Hello no lawns! We bought our house in West Michigan and inherited this dead grass. Blue areas are the areas we plan to start with. We're hoping to convert a large portion of the lawn to beds with native plants/flowers. We are a.) wondering what else needs done to give new plants the best chance of survival and b.) looking for ideas on what to plant and where. Do we need to solarize or dig out the mostly dead grass? Can we just mulch and plant next spring? Should we overseed? We don't want to use herbicide.
Relevant info:
-We live in a small city with ordinance that dictates "All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds
or plant growth in excess of 6 inches and all noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds
shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs
provided; however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens."
-We understand and have no problem with this being a long term project. We plan to live here very long term.
-Zone 6b, 2 miles from Lake Michigan
-soil appears sandy? But also loamy? Everyone who doesn't water their lawn here has a lot dead grass, though not as much as us.
-Not wet, full sun.
-I hoping to mostly do prep this summer and plan to get things in the ground next spring.
TIA!
by Amazing-Company2460
1 Comment
I’m very excited that you’re interested in natives!
Solarizing kills everything in the soil, including the beneficial stuff–and doesn’t look awesome during the process. Cardboard and mulch is the best route. Looks like you’ll need to add some kind of border to keep your mulch from tumbling out.
When I start new beds, I like to do a mixture of quart to gallon sized perennials, plugs, and seed.
Visit native plant nurseries and see what all your options are locally, and check out [Prairie Moon](https://www.prairiemoon.com/). You might find inspiration at r/nativeplantgardening.
ETA: Consider a cute sign to let folks know you’re building a pollinator garden.