Two years ago, the sycamore tree in my front yard was struck by lightning, transforming the area into an all-sun, all-the-time space. I’ve never been a fan of the water, pesticides, and monoculture mindset it takes to keep a grass lawn alive here in Florida—but my neighborhood has an HOA, so I didn’t think I had much choice.
Then a neighbor planted a clover yard, and I realized maybe I did have options. That inspired me to start my own sustainable lawn journey.
I planted perennial peanut in the most visible areas from the road and filled in the less prominent spots with Sunshine Mimosa and Creeping Sage (Salvia misella), both natives. Since planting, I’ve had lots of volunteers—and, admittedly, more weeds—but I’m letting some of them stay.
Natives like Hyssop Sandmat (Euphorbia hyssopifolia), Kiss-Me-Quick (Portulaca pilosa), Red Spiderling (Boerhavia coccinea), and Carolina Ponyfoot (Dichondra caroliniana) are welcome between plugs. I’m allowing non-native Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) for now. I’ll remove it once the peanuts or natives start filling in, but frankly, I’ll take it over the invasive Mexican Clover any day.
TL;DR: After a lightning strike took out my shady sycamore, I replaced my front lawn with drought-tolerant perennial peanut in visible areas and native groundcovers (Sunshine Mimosa, Creeping Sage) in others. I’m letting native volunteers fill in between plugs and managing non-natives like Common Purslane until the natives take over. Goodbye grass, hello habitat!
by FrogfruitFae
2 Comments
Your trees need some serious trimming.
Sorry about your sycamore, but kudos and thanks for replacing it with natives and friendlies! This is going to look so lush and lovely once it’s established. Nice job on the curvy mulch bed too.