done poured concrete or just left a mowed grass path.

Maintenance:
I’ve learned some lessons from leave the leaves. Too many leaves doesn’t allow for self seeding (but it does help suppress weeds) so I end up leaving leaves around large established perennials only for winter insulation. I also experimented with not clearing any dead plant stems before winter, and that was a mistake also. The density of dead plant stems made it difficult for new plants to establish in spring and left my garden looking patchy. The tulips picture demonstrates what it looks like without any stem removal. I now remove about half of the dead plant stems in fall and move them to a dedicated brush pile.

With the density of my garden, some fall clean up is definitely needed.

Plants:
I have a love hate relationship with primrose, a very successful self seeder. It is the plant that birds use the most. I see goldfinches in the spring tear off fibers for nesting. Goldfinches and other small birds also eat the seed heads. The pollen is so attractive to bees they try to pry open the flower heads during the day. Plus it is unique in that it opens at night and is visited by moths. It has a beautiful lemon yellow color. But, it is very prolific and hard to contain. It is also extremely popular with Japanese beetles. Use caution if you plant this.

I love planting tulips and daffodils. They add early spring color and have had no effect on my native plants. They are done and dying back before a lot of my native plants even emerge in spring. I do want to add more early blooming natives but haven’t had luck yet.

Fun bonus of a no lawn: house looks very witchy and Halloweeny naturally in the fall.

Pictures are throughout the years

Hopefully you find some inspiration here! Let me know if you have any questions 🌼

I'm all for it
https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/wayne-county/redford-township-considers-allowing-vegetable-gardens-to-grow-in-residential-front-yards?fbclid=IwY2xjawTs3K9wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMUsyVFd0cm1DdE1NdDJsTExzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeWL8DrQaqkU3r1o_WlZa9EZIycmHnlqvDu5TIldGaX7fst-IebYt0slE_zv4_aem_CuU5FaDoB3nCo0bzS0kGSQ

Hey guys, I’ve posted about my residential yard a couple of times before, but I recently got a great opportunity to move onto a 4.5 acre property out away from the city. Between controlling the erosion, tending to the pond, and bringing in native plants (including at least 1.5 acres of contiguous prairie), plus hoping to start my own little native nursery on the property, I’m in great need of seeds and lots of them. Just to get the project started I’m looking at around two grand.
Anyway, I’ve seen people give away free seeds every now and then on here or if anyone knows where I can get seeds, plants, or funding for this, please reach out. I’ve already called my county and state the county said there are no grants or assistance programs at the moment, and the state never called me back. (7b outside OKC)

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14jtWwMJnnX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.change.org/p/preserve-native-landscaping-at-uw-oshkosh?recruiter=39406172&recruited\_by\_id=ad782c90-4955-0130-4cc3-3c764e049b10&utm\_source=share\_petition&utm\_campaign=petition\_dashboard&utm\_medium=copylink&share\_id=sM5WVRWB4S&fbclid=IwdGRzaATnaydjbGNrBOdrGXBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeBKqvQ952KUWSZdxbeghiNEjdDKezmIEJbVXUeSk8dGHQ7fYPe3dzqlwud\_4\_aem\_FH0NLBLAuhZDWTaLZlp-qw