Hello – I’m looking for some advice/suggestions/tips on any ideas of what I could do with this side yard space – about 10 feet wide by 20 feet long – in southeastern Michigan. Anything other than grass: wildflowers, rain garden, butterfly garden etc.
This is a low traffic area for my family. Gets a good amount of sun in the afternoon. Shady in the morning. Nothing that has deep roots or will cause issues with a gas line running straight down the middle of the space, buried about a foot deep.
I don’t have a huge budget and am not super green thumb guy. So looking for something simple to start, low maintenance, but looks good and is good for the Earth/animals (but nothing poisonous to cats, we have a very friendly neighborhood outside cat who hangs around our property a decent amount).
TIA!!!
by EmoTeenYoda
14 Comments
I recently converted an area like this to a native pollinator garden. It does take time and patience.
I went the lazy route and laid down cardboard then layered free wood chips on top (check out your local transfer station or chip drop website). Then I purchased a mixture of plugs and bare root shrubs from a local native nursery – you can also order online if you don’t have one near you. http://www.prairiemoon.com – filter by your region!
Things are slowly coming in (takes about 3 years: sleep, creep, leap is the moto with native plants) and I’m adding in with plants that I winter sowed by seed myself as it is more economical. Prairie Moon has great kits for a variety of different conditions, so check them out for at least some inspiration.
It’s been amazing to see the difference in just two years and how the area is now frequented by insects and wildlife. Oh and I’d add a bird bath for good measure!
A perennial herb garden of rosemary or lemon balm, or clip and come again crops like basil, kale, arugula, cilantro, dill, and whatnot would be pretty low maintenance and safe for cats. These are pretty simple things to grow, and most attract pollinators. Also, you can always use growbags or containers for larger plants in the future if you are wrorried about lines underneath the soil.
How set are you on this being decorative as opposed to functional? For reasons unknown my first thought was “raised beds”.
Basically large planters filled in two layers of straw and soil, or just soil if you want them lower/shallow. You could plant the three sisters: corn, beans and squash/pumpkin. Or herbs, radishes, maybe not tomatoes because they like a bit more light than just in the afternoon but cherry tomatoes should be fine. And roots are not a problem, unless you are going for root vegetables, and even then a layer of cardboard at the very bottom should be enough. All the work (after preparation) they require essentially boils down to watering them in the evening and being mindful of the weather and pests.
Or you could till the soil and sow a meadow, although it is a bit late for this kind of work.
Only roots you should worry about are those of trees, bushes and shrubs, and for all of those you’d have to dig a hole about 30 to 50cm deep.
use the method of your choice to get rid of the grass, and check prairie moon for a seed mix that works with the location and soil type. Most wildflowers in these types of seed mixes are cat safe, I believe. It’s mostly the bulbs people plant that are toxic (tulips, hyacinths, lilies, etc) so avoid those.
Get this on your calendar and also look up participating nurseries — basically every regional native grower will be there. It’s totally amazing to have so much there all at once.
edit: this https://washtenawcd.org/native-plant-expo
Native pollinator garden! Or if you want to do a rain garden, Washtenaw county offers a free online master rain gardener course — I’m currently in it & planning to put a rain garden out front.
Chicken coop and chicken run
Golf net
A lot of people are recommending prairie moon which is a great company but they are out of Minnesota. Which isn’t that big of a deal but you are much closer to Michigan Wildflower Farms. There seeds will be more adapted to your local conditions and they can customize your seed mix to your specific conditions. They can also walk you through all the steps needed to prep your site, how to spread the seeds, and how to maintain the site in the future. I highly recommend calling or emailing them.
If you’re looking for plants, I would check out Michiganense Natives in near Livonia or Wildtype Nursery near Lansing. Both are fantastic.
These would discourage the feral cats from visiting:
Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)
Flowering Spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
Foxglove Beardstongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Hairy Beardstongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)
Poison Oak (Toxicodendron pubescens)
Poison Sumac (Toxico vernix)
Virgin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana)
Wild Iris (Iris spp)
Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis)
Yarrow (Achilliea millefolium)
Edited to add spacing/clarify list.
Look up local Master Gardiners. They should be able to help you with a plan. There will also be native plant sales and swaps sponsored by the watershed councils and local governments. Wild type native plant nursery in Mason is an excellent resource and supplier of native plants, too.
Option A: kill the grass (glyphosate, tarping, or removal with a sod cutter) and plant a seed mix from Prairie Moon or [Michigan Wildlfower Farm](https://www.michiganwildflowerfarm.com/seed-mixes-and-cover-crop/). Avoid using a “wildflower” mix from a company that doesn’t deal exclusively in native plants, since a lot of those mixers include non-native or invasive species.
Option B: Cover the whole area with cardboard or multiple layers of heavy brown kraft paper (you can buy rolls of it or use brown grocery bags or yard waste bags) and then top that with a few inches of plain mulch. In a month or two, plant some “plugs” of native plants from Prairie Moon, Feral Flora (in Ann Arbor), or another native plant company. Mark out the spot where the gas line is so you don’t plant on top of it, in case the line ever needs to be dug up in the future.
It’s such a nice space that would be lovely framed with a few small trees (away from the gas line!) to create more of a garden “room”. Redbuds and dogwoods are native species, non-toxic, and they attract all sorts of songbirds and pollinators. They’re not too pricey– right now they’re $25 at my grocery store (of all places!) & about $35-40 at box stores.
Plant natives!! I’ve got the perfect list for you