No Lawns

Not my lawn. I've been selectively breeding my yard to only have highly drought tolerant native plants. My neighbor brags about his st Augustine monoculture and the $400 a month water bill to keep it alive, but always asks me what my secret is because I literally never water, fertilize, or poison it (besides with specific poison for invasive fire ants).

Although I am planning on seeding clover this year, largely because I plan on urban farming in my backyard, but I won't complain about the nitrogen fixing in the front either.

Several years ago, developers cut down a giant tract of woods practically across the street from my house in order to build a brand new housing community. Cookie cutter homes with early 90's Tim Burton level "perfect lawns" stretching over hundreds of acres.

I started taking my walks down that way, since at a minimum they had sidewalks along the entire stretch making my evening walks a bit safer than trying to navigate the roadsides without them.

A couple of springs after the monstrosity was built, there was a house where about 1/4 of the lawn was covered in the mounds of ground nesting bees. I specifically chose my walking path each day so that I could go by there to witness the spectacular display. It was so neat watching the bees, males hovering over the mound nests fighting off rivals and trying to entice females. The melodious buzz of hundreds of bees dancing around the entrances to their nests was the highlight of my stroll.

Then one day I walked by and the owner of that yard was outside talking to someone from a pest control company about how to get rid of the bees in their yard. I'm not one to intrude on people, but since I was stopped at the intersection due to traffic and I overheard the conversation, I did mention to them that these mounds would be gone in a matter of days regardless of whether they were sprayed or not, and that the bees are non-aggressive natives that wouldn't/couldn't sting you and posed no threat.

A week or so later there was a sign in the yard with some statement that basically said to avoid touching the grass, keep pets and children out, dangerous pesticides had been sprayed.

The optimist in me wants to believe that something I read is true, and it basically stated that traditional pesticides are not usually very effective against ground nesting bees because the adults are short lived anyway, and most of the commonly used pesticides bind to soil and therefore don't usually penetrate deeply enough down into the soil to kill the larva/offspring.

I remember my old house, i replaced 75% of the lawn with a flower garden and meadow flowers, moss, etc. the HOA was PISSED. I swear HOAs exist only to be miserable killjoys

Is this your yard? No shame! Many people inherit landscapes like this when they move in and haven’t found the time to make a change. Check out the sidebar for resources on how to get started on a more pollinator-friendly landscape!

You don’t have to remove the whole lawn at once if it seems overwhelming. Even a small insect-friendly garden area or changes in how you manage the lawn can make a big difference.

This Xerces Society article also has some basic and easy steps: https://xerces.org/blog/bee-friendlier-with-your-lawncare

The bees are dying because of neonicatinoids in RoundUp presticides.

Lawns are giant funko pops for the modern suburbanite home owner.

Incorrect. The earth is sick, infected with a particularly nasty strain of the Human virus. The fever may take a while to kill the infection, and may take a few species with it, but temperatures rise, and rise.

Nope, not my yard.

Kentucky bluegrass isn't from Kentucky. It's not even from North America!

I have a yard for my dog. But also have a massive vegetable garden, insect houses, different flowers for attracting different helpers, worm garden, and soon bees will be getting a home for honey.

All this can be done in a backyard and it's honestly way less hassle to set up than dealing with fruit and veg picking in the store.

Assess what's on your plate most, what grows well in your region, which bugs help the most, and grab some seeds! Tastes so much better too, omg.

*Solely

Current contents of my yard:

Misc cardboard garbage (the bin fell over due to wind recently)
An exhaust pipe (the mounts broke, and I'm getting rid of the car soon anyway, so it was easier to just tears it off)
Misc trash wood and furniture (indoor building projects)
An old crappy looking car (because for the next month I will still be driving an old crappy looking car)

I may not be helping the bees, but neighborhood cats love the "terrain"

Also, I'll be supporting a local dumpster rental as soon as the building project and shit weather is over, hopefully in a week or so.

This is why I refuse to touch that shit. It killed the birds and the bees! It's toxic AF!