Hey i’m starting completely new to growing an ecologically sustainable lawn with native and diverse plants. my goals are to increase biodiversity and reduce my footprint while maintaining a lawn to be used recreationally. i’m in zone 5b ( southern minnesota) and would love some suggestions for native wildflower suggestions as well as just tips for a newbie. i have quite a large lawn with a portion of it being downhill shoreline with a high flood risk, as well as a steep hill with relatively dry condition and the majority of my lawn is partial shade. any help would be greatly appreciated!
by Anxious-Bandicoot342
3 Comments
There’s MNL in Minnesota that has lots of different types of plant kits and seed packs that are great for different conditions. Like shaded, drought resistant etc. worth checking out!
If i were you i would steer clear of this sub and go to r/NativePlantGardening due to the fact that this sub has more of a focus on hating lawns than actually native plants. you’ll see constant praise for posts that are “nolawn” but rather than a monoculture of turf grass, you get a monoculture of clover or some other (oftentimes) invasive plant. Not to say this is an inherently bad sub, but some people stick to personal preference about lawns instead of real botany.
S.W. WI 5a. First, I’d like to say you have an extremely beautiful area with which to work. I’m not sure if that is the mighty Mississippi or not; but what does matter when you are dealing with shoreline, you need to work with the DNR. We have riverfront property and the DNR is very picky about what can or cannot be done. So make sure you check with them involving anything with the shoreline and up to the high water mark,to avoid possible penalties.
As to what to plant, you have many choices of ground cover like Creeping Thyme, clover (white, crimson,micro ot all three), Fine Fescue Buffalograss, Creeping Phlox, Ajuga, Pachsandra, Creeping Jenny, Ice Plant, or Lamium for a few.
For these and other native ideas, check out r/NativePlantGardening, r/nativeplants, [thecooldown.com](http://thecooldown.com) on rewilding your yard and native plants, the National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder, Audubon NativePlants Database, University of Minnesota **Botany Department**, Minnesota Wildflowers, Minnesota DNR’s Native Plant Encyclopedia. UMN Extension native plant selection guide, and your County Extension Office. Oh, also, if you are close to an Amish community,, they can have a good selection of native plants.
Lastly, I would like to strongly encourage you to plant a dedicated patch for the Monarch butterflies (who are at risk) including common, swamp, and butterfly milkweed, plus whatever other milkweed is native to your area, what liatris is your native, and other pollinator friendly plants. I thank you and I know the Monarchs will be very thankful, and I’m sure you’ll have humming birds also.