Native plants/gardening?

rochella

I've been considering going crazy and having my entire yard be full of native plants.  I'm sure if I walked up to my H and said "hey, let's kill the lawn and just grow native plants" he would look at me like I was crazy, but I'd at least like to start a native plant garden.

I live in SE TN, and I am not an advanced gardener at all - this spring, I just started a vegetable garden in very rocky soil with lots of red clay - and after two piles of compost and multiple tilling sessions -  it's actually doing pretty well. 

Just wondered if anyone else had done something like this?  I have a friend who has completely killed her turf lawn and pretty much exclusively only grows edible or native plants in her yard.  She's had city yard services take her to court three times - but each time the case was dismissed.  

At first I thought she was crazy, but now I kind of like her style.

Just seeing if anyone else has experience with this in your garden... even better if you live around TN!  

CollegeGrrl219

I would never kill my lawn, but I do like our Native Day Lilies. They were cheap, they grow well, and they are pretty.

http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?ProductID=6238&

~NB~

rochella:

Just wondered if anyone else had done something like this?  

I have a friend who has completely killed her turf lawn and pretty much exclusively only grows edible or native plants in her yard.  She's had city yard services take her to court three times - but each time the case was dismissed.  

I lean toward native plants in my landscape designs. However, I just created a very small (turfgrass) lawn by seeding (an experiment, it's only about 12' x 14').

I'm very curious to know who sued your friend ("city yard services"???) and why? Seems preposterous to sue someone for creating a native garden on private property....

pdxmouse

Too bad you don't live near here, our city offers free classes on taking out your lawn and planting natives. They call it Naturescaping, maybe they have a similar program in TN? It's through the Soil and Water Conservation District -- I don't know if that's a bureau most places have or not.

Your other resources might be public gardens that focus on native or sustainable plants. You could also contact your local extension service. There's also native nurseries. Do you live near Oak Ridge?

rochella

~NB~:

rochella:

Just wondered if anyone else had done something like this?  

I have a friend who has completely killed her turf lawn and pretty much exclusively only grows edible or native plants in her yard.  She's had city yard services take her to court three times - but each time the case was dismissed.  

I lean toward native plants in my landscape designs. However, I just created a very small (turfgrass) lawn by seeding (an experiment, it's only about 12' x 14').

I'm very curious to know who sued your friend ("city yard services"???) and why? Seems preposterous to sue someone for creating a native garden on private property....

Well, you can check out her FB page here (she has 5000 friends and also a fanpage and is a public figure in Chattanooga, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind me posting it here) https://www.facebook.com/lanaland

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lana-Sutton/129839033722166?sk=wall

You can see pictures of her garden and information about why she's doing this.  She's a little on the crazy side of hippie, but I kind of like it - I've found it all to be very interesting.  She has a frog pond, too, and killed all this kudzu in her woods.  She has probably thousands of pictures of her yard and all the plants she has - it's pretty amazing - and I think she only has one or two acres. 

I would love a frog pond but I hate mosquitoes. 

rochella

pdxmouse:

Too bad you don't live near here, our city offers free classes on taking out your lawn and planting natives. They call it Naturescaping, maybe they have a similar program in TN? It's through the Soil and Water Conservation District -- I don't know if that's a bureau most places have or not.

Your other resources might be public gardens that focus on native or sustainable plants. You could also contact your local extension service. There's also native nurseries. Do you live near Oak Ridge?

I live out closer to Chattanooga, but Oak Ridge isn't that far, only about 90 minutes.  I can at least send her a message for more information because I'm sure she's knowledgeable about plants here and perhaps where they can be purchased in Chattanooga.

Thank you for the research link, and the term "naturescaping" which turned up tons of results in Google. 

And no, I've never heard of "soil and water conservation" bureau, nor anywhere down south!   

rochella

CollegeGrrl219:

I would never kill my lawn, but I do like our Native Day Lilies. They were cheap, they grow well, and they are pretty.

http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?ProductID=6238&

Hey, thanks! 

~NB~

rochella:

~NB~:

rochella:

Just wondered if anyone else had done something like this?  

I have a friend who has completely killed her turf lawn and pretty much exclusively only grows edible or native plants in her yard.  She's had city yard services take her to court three times - but each time the case was dismissed.  

I lean toward native plants in my landscape designs. However, I just created a very small (turfgrass) lawn by seeding (an experiment, it's only about 12' x 14').

I'm very curious to know who sued your friend ("city yard services"???) and why? Seems preposterous to sue someone for creating a native garden on private property....

you can check out her FB page (she has 5000 friends, a fanpage and is a public figure in Chattanooga) https://www.facebook.com/lanaland

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lana-Sutton/129839033722166?sk=wall

You can see pictures of her garden and information about why she's doing this. She has probably thousands of pictures. 

I would love a frog pond but I hate mosquitoes. 

Could you please get me right to the lawsuits part? Or just fill me in on who is suing her and why?

Because of the thousands of pictures, fans, and the fact that I spend very little time on FB, I don't know where to begin with this link. I just spent 20 minutes and I'm no closer to finding the answer. In fact, I got lost.

I spearhead a lot of similar projects in my municipality and I really want to know more details about how/why someone (or some company, or the city????) would sue a citizen for planting natives on their own land. Who is suing her?

And FYI, frogs in ponds eat mosquito larvae.

~NB~

Ok, never mind. Problem solved; I googled her name and "lawsuit".

So she is "that" neighbor who just stops maintaining her yard, and lets all the weeds ("wildflowers") grow out of control. NOW I understand why she was cited for violating city ordinances.

I'm all for native meadow restoration, but as someone who lives next door to "that" neighbor, I certainly understand why people complained.

My opinion is if she wants to do that she should live in a rural area. I just think it's wrong to go to war with your own neighbors, then rally your facebook friends (who don't live there) in a call to action. There is a "me-against-the-world, David and Goliath" current in her posts; and if she wants to march to her own beat I think then she should isolate herself and do that, not plant herself within an established system and insist that other people change for her sake.

As someone who works in the horticulture industry, I know the value of what she preaches, but you get nowhere by making enemies. When I disagree with city policy (which happens a lot) I don't publicly criticize local officials. I email them, compliment them, shake their hands, and socialize with them. I usually get what I want, eventually.

rochella

~NB~:

Ok, never mind. Problem solved; I googled her name and "lawsuit".

So she is "that" neighbor who just stops maintaining her yard, and lets all the weeds ("wildflowers") grow out of control. NOW I understand why she was cited for violating city ordinances.

I'm all for native meadow restoration, but as someone who lives next door to "that" neighbor, I certainly understand why people complained.

My opinion is if she wants to do that she should live in a rural area. I just think it's wrong to go to war with your own neighbors, then rally your facebook friends (who don't live there) in a call to action. There is a "me-against-the-world, David and Goliath" current in her posts; and if she wants to march to her own beat I think then she should isolate herself and do that, not plant herself within an established system and insist that other people change for her sake.

As someone who works in the horticulture industry, I know the value of what she preaches, but you get nowhere by making enemies. When I disagree with city policy (which happens a lot) I don't publicly criticize local officials. I email them, compliment them, shake their hands, and socialize with them. I usually get what I want, eventually.

Okay, well I promise to only allow a small patch of my lawn to be native, wild plants. :P 

CollegeGrrl219

I'm with NB on this. Like I said, I would never in a million years tear up my lawn in the suburban neighborhood I live in. My neighbors would crap their pants if I had tall plants growing everywhere, because that's how rodents hide. We already have enough rodents trying to hide in our short grass.

I do have some well maintained gardens though. All my taller plants are spaced out, pruned, and weeded. There is mulch, and it's not just a mess of plants.

daisyterp

I looked through a lot of her pictures and found this link you might find helpful- 

https://ag.tennessee.edu/tnyards/Pages/default.aspx

Keeping Tennessee's water clean, one yard at a time.We call it a Tennessee Yard Done Right -- a yard that is in harmony with Tennessee's native flora, soil and topography.Tennessee Yards & Neighborhoods (TYN) is a University of Tennessee program in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority that advises residents on how to maintain a beautiful, hardier landscape while conserving and protecting our water supply. We work with individuals and neighborhood associations, developers, contractors and landscapers to improve landscaping practices so that topsoil, fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants don't wash into the streams.You don't have to be an expert gardener or landscaper to create a Tennessee Yard Done Right. All it takes is a willingness to learn and a desire to build a beautiful yard that helps protect Tennessee's environment. The Tennessee Yards & Neighborhoods program is based on nine principles:  Right plant, right placeManage soils and mulchesAppropriate turf grass managementWater efficientlyUse fertilizer appropriatelyManage yard pestsReduce storm water runoff and its pollutantsProvide for wildlifeProtect water's edge

Read more to learn why this approach to yard management makes sense. You'll spend less time, labor and money while protecting our streams and water quality. A Yard Done Right is right for you and our environment.