Alternative Lawns: Not Your Grandmother's Turfgrass
Episode Introduction
In today’s episode, Alternative Lawns: Not Your Grandmother's Turfgrass, we go over different options for replacing lawn, why you'll be happy to make the jump, and tried and true ways to replace and maintain your new landscape.
Host Stephanie Barelman
Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker surrounding the native plants dialogue, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.
Episode Sponsors
Today's episode is sponsored by Lauritzen Gardens:
laurtizengardens.org
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Episode Content
Rehash our first episode if you are new to the podcast or our wonderful edible plants series here!
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Books to Read
- Iwigara
- Native American Ethnobotany
Why Lawns Aren't Sustainable or Healthy
- Pesticide and herbicide runoff pollutes groundwater, rivers, and streams
- Kids are exposed to pesticide and herbicide residues while playing
- Birds, pollinators, and other wildlife are exposed to residues while foraging and traveling which can result in disease, illness, and death . I mentioned there is plenty of research out there. Here are some of many, many articles discussing:
Protect Pollinators at Home: Alternatives to HerbicidesThe Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservationhttps://xerces.org › blog › protect-pollinators-at-home-alt...
The Risks of Pesticides to PollinatorsThe Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservationhttps://www.xerces.org › pesticides › risks-pesticides-poll...
PesticidesPollinator.orghttps://www.pollinator.org › Learning Center
- Nearby plants can come in contact with spray drift which can cause stunted growth, disease, and death
- Having a monoculture lawn limits local wildlife from the diverse diet it needs to survive and thrive
- Lawn takes up space we could grow our own food and medicine!
Benefits of Ditching Your Lawn
- You are providing habitat for insects, birds, and other wildlife!
- You are providing bee forage if you own a beehive, and ensuring better crop pollination if you grow a vegetable garden!
- You will encourage the storing of some carbon below ground by using these prairie plants with incredible root systems!
- You can participate in citizen science by submitting sightings and other observations to projects hosted by the Xerxes Society, Pollinator Pathway, and more!
- You will inevitably use less water to maintain the meadow/ alt lawn as opposed to traditional lawn and landscaping!
- You will reduce if not eliminate mowing which is great for the environment and also great for your spouse!
- You will have very little weeding time after your meadow garden/ alt lawn reaches its maturity!
- You will save money!
- You can forage your lawn for wild edibles.
- You can harvest plant material for natural dyes.
- You can grow medicine.
- You can use other parts of prairie plants in homemade crafts: basket weaving, bee houses, pressed flowers, etc.
Alt Lawn Options
- Native Grass and Sedge Lawns: Superior to exotic grass because they typically have better root systems and are often host plants for skippers, moths, and butterflies
Blue Grama Lawn: Blue Grama is a warm-season grass. It is drought tolerant and thrives when other exotic grasses struggle. Height of 1-2 feet. Can seed or plug.
Buffalo Grass Lawn: Buffalo grass is also warm-season grass that gets about 6 inches tall. It is very drought tolerant and long lived.
Sideoats Grama Lawn: More of a meadow lawn since it does reach 2-3 feet in height
Mixed Grass Lawn: You can find different mixes from different suppliers such as (50%) blue grama and (50%) buffalograss, (30%) blue grama, (30%) side oats grama, and (40%) buffalograss... There's also other formulations like habiturf which is (62%) buffalograss,(30%)blue grama, and curly mesquite (8%)
Pennsylvania sedge lawn: Pennsylvania sedge forms dense mats of medium green and grows 6 to 8 inches.
Plains oval sedge lawn
Long-beaked sedge: Great shade lawn option
Let dandelions go and add in native common violet, self heal, purple poppy mallow, wild strawberry, and
- Micro-prairie/Meadowscapes
Shortgrass Prairie
Eclectic Meadow
Tallgrass Prairie
Mix and match large swaths of ground covers: Plant en masse in groups of 5, 7, 9
Plants to use: BUTTERFLYWEED, PRAIRIE VIOLET, HEATH ASTER, WILD PETUNIA, WILD STRAWBERRY, PRAIRIE CLOVER, POPPY MALLOW, CAREX BREVIOR, GROUND PLUM (I'm not yelling, but lazily copying and pasting from my powerpoint...)
More plants to use: Pearly everlasting, pussytoes, artemisia ludoviciana, 'snow flurry' heath aster cultivar, prairie dropseed, western yarrow
- Yardens: Layered mix of NATIVE shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennials
Some shrubs to use along with your choice of grasses and perennial plants: LEADPLANT, SILKY DOGWOOD, CHOKECHERRY, CORALBERRY, AMORPHA FRUCTICOSA, PRAIRIE ROSE, ELDERBERRY, PLAINS WILD INDIGO, BAPTISIA AUSTRALIS
- Low-gro native shade gardens
Use plants like wild ginger, dutchman’s breeches, heartleaf aster, mayapple, woodland phlox and others
Don’t be shy to add a crushed limestone, pea gravel, flagstone, or salvaged stone patio area to cut down on lawn space and create a relaxing place to view garden areas
You may use landscape fabric stapled underneath
These patios can last ten years or more and can be installed DIY
- Vegetable garden and other garden "rooms"
An entire "room" could be made where lawn resides for a vegetable garden. Vegetable gardens are often made in a square or rectangle design, fenced to protect crops from deer or wildlife, and given paths of mulch, brick, or other material to access plant beds
A place of tranquility to hoard vintage finds and favorite plants
How to Ditch Your Lawn
- Check ordinances and HOA policies
If you are in an HOA, get clear rules detailed about what is allowed for gardenscape/lawns
City of Omaha “all weeds, grass, and worthless vegetation cannot reach a height of 12 inches or more….” meaning occasionally mow, weed monthly, and use cues that this is a maintained garden.
Note that complaints with the city can be appealed but HOA rules are more iron-clad
Do not plant things that decrease visibility in your hellstrip. Opt for very low-growing 1-2 foot plants
- When in doubt, check your property lines!
You can hire a local property assessor for around $400. Or you can go googling your county's GIS and find your parcel by parcel number or last name. Google "[your county] GIS" to find your local data.
Pottawattamie county here
Douglas county here
Sarpy county here
Lancaster county here
If you are in a rental property, ask permission to make any changes
Call the hotline (811) to mark utilities for free before you dig
- Figure out your plant layout
Google free "Prairie Moon garden designs, " "pollinator garden design," or consult a local garden designer.
Mechanical removal OPTION 1: rent a sod cutter or use a spade
Non-selective herbicide OPTION 2
Smother/ solarize OPTION 3 but also good followup to OPTION 1
Start with plugs: Grasses and sedges only
Buy plugs or 3-4 inch pots versus an initial seeding
Space plants on half foot centers
Plant in May or September
Keep area moist with oscillating sprinkler by watering for about an hour every few days but do not overwater. Do this for three weeks and then taper off.
You may overseed once or twice a year in April or August
You may mow 2-3 times a year with mower at highest setting (June, July, August)
Start with plugs: Meadows/ BEE LAWNS
Buy plugs or 3-4 inch pots versus an initial seeding
Space plants on half foot centers
Plant in May or September
Keep area moist with oscillating sprinkler by watering for about an hour every few days but do not overwater. Do this for three weeks and then taper off.
You may overseed once or twice a year in April or August
You may mow 2-3 times a year with mower at highest setting (June, July, August)
Start with plugs: Yardens
Buy plugs or 3-4 inch pots
Utilize moderate growth rate shrubs like shrubby st. john’s wort, dwarf blue baptisia, and lead plant
Space plants on 1 foot centers
Plant in May or September
Keep area moist with oscillating sprinkler by watering for about an hour every few days but do not overwater. Do this for three weeks and then taper off.
You may do an initial mulching or use weed suppression mat
You may cut back perennials to 1-2 inches in height each year in May
Future Commitments of Time and Care
Plan to maintain by weeding at least once a month per garden area
Weed once a week for new beds, once a month for established beds.
Keep watch for invasives moving in such as poison hemlock, Canada thistle, and creeping Charlie, among others!
Additional Resources
PRAIRIE MOON
PRAIRIE LEGACY
MIDWEST NATIVES NURSERY
BUMBLING BEE NATIVE WILDFLOWERS
PRAIRIE LEGACY
GREAT PLAINS NURSERY
MULHALL’S
- Books and Podcasts (Ours of course!)
SOME BOOKS
PRAIRIE UP- by BENJAMIN VOGT
PLANTING IN A POST WILD WORLD- by THOMAS RAINIER AND CLAUDIA WEST
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GRASSES FOR LIVABLE LANDSCAPES- by RICK DARKE
PODCASTS
PLANT NATIVE NEBRASKA PODCAST( shameless plug)
BELLEVUE NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
GREEN BELLEVUE
CITY SPROUTS- VEGETABLE GARDENING!
Hey, You Sweet Little Plant Nerds
Thanks for listening!!!!!
Additional Content Related to This Episode
What Makes a Plant Native?
http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska
https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society
native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (native plant cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)
Local Plant Suppliers
Midwest Natives Nursery
Great Plains Nursery
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
Prairie Legacy Nursery
Mulhall's
Online Plant Suppliers
Prairie Moon Nursery
Prairie Nursery
Stock Seed
On the Web
BONAP aforementioned
Bellevue Native Plant Society on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety
Books & Authors
Rick Darke- The Living Landscape
Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park".
Enrique Salmon- Iwigara
Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany
Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com
Native Plants of the Midwest
Planting in a Post-Wild World
Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska
Additional Resources
Other Local Organizations
- Green Bellevue
- PATH
- Milkweed Matters
- Nebraska Native Plant Society
Listen, Rate, and Subscribe!
Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/
Find us on Facebook
Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm
Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska
Support My Work via Patreon
The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.
