Southside Virginia, 7b. We have almost 3/4 of an acre of front lawn that I am replacing with mostly native ground cover and flowers, one small section at a time. I started in August with cardboard and mulch (the before pictures at the end), then sowed violet seeds in December. The violets really took off in early spring and bloomed like crazy, then when they ceased blooming we were left with lush, gorgeous greenery that is spreading out in all directions.
In early March, I widened the bed with more cardboard and mulch, and also added soil and compost. At the end of March, beginning of April, I planted tickseed, yarrow, lobelia, stonecrop, and salvia seedlings that are just starting to spread and bloom. Last week I extended the bed again and will plant anise hyssop when my tiny seedlings are ready, and hopefully silky aster from seeds that are still germinating in my refrigerator. I have some volunteer fleabane that showed up a few weeks ago along the edges of the garden.
I love this little garden of mine and I am so impatient for it to grow and take over my lawn entirely; it’s all I can do to restrain myself from adding more and more to it every day. But I have already exceeded my budget, used up all of the compost and mulch we had delivered, and most of the soil. So, for now it’s up to the plants to do their thing and spread their roots and rhizomes and seeds.
by Kind-Dust7441