The only concern I’d have is ticks. Is there a way to get rid of them without going crazy with bug spray or destroying the plants ?
this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
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No Lawns
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A community devoted to alternatives to monoculture lawns, with an emphasis on native plants and conservation. Rain gardens, xeriscaping, strolling gardens, native plants, and much more! (from official Reddit r/NoLawns)
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just treat meadow bits like planted flowers, and don't walk through them?
Ticks move into lawns as well, and while I haven't found studies comparing the density of ticks in shorter grass vs. flower beds, I would assume it's a wash; even if there are less ticks in turfgrass, you're walking/lying on that grass, allowing more opportunities for them to latch onto you. Whereas you're not walking through flower beds, so even if there's a greater tick population, you're not coming into contact with them as much.
I do this.
Well, I say I do this, I'm really just a lazy bastard who could never be bothered to mow.
But it's fashionable now, so I'm sticking to it. Looks much nicer than some nobby old grass, and certainly better than that plastic shit people are putting everywhere like a giant sign that says "I hate nature"...
I just wish I had more than a few square meters of land.
Now that is a nice looking fron yard.
Picture alone is making me sneeze.
The flowers in the image are pollinated by bugs and birds. Their pollen is not what you're sneezing at. More likely it's tree pollen or ragweed, which grows in competition with these wildflowers. Doing this might actually reduce your seasonal allergies.
There are many, many programs - sometimes as simple as a one-form rebate - available to help with and often completely cover costs related with:
- replacing grass lawns with native plants, drought resistant plants and food gardens
- adding cisterns, rain barrels and grey water systems
- replacing with or adding new "smart" sprinkler controllers that check weather forecasts to plan irrigation around the rain
- ordering and planting trees, including fruit trees
- compost barrels, compost and mulch, drip irrigation hoses, pool covers, and more
Some of my favorites include programs where you can get trees delivered and sometimes even planted for free, programs to help restore local parks and buisness landscaping to native flora, volunteer programs to remove invasive species from local parks, and money for replacing turf lawns with plants, bushes and trees that help bird and beneficial insect populations. Sometimes lanscaping companies and volunteers can even do the work utilizing the grants and rebates with little or no cost to you! Shoutout to the arbor day foundation that provides native trees, delivered to your door.
Here is a list (not just the US) of programs, and another here. Your local water utility likely has a list of rebates and such available in your area, as well as your county extension office if youre in the US, and any government office from city up to the federal level, especially if you live in a drought prone area like the southwestern US. You can also search for "xeniscaping" to find more, or talk to your local hardware store or nursery.
Partner and I got 50% of our rain barrel purchase covered by attending a small state run course on sustainable gardens. Totally worth it, and we can take it again to get assistance with other resources, like garden beds, standalone greenhouses...etc...
HOA's have entered the chat.
Bonus: Free snakes
And free pest control!
Nice, saves money on rat poison.
Extra Spicy Bonus: Free ticks!
All for it.
Unfortunately where I live grass or plantings for a lawn above a certain height gets you a letter and possibly a citation from the town. You’d have to rip out the whole lawn and “landscape” the space. Not sure how much good that would do as you’d constantly have to maintain it so as not to leave all the dead plants around as the flowers died.
That said, one can still do a lot with lawn space to make it at least low-mow with various plants and flowers that will still look great and provide something for insects to eat.
We’ve been doing this at our local park and I have a friend who does this for a living. Native plants are amazing.
I think this is great. Hoping to do something similar with my yard. Why is this community so trash? Very disappointing. If you don't get the idea behind no lawns, why don't you go somewhere else. This is pointless. Also there won't be any ticks or snakes in the middle of suburbia surrounded by ecological wasteland lawns. Clueless commenters.
I'm all for growing native plants, but I worry about ticks whenever I see an article like this.
Do you also worry about the collapse of natural systems by preventing pollinators from doing their job?
It's sad that this is so funny because it's true.
I suppose that depends on the area but that's largely not going to be a concern. Just have paths where you need that don't require you do wade through bushes directly. If one has the space, slap a guinea hen in there they love eating ticks
Tick populations explode because tick hunting animals like porcupines and voles need tall grass to avoid being hunted themselves. And because cars run them over and cats murder them.
You probably have ticks in your yard anyway. They can make their nests in the grass.
was going to say my yard produced as many ticks when it was a regularly mowed lawn as after it was turned into "gardens" ...
I worry about chiggers and wasps with grass that high. Not to mention the townships.
Everyone where I live: "Nothing grows out here!"
I mean, if you tear out all the local growth and try to instead grow foreign things that aren't suited to this environment, yeah.
Anyone have a link on how to best do this? I have a sort of wild yard situation happening and it would be nice to have some practical tips on how to guide it towards a meadow and away from the current situation of weeds (both annual and perennial).
I'm worried there is no "easy" way and it's basically hand-weeding every square foot?
My yard used to be hard-packed clay where only the most tenacious weeds could survive (field bindweed, burdock, thistle, dandelion), so my first step was putting down multiple layers of heavy cardboard to smother them, then covering that with about a foot of wood chip. That killed the latter three and helped to start softening up the soil (worms move in when organic matter is present), but bindweed just pushed through the cardboard and wood chip, so I had to hit that with (selective, judicious) applications of herbicide. It was a hobby for the first year, but now my yard is weed-free and the soil is turning more rich and loamy!
I've mostly used starts/seedlings to fill in my beds, but now that the weed pressure is lower I've started putting soil & compost over the mulch to encourage my plants to self-seed. I'm also filling in all the "blank spaces" with ground cover, to provide an additional barrier against weeds. A mature garden will require a little weeding now and then, but for me that's something I enjoy (it's a break from work, and time in the sun), and it's definitely not as intensive as vegetable gardening.
I don't have a lawn... or a house...
You're saving heaps on landscaping costs! 🙌