Episode 25

Alternative Lawns: Not Your Grandmother's Turfgrass with Host Stephanie Barelman

Published on: 14th August, 2024

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!

What are Native Plants Anyway?
Native Edible Plants Series with Bob Henrickson:

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

Bee Lawns

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

Groundcover lawns

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

Hardscaping

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

Also!

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.

Plan your site prep:

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

Install new plants

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

Plant Suppliers

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)

Groups

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